Athletes from northern Labrador try out for Canada Games thanks to help from travel subsidy
High travel costs make it hard for northern communities to showcase their talent, says advocate
Five volleyball players from northern Labrador are one step closer to competing in the 2025 Canada Games during a tryout session held by the provincial volleyball association in St. John's over the weekend.
While the cost of travel usually makes competing at a high-level an unattainable goal for many in the north, the group was able to use funding and subsidies to get to the island.
Ian Dicker is one of the athletes, and the only one who travelled all the way from Nain.
"[It] feels good to come from Nain," said Dicker. "Volleyball brings a lot of pride to me, making everyone back home proud, showing off my talent and skills."
He said volleyball is important for teenagers like himself in northern communities.
"Everybody plays. We got nothing else to do in Nain, just volleyball all the time," he said. "If I didn't have volleyball, I wouldn't have anything."
Dicker hopes to be selected for Team N.L.
"I've been playing good. I had talked to a few coaches. They just gave me good feedback," he said. "There's a lot of talent here, no doubt about that."
The tryouts held by the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Association were the first chance for athletes born in 2007 and 2008 to make the cut and be chosen for a training pool. While invitations will be sent out to 24 players over the coming weeks, that group will be further reduced to 14. Those players will then compete for the province in the Canada Cup this summer. Then, in the fall, a second cycle will start, which gives the players who didn't get selected a second chance at competing in the Canada Games.
Dicker and his fellow players from northern Labrador were able to showcase their talent in this first selection round thanks to the advocacy of Susan Onalik.
Onalik, also from northern Labrador, knows about the financial barriers families face when trying to send their children to competitions on the island. Travel alone costs more than $2,000, she said, to which accommodation, transportation to venues and meals have to be added.
Onalik approached St. John's-based Indigenous organization First Light about helping the athletes with a travel subsidy.
"A lot of parents, community members, scrambled to make sure that their children had equal opportunity. And coming from Inuit communities, we always kind of band together, and try and help each other out," she said.
"A lot of the youth there are just natural born players and they have such a love of the game. And I know from speaking with them, their passion drives from, not only just the love of the game, they love representing their community."
In addition to First Light's subsidy, the athletes received support from Mokami Travel, which helped secure flights ahead of a storm, and the Labrador Sport Travel Subsidy by the provincial government, which covered 75 per cent of the travel cost.
Yet, Onalik believes athletes from northern Labrador should be given equal opportunity to compete in high-level tournaments, like the Canada Games, by holding tryouts across the province.
"They're so deserving of these opportunities. And those opportunities unfortunately are not dispersed equally in our province because when you look at the higher elite levels, those often happen here in St. John's," she said.
"So, a lot of our youth aren't provided the same opportunities."
Male volleyball head coach for the 2025 Canada Games, Nathan Wareham, agrees that giving athletes from across the province a chance to compete is crucial.
Yet, said Wareham, offering tryouts in remote regions is a big financial task.
"The ultimate goal is to be able to travel the province, especially to remote areas. To do that right now, fiscally it's been a challenge. And quite honestly, I'm not really too sure what the budget is going to be yet for our program," he said.
"Hopefully, funding comes through and the government will provide us with enough funding to allow us to get to these areas. … I think, like anything, if you come up with a positive plan and some solutions that you can reach everyone."
It's also Onalik's hope that teenagers in northern Labrador can be reached and provided with the opportunity to compete for the province.
"They're all really great kids. And I know that their parents and communities are proud. They should be. They have a lot to be proud of," she said.
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With files from William Ping
