When registration began for the 2021 Walk to Tuk, organizers said they were aiming to get every single community registered. Turns out they almost did with 29 out of 33 NWT communities registering to take part.
Altogether, 495 (371 from the NWT) teams registered for the event with a total of 5,876 participants, making this the largest event in Walk to Tuk history.
Bri Krekoski, NWT Recreation and Parks Association Director of Active Communities says the Walk to Tuk team set their sights on motivating all NWT communities and residents to stay active and engaged in a safe and healthy way despite the barriers that the pandemic presents.
“Our goal is to support NWT resilience and health. We are overjoyed that communities around the country are using Walk to Tuk to stay active, healthy and connected during a time when getting together in person is not always safe or easy.”
Walk to Tuk also gives the NWTRPA a platform to feature northern stories, places, people, and history, says Krekoski.
“We have a chance to highlight both the positive and darker historical significance of walking long distances and being out on the land. We aim to use our weekly Walk to Tuk news to tell some of these stories and feature the incredible programs, places and people of the North.”
To help motivate the participants and to get as many people involved as possible, Walk to Tuk also offers prizes such as:
- $1000 grants for teams to get active together,
- Team lunches,
- Snowshoes, walking poles, books, swag, and gift cards,
- Walk to Tuk T shirts for those who participate in photo & story contests,
- Grand prizes: 2 Canadian north flight passes, or a fat bike (for school teams).
Walk to Tuk is the biggest and longest recreational physical activity event in the territories; taking place for eight weeks during January and February where community members, schools, and workplaces form teams and together, conceptually walk the distance of the Big River from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk, a total of 1,658km.
