Hockey dreams dashed for Kugluktuk next winter

There will be no hockey or curling in Kugluktuk next year.

The hamlet of Kugluktuk won't be putting ice into its rinks next season, in order to trim more than $500,000 from its budget.

The hamlet council made the decision at its meeting on Monday.

Kugluktuk, located about 2,100 kilometres west of Iqaluit, is cutting services to reduce an accumulated debt of about $900,000.

Hamlet senior administrative officer Paul Waye says there will be other cuts as well:

"It's not something that anybody wants," says Waye. "Unfortunately I see no other options. There's no other way to recover this money to get the hamlet out of the debt it's in."

But it's the ice decision that's upset Kugluktuk hockey coach Ron Tologanak.

"It'll be kind of depressing not be able to see hockey. I'm sure there are some kids who have nothing to do during the winter, but when they got into hockey that's all they lived for," he says.

"Because I know some kids, I go visit some homes, right after school, at four o'clock, as soon as school's out they run home and put their hockey gear on and their hockey don't start until six, they're not on the ice. So that's some heart for you for hockey."

The decision will also mean an end to Kugluktuk's dream of fielding a curling team in the next Arctic Winter Games.

Tologanak says the hamlet should let volunteers put the ice in the rink.

Waye says the hamlet will revisit the decision about the ice this fall.

Until then it will be down to the bare floor, which was specially designed for lacrosse and in-line hockey in the summer and ice hockey in the winter.

It was the cost of installing the floor three years ago that put the hamlet into debt.