Almost all of the sporting focus right now is on the Arctic Winter Games at the end of the month, but there is another big event shortly following that.

That would be the Canada Winter Games at the end of February in Charlottetown, and Speed Skating NWT has named its team that will make the trip 鈥� and it will be as full a team as there鈥檚 ever been.

A total of nine skaters were introduced on Wednesday: Sage Acorn, Byran Clinton, Luke Dizon, Lochlan Dunn and Kaleb Picek will make up the men鈥檚 squad, while Maica McEachern, Rebecca Messier, Erika Pollard and Kali Skauge will take to the ice on the women鈥檚 side.

Kerry Egan, the team鈥檚 head coach, said the team was selected based solely on performance times.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a minimum time standard skaters have to meet in order to qualify,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had a full team in past years because of that, but we will this year.鈥�

The time standard is also a safety issue, she added.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want a kid out there who can鈥檛 make the standard because that means they may not be stable enough,鈥� she said.

The competition in Charlottetown will start with preliminary races in both the male and female divisions. From there, skaters will be placed in either the upper or lower brackets and will continue racing from there.

Egan said she knows there鈥檚 the possibility of some upper-bracket competition among the ranks.

鈥淲e have some who can punch up, but our kids will be able to stay competitive,鈥� she said. 鈥淭aking a look at who鈥檚 going, I know we鈥檒l be in there against Nunavut, Yukon, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and staying with the Prairie provinces. Ontario, Quebec and B.C. will have the deeper teams, of course, but we鈥檒l be in there.鈥�

A full complement of skaters means the NWT will be able to field two relay teams 鈥� male and female 鈥� for the first time in a long time. The previous two Canada Winter Games saw either/or entered for relays: a male team in 2019 in Red Deer, Alta., and a female team in 2015 in Prince George, B.C. That female team managed to make the A-side final and had a shot at a medal, but they finished fourth.

Egan said that鈥檚 perhaps the most exciting aspect of the team.

鈥淎t the age these kids are at, sometimes they don鈥檛 talk to each other and everything falls apart, to be honest,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur kids all know each other, they鈥檝e worked together and that鈥檚 something they鈥檒l keep working on. Teamwork is one way we鈥檒l be able to respond to the other teams.鈥�

In terms of expectations, Egan said she wants to temper down any sort of goals. Unlike the Arctic Winter Games, where there are multiple age categories, there will only be one per gender in Charlottetown.

鈥淚 will tell you that we will be ready,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing able to put together two full teams post-Covid is amazing and we鈥檒l take every opportunity we get.鈥�