Cordova twins Taylor and Willow Tiedeman, who have been competing in Alaska Native games since they were in kindergarten, brought home multiple medals from the Avannaa Arctic Games held in Greenland last month.
“I am super proud of them, and they were super proud themselves,” said their father, Nick Tiedeman, who has been coaching the twins since they were in kindergarten.
All the twins’ years of training paid off in Greenland during the inaugural games, held from Feb. 9-14 in Ilulissat, Greenland.
The Alaska team, Team Nunapkut, or “Our land,” consisted of seven female and nine male Native athletes. The Tiedeman twins were the only two junior athletes selected for the trip.
Taylor was named junior all-around female player of the games.
Nick attributed his daughters’ success to their physical strength, which allowed them to compete in many of the games at a high level.
Taylor took first place in the dene stick pull and Willow was third; in the Eskimo stick pull Taylor took first place and Willow was second.
In the head pull – an event where a belt is placed on each athlete’s head over their ears and they try using a connecting tie to pull the other’s belt off – Taylor placed second and Willow was third.
Taylor scored first and Willow got second in the arm pull. In this game, contestants sit on the ground facing each other with their legs intertwined. They then lock at the elbows and pull straight back, to straighten out the opponent’s arm or lie down on their back. The person who lays on their back wins.
Taylor was also placed first and Willow was second in the arsaaqat, a game in which competitors sit on the ground with their feet against their opponent. There are two four-inch sticks with a piece of twine connecting them. Each opponent puts the twine in their hand between their fingers and grabs the stick, which is placed over the middle, and whoever pulls the stick out of the other’s hands wins.
In the two-man carry, Willow took first place and Taylor took second.
Team Nunapkut won the most medals overall among competitors from Alaska, Canada and Greenland.
The twins, now juniors at Cordova High School, train with their dad for a couple of months every year, mostly in the spring, he said. They are also active in basketball and volleyball at Cordova High School.
Nick’s advice to others who want to excel in Alaska Native sports: “Be healthy and active and stick with it.”
