It started off with two cousins spending time together and turned into an elite athletic journey. Joey Komakjuak is from Arviat, Nunavut and he’s playing Inuit games at the Arctic Winter Games. He’s competing on Team Nunavut and representing his community.

Komakjuak started playing at the age of 15 after watching his cousin Kevin play. His favourite games are the Alaskan high kick, point foot, stick jump, kneel jump, and knuckle hop. At the same time, he enjoys all the games in their own way.

One of the challenges he’s faced is that he doesn’t really practice. When a competition is coming up, Komakjuak heads home to prepare for what is coming up ahead of him. If he doesn’t feel like practicing, he goes out and perseveres, clearing his mind and restarting his practice so he can get ready for the next competition.

Lately, he’s been teaching the youth in his community how to play Inuit games. Komakjuak ended up with the exciting opportunity when the school reached out and invited him to share his skills with their students. At first, he was nervous and shy but after a few days, he got used to teaching and didn’t feel so shy anymore while he was presenting.

When he was teaching in the school, Komakjuak was working with the students in grades nine through eleven. Not everyone was participating but some joined in the fun. The students were enjoying it and they continued their Inuit games learning journey together until the end of the school year. He hopes he has another chance to teach again because he really enjoyed it.

His advice for other Inuit athletes just starting their athletic journey who might want to go to the Arctic winter games when they're older would be, “Make sure you practice, workout and eat healthy. Never give up. Just keep practicing every day, every single day. Don’t forget to stretch.”

While he’s still recovering from an injury, Komakjuak has big goals for the Arctic Winter Games next year. He’s going to start practicing and workout in hopes of reaching his personal record for each game. He’s hoping to win a medal in Whitehorse.

Inspired by his family, he found a sport he loves and it’s taken him all the way to the Arctic Winter games. Sharing his skills with his community, he’s building up the number of Inuit games competitors for the future and showing youth what is possible if they work hard. Coming back from injury, he’s full of hope for what’s to come in the next competition.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.