61 handgames teams — most ever — vie for $100K in Behchoko, N.W.T., tournament
Alyssa Mosher | CBC News | Posted: March 12, 2017 7:10 PM | Last Updated: March 12, 2017
Learn more about what 549 people are playing this weekend in largest handgames event yet
What's believed to be the largest handgames tournament in N.W.T. history is happening this weekend in Behchoko, N.W.T., a community of about 2,000.
More than 60 teams made up of nearly 550 people are playing for the $100,000 jackpot, the most-ever offered at a handgames tournament in the territory.
Handgames are a traditional Dene sport, each game usually played by two teams of nine men.
Each player on the team has a small object, like a penny or a marble, in their hands that they're trying to hide from the opposing team. The teams take turns trying to guess correctly.
Players on the "defending team" (the ones hiding the objects) are seen bobbing along and singing to the beat of the traditional drums playing around them during the game, which is meant to throw off or intimidate the team that's guessing.
While this is happening, the defending players are also moving the object from hand to hand, often concealing their hands under a blanket or jacket that's lying in front of them.
Once each player chooses which hand to keep the object in, the opposing teams' players have to guess the correct hand. If they do, they get a point, which is tracked by the number of sticks each team has.
The team with all 12 sticks at the end of the game wins.
Games can last as short as 10 minutes or run longer than four hours.
With still more matches to get through, the Behchoko tournament champion won't be crowned until late Sunday night or early Monday morning.