Being new to an unfamiliar city can be hell on a sports columnist.
Trying to dampen feet by establishing connections and getting a sense of prominent local issues is a process which does not come overnight.
As the process has so far evolved, a not-so overwhelming conclusion concerning the significance athletics carries in the Yukon's capital has become abundantly clear.
Simply put, sport in Whitehorse plays a major role in contributing to the lifestyle this community has to offer.
Collective sighs of "no kidding, brainiac," can almost be heard.
After all, it's not like we're curing cancer.
There is, however, an asterisk to this statement.
With the offering comes the responsibility to meet the growing demand to supply each sport with adequate facilities to ensure it continues to thrive.
In a time where scrutiny is attached to how every government nickel is spent, decisions on who needs what the most, at what time, are no doubt arduous.
It would be ignorant at this point to question here any previous allocation of government funds as it pertains to sport.
What can be mentioned is the fact that pleadings for more time and space for training and competition in practically every sport has become an all-too-recurring theme.
During coverage of the Arctic Winter Games in March, it was learned the Yukon's midget boy's hockey squad had to travel out of town to practice outdoors to prepare.
Bush League for a group of young athletes who dedicated their sweat, time and athletic ability to make the Yukon proud of their athletic prowess in the northern circumpolar's greatest sporting showcase.
They, and anyone else who may have endured such circumstances, deserve better support in honing their skills.
Two rinks have been included to be part of a later phase of the multiplex development.
However and whenever it was decided upon, it was a strong decision.
Pools, in-line skating rinks, gyrnnastic centres, golf courses, batting cages, you name 'em.
Anything to offer a healthy alternative to the vices which are evidently abundant to kids as we enter the next millennium.
That said there is another choice which must be made and if we believe all that we've been hearing, it must be made soon.
There are--and have been for a couple of seasons now--more kids playing indoor soccer in Whitehorse during the winter than hockey. It appears to be a trend which will continue to grow.
Speaking from experience, it can be frusttating having a passion for your sport of choice fizzle out simply due to a lack of sufficiently safe venues:
Falling on a dry patch of dirt, where grass should be on a soccer field.
Stumbling backwards on an uneven outfield while attempting to catch a flyball.
Or as the argument deals with the hotly debated indoor soccer facility issue, having your joints ache because the school gym floors are hard on them. Having to run under stands to retrieve a ball, causing unneccessary stoppages in play. Or seeing what seems like a perfect long pass off the wall come bounding back at you because the ball hits an office door in a gyrnnasium.
Not exactly life-threatening stuff.
But when people responsible for scheduling--insert your sport here--begin to visualize the possibility of limiting registration numbers, or decreasing the number of games due to the fact there is not enough space for the kids to play, a major problem would appear to be arising.
Coming from a southern, major-centre city, in all honesty, it is now easy to say a perhaps ignorant perception exists among southerners.
That being a major reason the Yukon has such difficulty producing elite-calibre athletes is simply because there are fewer hopefuls here in generaI. They are also excluded from competing at a level of competition equal to the rest of the nation because of geography.
If that sentiment is true, then fine.
But what has also been learned in a few short months here, is there truly is no shortage of talented, dedicated youngsters.
With it being difficult for them to get to Outside competition, they should have every opportunity to flourish within the territory and have the best facilities this community can offer them.
The indoor soccer facility may have initially been excluded from multiplex development plans.
It's of little consequence, because it may have come in a later stage anyway.
Whitehorse needs one sooner than that.
Not because we all know the opportunity to participate in sport contributes to a generally healthier and safer lifestyle which keeps kids busy with constructive outlets--that's a column for another time--but because it's an integral thread helping to bind the fabric of what we know makes up this city's way of life.
Posted 25 November 2001 (better late than never)
D. Hitch