Development

Amber is part of the 2023 cohort of apprentices who received coaching education and had the opportunity to attend the CWG to further develop their coaching skills. Amber, who also attended the CWG as a coach in 2019, plans to build on her experience in the program to further develop badminton programming in her territory. She has a keen interest in providing additional opportunities to girls in small communities.

"My vision is to get more female athletes involved in sport. A lot of our boys are very athletic; they have more access to a lot of these games." Said Aglukark, "Girls unfortunately do experience life a little bit differently than boys here. We want to ensure that we prepare them and open the door to furthering their participation in sport."

Badminton programs in Nunavut face a unique set of challenges due to the geography of the region. Amber sees these challenges as solvable and believes that overcoming geographical barriers is key to advancing the sport. 

"In the North... all our communities are very far apart. The only way to access different communities is by plane. We need to work towards getting our athletes from one community to another so they can compete against each other."

Involved with badminton since the age of 13, Amber found the Canada Games Apprenticeship Program to be incredibly helpful both for advancing her coaching education and meeting up with like-minded women within the program.

 

"These games were great because I was able to meet a lot of the women that took part in the program, to see them throughout the venues, and be able to get an understanding of where they're at with their coaching... This event definitely did kind of set the foundation and the tone for my future and coaching." 

The program wrapped up at the end of the CWG, but Amber is just getting going. As for what’s next, Amber has a clear-cut vision.

 

"I want to expose kids to the potential opportunities within starting sports earlier and continuing your sport even after high school," she said. "We want to continue opening doors and showing the rest of Canada that we have a lot of athletes that are willing to put in the time. I think we've got a lot of potential to continue building on our strength at the Canada Games."

 

To learn more about the Canada Games Apprenticeship Program, click here.