In Hay River, biathlon and men’s hockey try-outs were ongoing while figure skating, dog sledding, volleyball and women’s hockey were all taking place in Yellowknife.

As the Southern edge of the territory nears the longest day of the year, young athletes across all of NWT are getting ready to test their limits.

It is a record year for the championship, which is hosting more than 1,200 athletes and 35 teams.
It’s when the field is freshly lined and waiting to be used that the magic excitement truly begins to permeate the town.
“It’s a beautiful sight,” said coordinator J.J. Hirst. “For me, that’s awesome. You see it and you know the athletes are coming. Then the kids are here and track is here, and after that, it’s a blur from Wednesday to Friday between kids smiling and shaking hands, volunteers working.”
New to the event this year are new high-jump landing mats and electronic measuring devices for javelin and shot-put. This will help with accuracy and speed and safety.
“There are 800 kids going through there,” said Hirst, “and they take practice runs and free throws and that adds up to a ton of activity. If we can help make our volunteer’s jobs a little bit easier then we’re going to try and do that.”
“We’re trying to make the event better every year,” echoed coordinator Tim Borchuk.
“Every year is unique, but we want to be able to show the community that this is something we can do really well.”
Students will also be running around taking pictures of the event, which will be available online for purchase for out-of-towners who couldn’t travel the distance.
As the event evolves and coordinators strive to make it “bigger faster stronger”, Hirst said they’re also trying to keep with the roots from when the event first began. While it offers some  exceptional athletes a stepping stone for the Western Canada Games, volunteers and coordinators want to be inclusive.
“We’re trying to keep with the integrity of why the event was set up,” said Hirst.
“It was to get kids all over the North involved in sport and to give them a place to come and practice. We’re not trying to be elitist and we never will. If we can be a stepping stone for some athletes and at the same time offer an event for every kid in the North to participate in and come and enjoy themselves, then we’re doing the right thing.”
The event will also incorporate Hay River’s Drug Free Zone.
“I think that track is the perfect chance to promote this for other places,” said coordinator Jessica King.
“It’s nice to see what Hay River has done and  I think it’s good to show other towns that it can be done because we did it.”
Of course, the entire event wouldn’t be possible without local sponsors involved throughout the three days.
“We can’t give enough credit to them,” said Hirst.  “They make it happen and they do it every year. It really is a well-oiled machine.”
Hay River will also be host to a school new to the event. It will be K-Alemi Dene School’s first time at the annual meet, and the far and remote community of Colville Lake will also be returning.
Long-distance running will kick off the events today at 1 p.m. and the opening ceremonies will take place at 7 p.m. at the arena.

Crowds recognize volunteers, delegates, Brendan Green

Hay River’s Ben Sivertz arena was the hub of action on Monday, as the community gathered to celebrate its squad of Olympic representatives in an Olympic Pep Rally.

Put on by the Town of Hay River and a few dedicated citizens, the pep rally was centered around celebrating Brendan Green’s name on the roster for the men’s Canadian biathlon team.
Skaters and mascots sailed across the ice waving the Canada flag as hundreds of people poured in to the arena doors, each with a small Canada flag of their own. Wally Schumann’s Smart Car sporting Brendan’s name was parked on the ice, as were the volunteers chosen to go to the Olympics to represent the NWT.
With community members from the reserve, Enterprise, and Hay River travelling to the Olympics this month, there will be representatives from all facets of the community.
“It’s an honour to have our people going to the Olympics,” said chief Roy Fabian. “Congratulations to Brendan Green. Get lots of medals, and put Hay River on the map.”
Mayor Kelly Schofield took the opportunity to point out Green’s example to others in the community.
“He has achieved quite a feat,” said Schofield. “He is a shining example. He stayed tobacco free, alcohol free, and drug free. That’s how he got to be number one. Stay the course!”
Although MLAs Jane Groenewegen and Paul Delorey were in session at the time of the pep rally, they sent their congratulations via video message for the whole community to see.
“The North is a spectacular place to live, and you, Brendan Green, are more than spectacular,” said Delorey in his message.
Green’s hard work and achievements were summed up in a short video clip. The beginning showed him as a young boy jumping hurdles in his back yard, skating, and golfing. Present-time clips showed Green on grueling climbs during training, summating a mountain in Italy, and overcoming competition in World Cup races.
Because of his lifetime of dedication to sports and his achievements as an athlete, the Hay River Ski Club announced their decision to name a trail after Brendan. Bob White presented Bruce and Marilyn Green with a trail sign reading Brendan Green Olympic Trail, a duplicate of which will be erected on the trail itself.
Bruce Green spoke to the community, acknowledging Brendan’s coach, Pat Bobinsky.
“You don’t get a world class athlete without a world class coach,” said Green. After thanking the community for its unending support, Green reverted back to his teacher ways to derive a lesson from his son’s example.
“The lesson here is to dare to dream,” said Green. “Dare to dream big dreams. They can take you a long way.”
Emcee Kevin Wallington closed the pep rally with a final cheer for Brendan.
“Brendan can’t be here today, but I think we can cheer loud enough that he can hear Hay River from wherever he is,” he said, sparking hundreds of people to roar for Hay River’s Olympic athlete, Brendan Green.
A video of the pep rally will be available within weeks, for those who were unable to attend.

Hard work pays off for Hay River’s Olympic athlete, Brendan Green, as he makes the cut for men’s biathlon relay team for 2010 Games in Vancouver.

It’s going to be a green Olympic Games this year, all Vancouver jokes aside. Hay River’s beloved Olympic hopeful, Brendan Green, has officially been dubbed an Olympic athlete.
The release approving his place on the team was stamped Jan. 28, confirming the NWT’s speculation that the 23-year-old Green has what it takes to ski and shoot at the Olympics this year.
“I’m very excited,” said Green on Friday. “Going to the Olympics has been a childhood dream for me, and is something that I’ve worked extremely hard at for a very long time to achieve.”
The news comes as just another wave of reassurance for Green, as he heard of his success before Christmas.
“That was the best Christmas present I could have asked for,” he said.
Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen acknowledged Green’s achievements in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
“Today I would like to acknowledge a Hay River constituent: a young man, the youngest in a family of six children, who put on skis for the first time when he was three years old and stared in biathlon training when he was nine years old. At the age of 16, this young man set his scope and sights on an Olympic dream, training with great dedication and knocking off achievement after achievement,” said Groenenwegen.
“After these years of training and competing at home and around the world, joining the youngest ever Canadian team for biathlon, for the first time in 26 years that the NWT has sent an athlete to this ultimate level of competition, representing Hay River, the Northwest Territories and Canada, only officially announced today, Brendan Green is going to the 2010 Olympics.”
Green, who is currently finishing off his World Cup races in Italy, said he has been removed from the excitement of the Olympics. For Green, the discreet location is ideal for training.
“Over here, I am able to put a high level of focus into my training and racing, without very many distractions,” he said.
With the past few months being a high-stress period for Green, the news comes as a relief.
“The World Cups in December were the last three that would fall within our Olympic qualification period, so it was obviously a very stressful tour to say the least,” he said. “The men were fighting hard for one of four Olympic spots.”
Green will be the anchor in the men’s relay event, teaming up with Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Marc-Andre Bedard, and Robin Clegg. Each man races 7.5 km and shoots one prone and one standing round after 2.5 km and 5 km sections of the race before tagging the next team mate. Three extra bullets are allowed for each bout, and each miss after that allowance is penalized by the athlete having to ski an additional 150 m loop before rejoining the course.
Green said the team has good cohesion, as they have been racing and training together for years.
“With being away from home for such long periods of time and always being in countries where we can’t speak the language, we’ve formed a close bond that is not necessarily a characteristic among other teams.”
So far, the team’s best relay result is a 7th-place finish in December 2008. Green said it’s difficult to predict how the team will do at any given time.
“That’s the exciting thing about biathlon – so much can happen over the course of a race, and that’s what makes it the most popular televised winter sport in Europe!”
Green is also uncertain about what to expect for his trip to Vancouver.
“With it being my first Olympics, it will be a totally new experience for me and I’m not 100 percent sure what to expect,” he said. “Competing at the Olympics in your home country is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the ultimate dream for an athlete… I’m looking forward most to the racing and competing in front of a home crowd, which is something I’ve been dreaming about and training toward for a long time.”
While Green will have a fan club cheering him on at his race in Vancouver, he knows he will have a community in the NWT backing him up from a distance.
“My parents and siblings are my number one fans and have supported me 100 per cent every step of the way,” he said. “The support and encouragement from Hay River and the North has truly been amazing. Community members in Hay River have become directly involved with my training and achievements, and are a part of my dream, which I am extremely grateful for. I am honoured to be representing Hay River at the Olympics and would like to thank the community and all those involved who have supported me through the highs and lows that are inevitable as an athlete.”
This past week, Green has been finishing up his races in France and Italy, after which he will return back to Canmore, Alberta to rest before heading to Vancouver. He will be staying in the Athlete’s Village in Whistler, near the biathlon venue in Callaghan Valley. Green’s big race is on Feb. 26 at 12:30 p.m.