Nunavut's 1st beach volleyball team hits the sand at the Canada Summer Games

Whenever Ian McDonald tells someone he plays beach volleyball for Nunavut, they tend to reference the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1993 film Cool Runnings. 

"Honestly, it's pretty accurate — except, like, kind of the opposite," McDonald, 22, told As It Happens guest host Paul Hunter.

"We're coming from the North, playing in hot [weather], whereas they came from, like, the hot Jamaica and played ice sports."

McDonald is one of four athletes representing Nunavut in beach volleyball for the first time at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ont., along with his men's team partner Aiden Anawak, and women's team members Shawna Kyak and Talia Grant.

"A lot of people at home are extremely surprised because we don't have any beaches to play on, and nobody ever thought Nunavut would have a beach volleyball team," he said.

"Everyone's asking where we train or how we train, because they still think we live in ice and snow during the summer, you know?"

While Nunavut is certainly not winter and ice all the time, it is significantly cooler than, say, Ontario in August. And while there is a beach outside of Iqaluit, it doesn't have ideal conditions for the game.

"We tried playing on our beach, but it was a little dangerous because it's kind of a gathering spot for people who like to have bonfires and whatnot," McDonald said. "So there's, like, wood all over the sand, nails all over the sand, and glass."

That means the team, which formed in 2019, has mostly been practicing inside a gym in Iqaluit.

But in preparation for the Games, they spent their summer travelling and training in the sand — first a week in Halifax, then two-and-a-half weeks in Kelowna, B.C.

"It was very difficult at first, like running in the sand, not to mention the