Caught Doing Something Good: Demi Levi
![Demi Levi of St. Michael prepares to compete in the Wrist Carry.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-04-20-2432px-001-1200x900.jpg)
Demi Levi uses her competitive nature to reach her dreams of helping her community.
Camaraderie and Culture
![Side-by-side pictures of an NYO competitor preparing for, then executing, a one-foot high kick inside the St. Michael school gym.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-SMK-NYO-Games-2-Up-2432px-1200x800.jpg)
If you ask a Western Alaska school-aged child to name their favorite sport, the most common response will likely be “Native Youth Olympics,” or NYO. The games aren’t just a way for students to compete and develop athletic skills; they’re also a means for youth to connect to subsistence culture and learn to support each other.
Unalakleet Teens Reach New Heights at NYO
![Wrist-carry competitors race at the 2018 BSSD NYO tournament in St. Michael, Alaska.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-20-bssd-nyo-st-michael-alaska-001-7-1200x900.jpg)
Two Unalakleet competitors, Allie and Arctic Ivanoff, were the highest-scoring athletes in the 2018 statewide Native Youth Olympics. They placed in the top 5 nine times over six separate events during the games held at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
What Makes Native Olympics Special? ‘Camaraderie’ and a Helping Hand, Athletes Say
![NYO competitors from Unalakleet lend each other a helping hand at the 33rd annual BSSD NYO Tournament.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-20-2432px-001-10-1200x900.jpg)
Last weekend’s NYO tournament in St. Michael for the Bering Strait School District showed a strong display of sportsmanship and support. But for those familiar to the games, it’s just business as usual.
Unalakleet Teen Sets Three District-Wide NYO Records
![Allie Ivanoff competes in the Canadian One-foot High Kick in the 2018 BSSD NYO.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-20-2432px-001-3-1200x900.jpg)
Allie Ivanoff of Unalakleet broke three district-wide records at last weekend’s BSSD NYO tournament in St. Michael.
With Dance and the Stick Pull, NYO Opens in St. Michael
![Competitors in the Indian Stick Pull during the 33rd Annual BSSD NYO.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-19-2432px-001-1200x900.jpg)
The 33rd Annual BSSD NYO started Thursday evening in Saint Michael.
An “Eskimo Ninja” Inspires
![Nick Hanson scales a “salmon ladder” in his hometown of Unalakleet.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2015-09-12-nick-hanson-001-2-1200x800.jpg)
Through your support, a recent episode of KNOM’s Story49 featured a young man from Unalakleet, Alaska, whose training in Alaska Native Youth Olympic games helped turn him into a competitor on the nationally-televised show “American Ninja Warrior.”