Kihew Hunter shot from the start line like a beam of light on her yellow Ski-Doo at Yellowknife’s Race On The Great Lake. 

Focused on the finish line, she didn’t look at her competitor next to her, but charged to the end.

The six-year-old’s proud father beamed and clapped as he watched her on a sunny Saturday morning. It was her third time in the snowmobile competition that is now in its fifth year.

“It teaches them how to be a good sport,” said Eagle Quill Hunter. 

Kihew began riding a snowmobile when she was around three, he said.

“Oh, she loves it,” said her father. “She looks forward to [the races] every year.”

Dressed in cobalt-blue snowgear with a black helmet, Kihew’s snowmobile sported an orange-and-white flag.

She said the best thing about racing on her snowmobile is being out in the snow and going fast.

“I want to go home,” she told her father, after she finished her race. 

Kihew’s three-year-old sister, Phoenix, sat on a snowmobile with her dad, watching the races. Phoenix was gearing up to participate next year, he said with a laugh.

Kihew was one of the nearly 20 kids taking part in the two-day snowmobile race event that began on Saturday. Races for the adults were scheduled for later in the day, and continued on Sunday.

A sharp smell of gasoline hung in the morning air, that was filled with the braap-braap sound of snowmobiles. Adults sat on chairs. Dogs on leashes looked around. 

While waiting for their race to begin, the kids flopped on the snow, making snow angels or rested in their parents’ laps. 

As their names were called, they got on their machines. 

Some wanted either mom or dad at the finish line. Others followed the direction of one of the organizers to look for the green light to start, and who to look for at the endpoint.

Cali Bembridge’s seven-year-old son, Murray, was one of the participants.

“It’s fun,” he said, when asked what he likes about the event. “I go very fast.”

His mother laughed.

“It’s a really great community event,” she said, looking around at the crowd. 

“It feels like it’s finally spring. It’s a nicer sort of weekend out.” 

Hayley Frost, one of the organizers of the race, said the kids’ races are categorized by the size of their machine.

“We line them up … and we let them race against each other.”

The length of the track is about 150 metres but the three-and-four-year olds race about half the way. The older kids go the entire length of the track, Frost said.

The youngest participant this year was three-years-old, she said.

The event is not just about fun, but gives children and their parents a chance to enjoy winter, Frost noted.

“We live in the North,” she said. “A lot of our months are snow, and we want to make sure our kids are getting out and experiencing what it is to do a winter sport.”