The NWT Sport Community is deeply saddened by the passing of Father J.M. Mouchet, December 2, 2013. Father Mouchet played an instrumental role introducing the sport of Cross Country Skiing across the North. He was a dedicated cross country skier and coach.

Father Mouchet founded the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) Program. The program grew to include many Northern communities, including the home base of the program in Old Crow, Yukon. It was Father Mouchet’s hope that providing the community with competitive and recreational sports training it would serve in delivering “more self-esteem and confidence, motivation and a tool for the rest of their lives in a complex and complicated world”. The inspiration that cultivated from this program stimulated ski club development and cross country ski training programs in communities across the Northwest Territories. The program left a legacy that not only spreads across the Northwest Territories, but the Yukon as well.

Father Mouchet has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally. He was inducted in the Yukon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, awarded the Yukon Commissioner’s Award in 1981, awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National due Merite in 1987 from the French Government, awarded the Order of Canada in 1993 and most recently inducted into the 2013 NWT Sport Hall of Fame.

Father Mouchet will be deeply missed by the Sport Community throughout the North and to those that knew him. He was a man who promoted sport, healthy living and gave his time generously to the sport of Cross Country Skiing.  Farewell Father Mouchet and thank you for all you given to sport.