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YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories — The Mt. Edgecumbe Yup’ik Dance Group led the way onto the Multiplex ice rink for the closing ceremonies of the 20th Arctic Winter Games on Saturday night.

The rest of 350-member Team Alaska was not right behind them.

That’s because, unlike the opening ceremonies six days earlier, the closing had a melting-pot approach, with the nine delegations entering as one giant team from the circumpolar North.

The individual delegations — from Alaska, the Canadian north, Greenland, Sami (northern Scandinavia) and Yamal (Russia) — were virtually indistinguishable because many had already traded Arctic Winter Games clothing and blended together.

That a cultural group was selected as Alaska’s flag bearers was a rarity in an event where culture is ever-present but is perhaps overshadowed by the 19 sports being contested mostly by teenagers.

Led by coach Rachel Moreno, the group consisted of Jason Bavilla of Kotlik (the actual flag bearer), Gracelyn Johnson of Kotlik, Emilyann White of Tuntutuliak and Whitney Walker of Portage Creek. All are students at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, a boarding school in Sitka primarily for Native Alaskans.

What the group lacked in numbers — passport complications kept several from coming — they made up for with energy, performing at various venues around town and twice at sold-out cultural galas.

“Singing, dancing and drumming from your heart. That’s what makes the audience watch,” White said Friday after a presentation for Team Alaska’s support staff.

The hourlong closing ceremonies had music and speeches from various dignitaries, but the awarding of the coveted Hodgson Trophy to the team displaying the best sportsmanship drew the biggest cheers. Nunavut, with its infectious enthusiasm, won the prize.

Then within hours, many of the 2,000 participants were already on their way home, all with indelible memories and many with ulu medals.

Alaska dominated the final medal count, with 202 total (74 gold, 55 silver, 73 bronze). Northwest Territories was second with 111, followed by Yamal (92), Alberta North (90), Yukon (81), Nunavut (67), Greenland (44), Nunavik (24) and Sami (16).

Arctic sports

Earning the last of the medals Saturday for Team Alaska was David Thomas, originally from Kotzebue and now in Palmer. With his ponytail bobbing, Thomas went out first in the knuckle hop and set the mark of 90 feet, 11 inches, which held up against 21 other competitors. With two golds, two silvers and one fifth place, the effort also clinched Thomas the all around gold medal in Inuit Games.

The event — contested only by men — is an exercise in pain tolerance, as participants must hop on their knuckles in pushup position until they either collapse in exhaustion or are halted by an official for losing their form. Many immediately seek treatment for shredded knuckles. The crowd at St. Joseph’s School urged the competitors on, clapping for each grueling hop.

Though Thomas couldn’t give much advice to others during the knuckle hop because it’s a one-attempt event, he did so all week, showing the sportsmanship and camaraderie that is a hallmark of the Inuit Games and Dene Games.

Thomas was also awarded a Fair Play Pin, which he called a “high honor.”

“I learned a lot from watching other competitors throughout the years, and also I taught myself a lot of the different techniques,” Thomas said after winning Friday’s one-hand reach despite sharing tips with teammates and other competitors. “Now that I know what I’m doing, I can help them out and give back what I’ve learned. I feel that it’s very important.”

Candice Parker of Anchorage, who guided Alaska’s 10 female competitors in Inuit Games, said Thomas’ presence was also beneficial for her squad.

The four-time coach said the future is bright for Alaskans in Arctic sports.

“This is probably the best group of juniors that I’ve worked with as far as representing Alaska and the spirit of the games and hitting their personal bests,” Parker said, adding that winning medals isn’t what’s important to her. “As long as the spirit of the games are there, that to me is like a gold (medal).”

Parker summarized the spirit of the games as “sharing and caring, as simple as that sounds, and respect — respect your elders, respect the games, care for your fellow athletes, and share what you know.”

Alaska’s female athletes did that, and the results took care of themselves, with four in the top five of the all around. Erica Meckel of Fairbanks took second overall, followed by Dannielle Malchoff of Anchorage, Tiffany Clark of Nome and Noel Strick of McGrath.

The 20-year-old Meckel came into her first games with just two years of experience and lacking confidence that she would do well. She left with gold ulus in the triple jump, one-foot high kick and two-foot high kick, then credited her teammates for the breakthrough.

“I wasn’t sure we were going to get along,” said Meckel, a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “They’re the main reason I’m having so much fun and doing so well, actually.”

Their cohesion was evident and helped deflect the pressure of big crowds in the biennial event.

“They’re still willing to help even though we all kind of want to win,” Meckel said. “We just want everybody to do their best. You see the potential in somebody and you just want it to come out.”

Meckel, a half-Athabascan whose family comes from Nulato but now mostly lives in Fairbanks, discovered Arctic sports when a woman at UAF recruited her to participate in a demonstration. “She kept pestering me to do it and I finally caved in,” Meckel said.

Then Nicole Johnston of Chugiak recruited Meckel for Team Alaska, an honor in itself considering the retired Johnston has won dozens of ulus in the sport (Johnston was set to be an official this year, but due to health problems could not come).

Now Meckel is hooked on the Arctic Winter Games.

“I hope I can keep coming back every single time. I don’t want to miss another one,” Meckel said. “It’d be nice to kick as high as (Johnston) does. Someday.”

Soccer thrillers

A pair of thrilling indoor soccer finals concluded the team sports for Team Alaska on Saturday morning. First, the junior girls squad topped NWT 1-0, and then the juvenile girls edged Yukon 2-1.

In the junior game, the teams played through a scoreless regulation and overtime, which forced a shootout for the championship.

With the Alaskans ahead 3-2 in the shootout, NWT missed the net on its fifth and final shot. That clinched the title for goalie Shawnee Good and the rest of the team, although they didn’t realize it until coach Matt Dusenberry of Juneau told them.

“Then they put two and two together and were quite excited about it,” Dusenberry said.

In the juvenile game, Alaska fell behind 1-0 early in the second half when a long Yukon shot bounced off goalie Jillian Phillips’ foot and through her legs.

But 90 seconds later, Madeline Woodard of Anchorage got the equalizer after a solo run culminated by a perfect low shot into the left corner.

Then Morgan Hooe of Anchorage scored the game-winner on a left-footed toe ball from a tough angle that somehow slipped through the fingers of the Yukon goalie, who then desperately dove to retrieve the ball on the goal line but knocked it in with 5:45 remaining.

“It felt good, especially scoring with my lazy foot,” Hooe said, referring to her non-dominant side. “I was just hoping for the corner.”

That helped send the Alaskan kickers home on a high. Some will return in 2010 for the southern-most games in history in Grande Prairie, Alberta, located within a few miles of the minimum 55 degrees latitude.