These games are probably unlike anything you have seen before. We had wanted to attend them in 2007. John's cousin, JoNell, had recommended them. They had always been held in Fairbanks. However, in 2007 they were held in Anchorage. We missed seeing them because we failed to research WEIO so were not at the right place at the right time. We did see a 30-minute video in Fairbanks and knew we wanted to see the competition in person. Before we left home, we had WEIO in our schedule for this year. Above is the women's blanket toss. The natives do this to spot game over the horizon.
This girl is doing the kneel jump. The practicality of this event comes from the quickness and balance one has to have when out on moving ice during break up. Her parents sat in front of us. They told us she is a pre-med student. She won first place.
This activity is the two-foot high kick. The winner was able to kick the suspended ball at 96 inches with both feet at the same time and land on both feet at the same time. Years ago in the coastal whaling villages, the people of the town learned of a successful hunt when an approaching messenger would jump and kick both feet into the air while running.
This is the one-foot high kick. The contestant balances on one hand and one foot. He then springs up on one hand, kicks the suspended ball and comes down in control. He cannot let any part of his body touch the floor, except the hand and foot which touched the ball. This boy broke the record at 8 feet. He practiced at home touching the ceiling which was that height. This gave a message that help was needed because a whale had been taken or a caribou was nearby.
Other competitions included four-man carry, ear pull, knuckle hop, arm pull, greased pole walk, stick pull, fish cutting and seal skinning. They also had a native baby and Miss WEIO contests. Every evening natives from some of the remote villages demonstrated their native dances.
If you would like more information and see more videos, you can check out the WEIO website:
http://www.weio.org/mm_videos/index.php?VidCat=2008
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