Dene games is something we're used to seeing a lot of in Yellowknife. Each year, the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT organizes the Traditional Games Championships, which includes a Dene games component.

We honour the sporting traditions of the Circumpolar North by playing games that the Inuit and Dene have played for generations.

A way to show off strength, sharpen on-the-land survival skills and bring people together, Dene games are also played today to celebrate and share culture. Next month, when athletes descend upon Fort Smith and Hay River in the South Slave, some of them will be competing in finger pull, snow snake, and stick pull; and the team sports of pole push and handgames.

Handgames

If youSA国际影视传媒檝e spent some time in the NWT or Yukon, youSA国际影视传媒檝e likely watched handgames being played in the community. Sometimes called SA国际影视传媒渟tick gambling,SA国际影视传媒� the aim of the eight-person game (two teams of four) to bring all 12 of the game sticks over to your side by concealing your own small objects in your hands and guessing where the other team has hidden theirs. The hand signals used in the game vary by community but at the AWG, weSA国际影视传媒檒l be following the four calls set out by the AWG International Committee. One match consists of winning two rounds of play (all 24 sticks).

Pole push

The second team sport is pole push. Somewhat self-explanatory, two teams standing on opposite sides of a wooden pole try to push each other out of a marked boundary, both teams holding the pole no higher than their shoulders and no lower than their hips. Depending on the length of the pole, teams can fit up to 25 athletes on each team. During the AWG, contingents will be sending four players each. The best of three SA国际影视传媒減ushesSA国际影视传媒� wins.

Finger pull

Finger pull is an Alaskan game of strength and endurance, where two athletes sit facing each other and after bracing their arms and legs, they lock their middle fingers between the first and second knuckle. One player is designated SA国际影视传媒渙ffensive,SA国际影视传媒� while the other is SA国际影视传媒渄efensive.SA国际影视传媒� When given a signal, the offensive competitor begins to pull, slowly and steadily, with the aim of causing the defensive athleteSA国际影视传媒檚 arm to move or their finger to straighten. The best of three SA国际影视传媒減ullsSA国际影视传媒� wins.

Snow snake

Snow snake is an outdoor game, where athletes throw a thin spear underhand down packed snow, often starting from a running position. The person to slide the snow snake the furthest in this game of power and accuracy wins. In the past, the snow snake was a used to hunt moose and caribou that were lying down on the ice.

Stick pull

Lastly, we have stick pull, a game where one player from each team stands next to the other, each athlete holding one end of a greased stick while staring ahead with their knees straight. On the start signal, the athletes try to pull the stick straight out of their opponentSA国际影视传媒檚 hand SA国际影视传媒� no twisting or bending is allowed. The game helps athletes develop grip strength, which is important for all sorts of on-the-land skills. Like in finger pull, the best of three SA国际影视传媒減ullsSA国际影视传媒� wins.