"It’s unusual to see so many elderly people playing team sports, it’s fun to watch"says Jennsinnguaq Lundblad who attends a championship of sports for the elderly that takes place in the remote town of Ilulissat, in Greenland.
Every year, this championship attracts retired teams from this vast autonomous Danish territory.
In this championship, passions are felt both on the field and in the fervent fans that support the 239 players who play handball, hockey and soccer matches.
Laila Moller, 68, says she doesn’t want to spend her secluded retirement at home.
"When you retire, you’re usually at home, so it’s good for me to move around and be with other people."says the athlete during the tournament in Ilulissat.
"It’s very good, we are a lot of people"he points out.
However, bringing everyone together in one court is not as simple as it seems, since Greenland is the largest island in the world and most of its territory is covered by ice.
Transportation costs are sky-high, as much of the island is only accessible by air or sea.
But the ten teams in competition received grants to ensure their participation in the tournament.
Magrethe Jakobsen, from 74 years old, traveled from Paamiut, a village about 800 kilometers away, located in the south of the island.
At home they train twice a week and a third day is dedicated to physical conditioning.
"This implies that we meet on monday, wednesday and friday", tells the woman dressed in a purple shirt.
"I do it to move, to socialize"he adds.
Each game lasts about 20 minutes and the participants take turns act as referees during the match.
Most athletes are past retirement age and their movements are slow and sometimes clumsy, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the teams or the public.
Grete Street, 66, claims that In this championship the important thing is not to win.
"Everyone can move. Perhaps some are more flexible than others"but that’s not important, says the woman.
In the stadium, the children give encouragement and applaud the plays of the elders, reinforcing the atmosphere of cohesion that reigns in the room.
"Here we are all together, Greenlandic style"Grete concluded.