Some may say it was long overdue, but Sport Nunavut has officially recognized the years of effort that Arviat's Gleason Uppahuak has invested in Kivalliq youth sports.
Last week, he received notification that he will be presented with a Special Recognition Award for the 2024-25 sporting year during the territorial sporting organization's annual awards gathering in Iqaluit on Oct. 4.
Uppahuak said he was both proud and humbled when he received notification of the pending award.
He said he was happy for his people and his community for the attention he hopes the award will bring to Arviat.
"It really felt like the hours of our time we give up to help out with sports was being recognized and that was a good feeling," said Uppahuak. "There's a fair number of people out there who, like myself, give up a lot of time to youth sports and it's always nice to see that recognized."
Uppahuak, 40, who has always used motivation in his approach to organizing and running both sporting teams and events, said he will use the recognition award to further spark extra motivation from within himself moving forward.
He said when it comes to sports in particular, he's always motivated.
"I still have further plans to get to in sports and this award will give me more of an edge in wanting to execute those plans.
"It's nice to get a clap on the back every now and then and this will even further motivate me to execute what I want to a see with my involvement in hockey.
"After I thought about it a little bit, I, kind of, started thinking back to some past times. When I first started coaching, I was 14 or 15, and that's when my desire to do more than just play really started. At that time, I had absolutely no idea where I'd be today in the hockey world and it's been a great ride so far.
"I think it's a fair statement that I stuck to my guns over the years and never deviated from my plans. I think, overall, I've done well up to this point."
Most people outside of Arviat don't realize that Uppahuak spends three hours a day, seven days a week at the rink coaching, playing and officiating.
It's a different story when it comes to the administrative side of his efforts now, however.
"I don't need a lot of hours on the administrative side of things. I've been doing this for so long now that I can finish planning for our major tournaments in one hour. All the platforms and systems I've put in place over the past 20 years helped me become efficient and it makes the task a lot more enjoyable.
"And I've always enjoyed what I do since day one."
