Native Youth Olympics

My Awesome Team!

Every two years I watch the Olympics on television. It's amazing to watch so many talented people do what they are so great at. In the Winter Games, you have people who have mastered the ski slopes, or can spin a million times in a minute while balancing on a small blade and manage not to fall on the ice and break their faces. In the Summer Games you have athletes who are masters of the pool, or do tons of hops, skips, and flips, landing perfectly in a small amount of space. So much talent in one place is inspiring. Well, if you enjoy watching the Olympics, then I strongly encourage you to look into the Native Youth Olympics (NYO). In my village, we have gathered all of our school district's downriver NYO competitors for a three day competition not only of the body, but also the mind. Six schools, fourth through eighth grades, all competing for the glory. Students competed against each other on an intellectual level, testing what they had learned about each of the school's core subjects as well as their knowledge of their own culture. They also competed on a physical level doing events that have been in their culture for centuries. It was said that these events were done during fierce winter storms to help the hunters keep in shape and keeping their abilities that would be used during hunts sharp. These events were mind blowing to watch, some of them I even think could give our World Olympics a run for their money.

Stick Pull

Since most of my readers are interested in the culture of the people out here, the focus of this blog is to tell you of the awesome and unique events these children have competed in the past few days. For the safety of the children in photos, names and villages will be left out. There will be eight athletic events that I will try to explain to you in this blog. I must warn you that these are dangerous and I suggest that you do not try them on your own without some sort of guidance.

Seal Hop: Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of this event because I was judging at another thing during the same time. My students, however, have described for me how it works. Each competitor starts out at the top of a push up. Then, thrusting themselves forward with their feet, they begin hopping down the court, racing against the other students and trying to be the first one across the finish line. This exercises arm strength and balance.

One Arm Reach

Stick Pull: In this event, two students sit across from each other with the bottom of their feet touching each other. Then a stick is held in the middle. A coin toss determines which competitor gets to have their hands in the middle of the stick and which competitor has their hands on the outside of the stick. They are given a countdown and each competitor begins to try to pull the stick away from the person on the other end. The compete three times, whoever wins two rounds is the winner of the match. To make sure it is fair, the competitors switch hand placement each round.

Kneel Jump: Competitors sit on their knees with the tops of their feet flat on the ground. From here, the competitor uses as much strength as they can to heave their body up and land on their feet. Once here, the judges measure how far from the beginning position to the landing position. Whoever jumps the farthest, wins. I wasn't able to get a picture of this event either.

One Arm Reach: This one is one of my favorites and very impressive. There is a ball hanging from a mechanism in front of each competitor. The better they do, the higher it goes. Putting all their body weight on one hand, with the elbow of that hand in their stomach, the competitor attempts to touch a ball in the air with their free hand. This takes a lot of strength and balance and is very dangerous looking. The competitor who can touch the ball higher than the others, is the winner.

Scissor Broad Jump: In this jump, a competitor starts with their weaker foot and steps forward. Then, like scissors, the competitor swings their other foot behind that leg. The competitor then steps forward with the same foot they began with. They kick their other foot in front and then begin their final jump as far as they can forward. Here, their jump is measured and the person who jumps the farthest after three attempts... well, you get the idea. This is very similar to the long jump we all know so well. I have included a video of this jump, seeing as how you need to see it to understand a little better.

Two Foot High Kick

Two Foot High Kick: A ball is hung from a string in this event much like in the One Arm Reach. Then, the competitor attempts to jump up and kick the ball with both feet. I missed most of this competition, but I think this picture captures the essence of the event. The competitor who can kick the ball with both feet at the highest point is the winner.

One Foot High Kick

Alaskan High Kick: I very much wish I could have watched this event. Each competitor, again, has a ball hanging from a mechanism in front of them. The competitor then grabs their less dominant ankle in their hand. Putting all their weight on the hand that aligned with their less dominant foot holds all the body weight as they kick up with their dominant foot and kick the ball. The leg that is being held up cannot touch the ground until the judge says so. The competitor who kicks the ball at the highest point, wins. This is hard to describe. For example. If I am kicking with my right foot, I would hold my left ankle in my right hand. This cannot be let go until the judge says I have succeeded. Then, I will put all of my bodyweight on my left hand and attempt to kick the ball with my right hand. Hopefully that makes sense, because I didn't get any pictures of this event either.

One Foot High Kick: This event was very similar to the Two Foot High Kick. The same ball is hanging again as before. This time, however, the competitor only kicks with one foot. Their other foot has to be suspended in air. The competitor may take a running start if they need to. They must kick with one foot and land on that same foot. I have not only a picture of students doing this, but I also have a video of the highest kick from the competition. This young man was able to kick the ball at 92 inches, which is just four short inches away from nine feet tall! Like before, the competitor who kicks the highest ball, wins.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of these events. It was amazing to get to see so many students enjoying themselves, getting to know other people their age from different villages, and being in touch with their heritage. If it were up to me, I think we would do this a lot more often. I loved the atmosphere and the entertainment value of it all. I hope you all enjoy looking at pictures and videos and really do get an idea of how impressive this culture is. Their activities and athleticism is outstanding. These kids really are talented.