Native Youth Olympics brings competition, community to Skyview gym

Dozens of athletes gathered in the Skyview Middle School gym this weekend both to compete and to celebrate being together at the Kahtnuht’ana Hey Chi’ula Native Youth Olympics Invitational.

Native Youth Olympics are a series of events derived from traditional Alaska Native feats of athleticism. Across the three-day competition, athletes competed in a dozen events, including the Alaskan high kick, the scissor broad jump, the wrist carry, the seal hop and more.

Represented this weekend were teams from the central Kenai Peninsula fielded by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and Salamatof Tribe, as well as several others from around the peninsula and beyond — Sterling, Homer, Ninilchik, Chickaloon and Colony High School.

During events like the one-foot high kick on Sunday, athletes could be seen giving tips to their peers from other teams, the crowd erupting into celebration as an athlete pulled off the challenging feat — leaping up and kicking a suspended ball before landing back on the kicking foot without then toppling over.

Every NYO tournament is a special experience, Ninilchik coach Rick Dunaway said Tuesday. The camaraderie is “infectious.” Looking around, he said he saw athletes helping one another, and he “couldn’t be more proud” to see Ninilchik’s squad bring home the sportsmanship award — “the best award you can possibly win.”

Ninilchik brought 26 athletes to Skyview over the weekend, and Dunaway said they’d been preparing since as early as November. Because NYO features such a wide variety of events, he said there’s “something for every kid.”

Maria Chythlook, Cat Cramer and Shirley Adams are all coaches for the Sterling Ch’anik’na NYO program, which Chythlook said uses the Dena’ina word for children — “we are Sterling Children.”

Sterling has had an club NYO program that practices in Sterling Elementary School for around six years, Chythlook said Thursday, and it’s quickly become important to the student athletes who participate. She said their senior athletes, who are middle and high school aged, have become leaders to their younger teammates and have found something to be proud of.

Cramer said that her primary focus is on respect and sportsmanship — the compliments from officials and other athletes mean more than the medals her team collected.

NYO has a special culture, the Sterling coaches said, that might not resemble other team sports. Chythlook pointed to the way athletes try to help one another even across team boundaries — “it teaches a stronger community.” Like Dunaway, they pointed to the varied events as creating a sport that’s more inclusive — with events for any number of different talents.

Before the one-foot high kick on Sunday, athletes competed in the wrist carry, where athletes hang suspended from a wooden rod by only their wrist; and the Dene stick pull, where two athletes stood side by side and tried to pull a greased wooden stick from their competition.

On Friday and Saturday, athletes took on the scissor broad jump, the one-hand reach, the kneel jump and the Alaskan high kick, among others.

The tournament also offered more than just competition. An Alaska Native craft fair was held in the Skyview Middle School commons, a potluck was held on Saturday night, there were displays of traditional drumming and a traditional blanket toss.

In the blanket toss, during the lunch break on Sunday, more than 50 people — including athletes, coaches and spectators — together pulled on a blanket of seal skin to hurl someone sitting in the middle high into the air.

An organizer told the dozens of people with their hands on the blanket that they shouldn’t be working too hard to move the blanket. Pulsing the blanket up and down, he told them they should imagine and hear the sound of a heart beat.

“You’re learning how to work together,” he said. “Unity, cooperation, commitment and trust. The person in the middle is definitely going to need to trust.”

Several people were thrown into the air atop the blanket, reaching near to the gymnasium ceiling. They soared largely straight up and down, which the organizer said showed that everyone was working well together — that the person in the middle otherwise would be thrown toward the weaker side.

Dunaway said Tuesday that he’d brought a lot of new athletes who hadn’t ever competed before a large audience before. From those new to the sport and those with year’s of experience alike, he saw “a love of the game and a desire to compete.”

Ninilchik’s being chosen for the sportsmanship award, he said, reflects well on the athletes and on their coaches and parents. He said he encouraged them to be respectful to one another, to respect the school they were visiting, and to represent their community.

“They went out there and they tried their best,” he said. “They’re going to represent our team in a good way.”

For more information about the Kahtnuht’ana Hey Chi’ula Native Youth Olympics Invitational, find “Kenaitze Indian Tribe” on Facebook.

This story was updated Friday, Jan. 31, with additional perspective from Sterling’s NYO team.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.