North American Indigenous Games

KES was well represented as volunteers in the wrestling event at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in July. KES faculty members Jason Verryn-Stuart ‘96 (judge), Ky Walsh ‘15 (mat chair) and Kim Walsh ‘79 (on-mat official) made up half the volunteer officials for the NAIG Games wrestling event hosted at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. We were also pleased to donate the use of our wrestling mat for the event. With almost 200 wrestlers from New Mexico to Nunavut, the event was spectacular.

There were numerous highlights to reflect on, but with long days from 7:00 am-9:30 pm on the first day, it was exhausting and took time to refresh and reflect. One of the highlights was when Eekee Avalak (Nunavut) won the gold medal against his opponent from Manitoba. His pure joy and gratefulness for his opponent and the many people who helped him accomplish this feat was inspiring. In an interview with CBC immediately at the end of his championship match, he spoke about his appreciation for his coaches, community, and his university that he will be attending in the fall. This was reflected throughout the event as young athletes were so appreciative that they hugged after almost every match. It was inspiring to see athletes from varying backgrounds and technical experience work hard and, in the heat of competition, take the time to respectfully acknowledge and show appreciation to their competitors after some toughly contested matches.

We were fortunate to make friends with some of the coaches and no games would be complete without the traditional exchanging of some provincial team wear. Mr. Verryn-Stuart and I enjoyed exchanging Nova Scotia merchandise with the coach from New Mexico; a true gentleman. This was certainly a highlight of the summer.