TUNUNAK, AK {ESKIMO VILLAGE}
So the last time I wrote about Tununak, I told you a bit about their traditional dancing as well as a little about how they eat. Today I am going to tell you about their NYO Games {Native Youth Olympics}. NYO is extremely important to the villages of Alaska. The youth train all year and compete against neighboring villages via skype throughout the winter preparing for the big Olympic competition held every year in Anchorage, Alaska. Youth are taught 10 events. These different events represent skills that have been passed down through generations of Alaskan Native people as a way to test their hunting and survival skills. They also help to increase strength and endurance, agility and the balance of mind and body. Not many athletes in other sports could accomplish what these youth can do in these activities.
Considered the headline event of the games, competitors jump off both feet and attempt to kick a ball suspended high in the air with one foot, landing back on that same foot.
A game to test a person’s control over their body. Competitors balance the body on both hands in a squat position. Once the balance has been attained they will reach out with one hand in an attempt to touch a suspended ball. Then the free hand must return to the floor before any other part of the body.
The Alaskan High Kick
Perhaps one of the most acrobatic events, the athlete tries to kick a ball suspended overhead while balancing on a single hand in an event that demands the mind and body work in harmony to maintain control. The athlete who kicks the target at the highest height is the winner.
*Special thanks to Anchorage.net for being a resource for some of the facts provided on this page.
http://www.anchorage.net/articles/nyo-games-alaska
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