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The 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John鈥檚, NL, is hosting the largest Team Nunavut contingent in the event鈥檚 history, which includes a player-turned-coach in Ian McDonald. 

Hailing from Iqaluit, the 25-year-old McDonald has been playing beach volleyball and indoor volleyball for nearly a decade and represented Nunavut at the 2019 and 2022 games. 

He's one of 86 players and coaches from Nunavut making it to the nationwide tournament.

In this year鈥檚 event, McDonald is passing along his experience as an assistant coach for the men鈥檚 indoor volleyball team. He also helped train the beach volleyball squad ahead of their matches on Aug. 11. 

鈥淭he guys are looking really good, really strong, and I think we can compete,鈥� McDonald told Nunavut News. 

Team Nunavut鈥檚 male indoor volleyball team is practising at a gym in Glovertown, NL, nearly 300 km from where they鈥檒l have their first match on Aug. 19. 

Players from PEI, Nova Scotia and Yukon will face off against the Nunavut volleyball squad over two days before the elimination round. 

鈥溾�奍 think we can compete in every game and show that Nunavut can bring a strong team to the games,鈥� McDonald said. 

This men鈥檚 indoor volleyball team has practised together for two years and played at the 鈥奛orth American Indigenous Games and Arctic Winter Games in 2023, McDonald explained. 

Prior to coaching the indoor team, McDonald spent nine days with the beach volleyball squad in Halifax, where players got used to playing on the sand for the first time. 

鈥淔irst of all, you have to make sure their feet don鈥檛 burn because the sand does get really hot,鈥� McDonald said. "They're used to playing indoors where you can just jump whenever you like. You need a little bit of footwork to jump on the beach sand.鈥�

The men's indoor volleyball team earned Nunavut its first win at the games on Aug. 20, beating the Northwest Territories three sets to one: 15-25, 25-15, 25-14 and 27-25.

Wednesday's match also marked Nunavut's first set win of the games.

On Tuesday, the men's team dropped their first game in three sets to PEI by scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-15. 

The women's indoor volleyball team is still looking for their first win of the tournament, losing 25-14, 25-17 and 25-15 to Newfoundland, as well as a close match against the Northwest Territories: 25-23, 27-25 and 25-16.

Team Nunavut has dealt with a tough start to the games, losing all their matches in basketball and beach volleyball. 

This is the first year Nunavut has sent a basketball team to the Canada Summer Games. 

Whatever the scoreboard reads at the final buzzer, McDonald said he wants Team Nunavut鈥檚 athletes to proudly represent their home territory in front of the rest of the country.

鈥溾�奍 want them to show what Nunavut鈥檚 capable of, and that even though we're so small in population and so spread out, it's still possible to compete with other larger provinces and territories,鈥� he said.