Chantal and Alexandrine: Giving girls from Nunavik a chance to discover physical activity in a different way!

At Nuvviti School in the Inuit community of Ivujivik, home to a population of some 450 residents, FitSpirit is taking on a profoundly human form adapted to the pace of life and the realities of young girls from the region, which lies more than 1,600 km from Kuujjuaq.

Spearheading this initiative are Chantal, psychoeducator, and Alexandrine, teacher. Both have served as FitSpirit Program Leaders since 2024.

Together, they offer much more than an extracurricular program: In spite of the northern setting and the challenges that go along with living in this region, they offer a FitSpirit team whose participants find fulfillment through physical activity.

A relationship with sports that’s all about fun and team spirit

Chantal was heavily involved in sports as a teen. She spent considerable time at the gym and doesn’t recall ever feeling excluded.

 “I always practised team sports like baseball and soccer. I love cooperation and being part of a shared commitment. I’m a team player, a leader, a motivator.”

Alexandrine, for her part, grew up in a family where being active was a regular part of the routine. Soccer, volleyball, dance, hiking, cycling — practising sports was a given.

“Sports was an integral part of my life, but the emphasis was never on performance. It was mostly for fun and to spend time with my friends.”

Implementing FitSpirit in Nunavik

After arriving at Nuvviti School, Chantal realized the daunting challenge that lay ahead: Many teens had disengaged from their physical education courses, with some avoiding them altogether. As she was already familiar with FitSpirit, Chantal approached Alexandrine about launching the program together.

The two women went on to join forces, well aware that close collaboration was key if FitSpirit was going to succeed in adapting to local realities and their already busy schedules.

“We quickly defined our roles, but more importantly, we knew that there had to be two of us to make it work.”

Offering a space geared exclusively to girls

In a region more favourably disposed toward male teams, where opportunities to practise sports are limited for girls, FitSpirit is creating a space where participants can discover the joys of being active in a caring and safe environment free of judgment.

By its second year, the program had already gained in popularity, with the number of participants increasing from seven in 2024-2025 to 12 in 2025-2026. This growth in popularity saw the participants build self-confidence and assert themselves: They were empowered to further express themselves and assume their rightful places.

“We’re seeing leaders emerge, girls who would not necessarily take the initiative to join in a context involving mixed activities.” 

Geneviève Simigak, a FitSpirit participant from Nuvviti School, has seen first-hand how this caring environment can make a real difference: “Thanks to FitSpirit, I feel healthier in my head and in my body. I enjoy getting active with my friends, where it’s just the girls, because I feel more comfortable and I don’t have to worry about the boys looking on.”

An Arctic reality that inspires flexibility and creativity

At Nuvviti School, FitSpirit training sessions are held every Wednesday during lunch hour. As students usually go home to eat and the school does not have a cafeteria, Chantal and Alexandrine have adapted to this reality, coaching the girls through physical activities and helping them with meal preparation.

Each week, Chantal and Alexandrine shop for groceries, after which they work with the participants to plan the menus and prepare the meals before sitting down to eat together.

While some of their food-related experiments fell short of expectation, like the pita bread pizza with vegetables, other dishes became staples, including the General Tao Tofu and the tacos with chicken Ceasar salad. This friendly meal event was a weekly occurrence, thanks to the budget allocated by the school administration.

Adapting to polar bear alerts, blizzards, limited hours of sunlight and the lack of local resources called for flexibility and creativity, but that did nothing to dampen the FitSpirit experience for participants.

“We can’t invent recipes. We make do with what we have, based on what’s available at the store in front of the school.”

Motivate, encourage and celebrate each effort

If there was a magic ingredient, it would undoubtedly be the infectious energy that Chantal and Alexandrine brought to this initiative. Creative, engaged and deeply dedicated, they pulled out all the stops to keep the participants interested, with indoor and outdoor activities, sports-related discoveries, and challenges adapted to the pace of each participant, mixed in with moments of sheer fun, like the tag games inside the school, set to music through the intercom. Everything was done to put enjoyment front and centre.

Always with an open ear, Chantal and Alexandrine coached the girls and encouraged them to believe in their abilities. After each training session, the participants felt proud of what they had achieved. For Chantal and Alexandrine, this sense of accomplishment, over time, served as further motivation.

In the spring of 2026, they plan to attend their first FitSpirit Celebration in Montreal, a milestone moment that is sure to lend concrete meaning to their commitment, while allowing the teens to soak in a unique experience, perhaps marking their first trip outside of their community.

Sowing the seeds for the future

Through their involvement, Chantal and Alexandrine hope to share a simple but powerful message with young girls from Ivujivik: Commitment forges the path forward, and through action we can create positive experiences in connection with sports, where everyone reaps the benefits.

Knowing that they are merely passing through the lives of these teens, Chantal and Alexandrine nonetheless hope to leave a lasting impression: “We only have a short window of time in which to make an impact on girls’ lives. If some of them carry the torch and go on to become physical activity leaders in their own communities, then we will have the sense that we’ve accomplished our mission.”

Seeing the impact that their efforts have had at Nuvviti School, and the indelible mark they have left on the lives of these participants, shows that girls’ participation in sports is both possible and beneficial, even in Nunavik.

Thanks to our partner Manulife, who is committed to developing healthy lifestyles for the well-being and health of everyone. Through their support, we are able to continue offering the FitSpirit approach to Indigenous communities.