Road trips for high-performance athletes in Nunavut are the norm. Just ask anyone who's ever competed in a territorial championship or a major games.

But there's always a first time for everything and for the Iqaluit Skating Club, they hit the road to compete in an event they never have before.

Five of the club's top skaters were in Yellowknife on Jan. 17 and 18 for the Skate, Sparkle, and Shine Territorial Competition. They were among dozens of other competitors from the host city along with the Fort Smith and Hay River Skating Clubs from the NWT.

While the skaters hailed from Iqaluit, they called themselves Team Nunavut and as Mia Manocchio, the team's lead, explained, it's the start of what she hopes will be the first of many trips for skaters not just from Iqaluit.

"We're hoping that other skaters can see what these young athletes are doing and get inspiration to want to be here also," she said.

The skaters who made the trip are all at the StarSkate level of the developmental chain. As Skate Canada defines it, StarSkate is where skaters start developing the fundamentals including ice dance, skills, free skate and artistic skating.

"We have 20 StarSkate athletes in Nunavut and these were the five who could qualify to participate in this competition," said Manocchio. "This is the first time we've had skaters compete at a meet outside of the Arctic Winter Games."

The Invitation to go to Yellowknife came earlier in the season, she added, and that's when the wheels got going.

"We just had this crazy idea of 'let's do this' and the crazy parents also followed the idea," she said. "The crazy coach was on board and the crazy kids were all excited. They practiced all through the holidays, the beginning of January and they were going three times a week, two hours each session."

Like every other team that's ever travelled, it cost a pretty penny to make the trip. The estimated price tag was about $20,000, said Manocchio, but there was also the question of where the outfits would come from.

"We don't have these types of dresses in Iqaluit, so we had to reach out to Ontario to help make it happen," she said. "It's a bit easier to convince people to help when they find out it's your first time (laughs)."

Patrick Witzaney-Chown was one of the skaters who hit the ice and he won himself one gold and two silvers in the StarSkate 2 division.

He said the hardware was what he was hoping to get.

"I sprained my ankle right before the competition and I didn't know if I could compete or not, but I'm happy that I could," he said.

Witzaney-Chown is one of a very select group of skaters in the North in that he's a male in a sport which features mostly females.

He's well aware of that and he said it's perfectly alright for boys to do it also.

"I do hope that people realize that it's not just a girls' sport and anyone can do it," he said.

Rylen Esteban also won herself a silver medal in StarSkate 2 and said she's very happy with her result.

"I was hoping to win a medal," she said. "I felt coming to Yellowknife would be a great opportunity and to help work Arctic Winter Games and maybe start my own collection of medals."

That Arctic Winter Games dream is still a couple of years away, she added.

But Tia Kilabuk has already lived out the Arctic Winter Games dream. She was part of the team that went to Alaska in 2024 and hopes to go back in 2026 when the Games are held in Whitehorse.

"I got a lot of experience last year and going back is my goal," she said.