When we started thinking about this segment, we were interested in a story that tied into the 2007 Canada Winter Games but wasn’t actually about the event. Every conventional aspect of Canada’s biggest multi-sport and cultural event had been reported on, probably more than once, so that left us seeking an offbeat angle that no one else had considered.

Naturally, we thought of mascot violence.

The Canada Winter Games apparently has three mascots, so the potential for incidents seemed, if not high, then certainly humorous. But even the outlandish subject of people attacking mascots came off a little conventional once we realized someone else had already whacked it pretty hard with the spoof stick. So, we decided to flip the issue around and explore ways to defend oneself in the event of an unprovoked attack by a mascot. We (or mostly Mark) envisioned informative interviews with local animal control officers, Yukon government biologists, dog trainers, judo and karate instructors, psychologists, and the like—with much hilarity to follow.

Fortunately, our CBC executive producer suggested another topic might be more radio-friendly. This had the upside of leaving us with plenty of ready-made Canada Games material for the web site (see the online poll)—and the downside of forcing us to scramble for an alternate topic.

After reading Dennis Zimmerman’s Fish on Yukon blog, Mark had a half-baked idea for a story about the injustice of ice fishing’s exclusion from the Canada Games. Jesse, understandably, was lukewarm. Mark’s next idea came when he was visiting Yukon College one afternoon. Looking over at the beautiful new Athlete’s Village, he wondered if it might benefit from the presence of two self-appointed idiots. However, beyond that basic premise lay a wasteland barren of any real workable ideas. Jesse, thankfully, was again lukewarm.

This sorry situation became the topic of conversation between Jesse and Mark over Flipper Lunch at Boston Pizza on February 2nd. As the other club members discussed their various plans to get out of town during the Canada Games, the proverbial light bulb came on. A little of the ice fishing idea survived insofar as “renting out the house and getting out of town” would be spun into an unofficial Canada Games sport. But other than that, we were off and running with a brand-new idea that had us—and everyone we pitched it to—pretty excited.

Our first interview occurred the next day with a friend who—bless her heart—was renting out her house for the full two weeks and planning to bunk with a friend rather than leave town. With the story still in early development, we weren’t sure if we would be able to use the interview. As it turns out, it didn’t fit the angle. (Thanks all the same to our interview subject; you know who you are).

Mark left town shortly thereafter and returned exactly one week before the segment broadcast date. At that point, we only had one unusable interview in the bag, so we kicked into high gear to hit up friends who had jumped at the Northstay bait. But first—a quick Valetine’s Day interview in the Sport Yukon office of an extremely busy Trevor Twardochleb. Despite the way in which his comments may have been framed in the radio segment, Trevor was extremely upbeat, if realistic, about the prospects for Team Yukon at the Canada Games. Hats off to him for all the hats he’s been wearing for this event.

Later that day, Mark and Jesse hooked up for an oh-so romantic dinner at the post-pox residence of a couple who were preparing to board a plane to points south the next morning, leaving their house to some trusty folks from the Prairies. (If you ever wonder just how far Mark and Jesse will go to bring you a silly story, back up and read that “pox” part again.) Suitably bribed with homemade pizza, our hosts gave some very good clip. (Note to future interview victims: pizza home delivery is NOT standard operating procedure.)

Later in the week, Mark tried unsuccessfully to scare up a sound bite from a local travel agent , learning in the process that the position seems to require an inviolable Vow of Silence. Meanwhile, he also shook down friend Thane Phillips for the names of a few more Team Yukon Northstay competitors.

Step right up, Andy Preto and CBC’s own Elyn Jones.

Between the interview with the polished Andy and even more radio-ready Elyn, we tried and failed to get a usable clip from another friend whose mood, at least on the chosen interview day, could best be described as casually hostile.

A last minute push to identify a few of Northstayers (Northgoers?) yielded a lot of dead ends—in other words, people who were heading to beaches all over the Western Hemisphere, but couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of renting their houses out.

The final production meeting took place on the Saturday before the segment aired. Jesse and Mark listened to the clips, compiled a rough shot list, and hashed out a draft script over a big order of North Dragon take-out (Official Chinese Food of Smells Like Yukon) and the periodic screaming of a six-month old. By the time the baby was out of the bath water, Jesse had whipped up some copy for a few key voiceover transitions and the draft script was ready for polishing, recording and editing. At that point, Jesse took his gear home, laid down the voice track, and twiddled his knobs or whatever he does to put the piece together. That lasted into the wee hours of the night and consumed a large part of the next day.

The finished piece was delivered to CBC on Monday morning, where it underwent some minor tweaks for sound levels. Another segment was good to go. Mark heard the piece for the first time, along with many of you, when it aired the next morning.

(Posted February 2007)