Fifth graders Kahlen Savo, Jake Neketa and sixth grader Hailey Williams travelled to Anchorage to comepete in the Junior Native Youth Olympics.
Dillingham sixth grader Hailey Williams, and fifth graders Kahlen Savo and Jake Neketa were some of the student athletes who participated in the annual Junior Native Youth Olympics in Anchorage this month.
They were in the KDLG studio last week to share how they felt about the games. When it came time to compete, the kids' emotions were mixed.
HAILEY/KAHLEN/JACOB: Excited — Nervous.
HAILEY: I wasn’t nervous, and then like when the event started I was like, oh. No.
TYLER: Did you feel any better as you got into the event?
HAILEY/KAHLEN/JACOB: Yeah.
I asked each athlete about some of the events they participated in. Hailey Williams talked about the Scissor Broad Jump, and what the event represents. She finished in first place.
HAILEY: Scissor broad is to represent how the Eskimos got across the ice. When I placed I was like, ‘What?’ Hardcore.
TYLER: Kahlen Savo broke down the One-Foot High Kick.
KAHLEN: One foot represents here, I'm pretty sure it's a successful hunt. A person would stand on top of a hill and do one foot to tell the people below in the village if it was a successful hunt or an unsuccessful hunt. And the one foot is a successful hunt.
TYLER: So with the one foot, what do you do in that event?
KAHLEN: You start off of two feet, you jump, kick the ball with one and land on the foot you kick the ball with.
Jake Neketa's favorite event at the competition was the Alaskan High Kick.
JACOB: It represents the Eskimos, seeing who could kick the highest in the huts and leave their footprint on the ceiling.
TYLER: What do you do have to do in that event?
JACOB: You sit and you put your hand behind your back, and you grab your hand with the opposite foot and you kick the ball. You land the same way.
TYLER: What makes it fun?
JACOB: I get to kick the ball.
The kids told me they want to compete again in NYO. Williams said that anyone who is interested should participate.
HALEY: It helps us get back to the past for what our ancestors did. I really recommend NYO for everyone. Anyone can do it. Even if you feel like you can't do it, you can do it
KAHLEN: By the way, if you do it and you say you 'can't,' you have to do 10 pushups.
HAILEY: It's the rule.
Neketa and Savo will return for the Junior NYO next year. Williams will qualify for the Senior Native Youth Olympics.
Contact the author at tyler@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200
