National Marksmanship Competition – Part 5

It was back to the grind on May 8.  The hockey rink inside Wurtele Arena was transformed into a standing shooting range while everyone was out enjoying the sites on May 7.  (Read my previous blog post to find out where we went and what we did!)  The range looked pretty much the same except the SIUS targets had been raised and there was a long line of tables & chairs for cadet competitors & coaches to use.  The SIUS targeting screens, pellet bowls, and lane number cards sat on the tables.  The tables were covered in white cloths for aesthetics and to hide all the wires connected to the targeting screens.

            

Similar to the first day of the competition, all teams were given time to “zero-in” their rifles and practice shooting in the standing position.  Shooting while standing seems to be the most challenging for cadets, and possibly for anyone who shoots, because you don’t have the floor to take the stress off your arms & shoulders like when you’re shooting prone.  Add gravity and the weight of the air rifle and you only have a few seconds to remain steady before your hands start shaking.

            

Our first relay began at 9:45am.  All competitors had 15 minutes to shoot ten pellets on target.  You are allowed to sit and rest but you sacrifice time.  I kept a close watch on my team, making sure they were following the proper techniques, and keeping their bowls full of pellets.

            

The second relay was at 11:45am.  The cadets finished past noon but that wasn’t a problem.  The mess hall at Nelles Block is open for 2 hours during lunch time.  Plus, we avoided the long lines.

            

We had a few hours to spare before our third relay in the afternoon.  There is a large outdoor workout playground behind the Naden Athletic Centre (NAC).  The playground features handlebars, balancing beams, chin up bars, handstand bars, and large tires.  The cadets played around a bit, building up their muscles, hanging upside down, and trying to maintain their balance.  We walked over to the CANEX store and spent some time looking around and buying a few things.  We returned to the NAC and played basketball & volleyball for the remainder of our free time.

            

NAC gym.  Arctic Bay can use one of these.

The third standing relay began at 2:50pm and was exactly the same as the first two.  There’s not much else to say either than the cadets made it through without any difficulties. 

           

Fast forward to May 9, the last day of the competition.

       

Last April, I wrote about the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash that occurred in Saskatchewan, and how Inuujaq School wore sports jerseys on April 12 to remember the victims of the crash.  Similarly, there is a small memorial inside the Wurtele Arena, just next to the hockey rink.  It’s a green hockey stick held upright with the Humboldt Broncos logo painted on the floor.  The arena staff must have made it just a few days after the tragedy was made public.

            

The last standing relay for 3045 began at 9:45am.  The process was the same as before.  Shoot all your pellets on target within the given 15 minutes.  Once the team was done and cleared to leave the range, the cadets put their rifles and shooting jackets away in the change room.  The final results would be posted just before lunch.

            

We walked down to a nearby dock to see if the boat rides were still operating.  Thankfully, they were.  One of the activities teams could do between relays is get a tour of the harbour while being driven on Zodiac boats.  We were met by naval personnel who gave us a short briefing on how to put on the DND life vests and how to behave on the boats.  We were then escorted to two Zodiac boats. 

            

Canadian warships.

Fisgard Lighthouse

The tour began with a slow drive out of the harbour.  Our tour guides pointed out the various destroyers, frigates, submarines, and coast guard vessels that were docked.  Surprisingly, one of the military vessels in port was from New Zealand.  It was here for maintenance.  Once out of the harbour, the drivers increased the speed of the Zodiacs and headed towards Fisgard Lighthouse.  I was able to take a few good photographs of the structure from sea level.  There also happened to be a very large tanker ship anchored out in the bay.

            

CFB Esquimalt.

Cole Island.

I think one of my cadets has
aspirations on becoming a movie star.

The boats were turned around and we drove towards Cole Island.  The water within the harbour was calm.  I don’t do well on boats, especially if there’re large waves and the boats move up & down a lot.  The Canadian Navy used to store ammunition for its warships on Cole Island between 1862 and the 1930s.  All that remain are a few derelict buildings and a lot of trees.  Wooden decks & paths have been added to make it easier for visitors to explore.  Information plaques have also been installed to explain the island’s military history.  We stayed on Cole Island for 15 minutes.  Our tour guides returned us to the docks and the tour came to an end.  We thanked them for showing us around and handed back the life vests. 

We returned to Wurtele Arena to see the final results.  Unfortunately, 3045 did not make it to the Finals.  “Well, at least we tried,” I told my cadets.  “We’re the only team from Nunavut that made it to Nationals.  There’s always next year.”  British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario would “battle it out” in the Finals.  The remaining teams loaded their air rifles into a cube van that would be driven back to Work Point in the late afternoon.

Several alterations were made to the setup.  For starters, a lot of chairs were placed in the hockey rink for spectators to watch the relays up close.  The two screens & projectors on opposing sides of the rink were also moved up so that everyone could see the shooting results instantaneously.  The line of tables had been removed.  Two lines of chairs were made in front of the shooting mats: one for the competitors and one for the coaches.  CTV News was also present to record footage for tv.  They interviewed a few officers and cadets before the start of the Finals.

The Junior Finalists were the first to compete.  Each competitor was introduced over a loudspeaker.  They walked to their assigned shooting lanes while the audience clapped and a song played.  The competitors chose their entrance songs.  They were then joined by their coaches.

The Juniors shot one prone relay & one standing relay.  They had to really focus while music played over loud speakers and people were cheering them on.  When the cadets of 3045 practice on weekends, the range remains quiet . . . except for the sounds of pellets hitting the backboards.  The highest score you can get in a relay is 109 – shooting 10 perfect shots.  (A perfect shot is 10.9).  Two perfect relays add up to 218.  The highest score was 205.8 from Quebec.  BC came in second with a score of 199.2 and Ontario came in third with 190.0.

Top Open Finalists.

Top Open Finalists.

The Open Finalists – aka the senior cadets – were next.  The same procedures were followed for introductions and shooting relays.  In the end, Quebec came in first place with a score of 214.4, Ontario came in second place with 207.4, and Quebec came in third place with 197.2.

The Ontario & Quebec teams were thrilled to have so many competitors win medals.  Another example of the fierce rivalry between English & French Canada.

The competition organizers did a short presentation to the staff of Wurtele Arena after the final relay.  They were given gifts as a thank you for letting the Cadet Program use the arena for the National Competition. 

The formal awards ceremony was held at Nixon Gym in Work Point.  Everyone was required to wear their dress uniforms, but not the tunic, for the occasion.  Naturally, everyone was given time after dinner to shower & prepare their uniforms.  There was assigned seating and the 3045 Marksmanship Team was given the front row on the right side.  The awards tables were front & centre, full of medals and trophies.  To our right was the podium and the fourteen flags (Canada, provinces, and territories).  Two senior cadets acted as English & French emcees.  The ceremony began at 7pm.

3045 at the Awards Ceremony.

The program called for twelve awards to be given out.  I don’t have enough space to list them all and post all the accompanying photographs.  I’ll have to make do with a few.  In short, every cadet that was called to receive a medal/award was all smiles.  Several cadets received more than one medal.  Awards can be won individually and as a team. 

Top Junior Prone (left) & Top Junior Standing (right) shooters.

Top Open Prone (left) & Top Open Standing (right) shooters.

Latest additions to the 100 Club.

There were a few other awards that cadets could achieve.  One was the 100 Club.  To receive this award, a cadet has to shoot a (perfect) score of 100.  It can be done during any relay.  Another is the Esprit de Corps Award, given to the team that completes a scavenger hunt and displays exemplary teamwork. 

The award I need to aim for is the Top Coach Award.  I didn’t know about it until the end of competition.  The coaches nominate someone by secret ballot.  I knew I wasn’t going to win because this was my first time at the Nationals.  None of the other coaches knew me.  There’s always next year.

Esprit de Corps Award recipients.

Top Army Cadet Unit Award recipients.

Official Handover

Once all the awards were given out, the ceremony continued with the Official Handover.  This is when the organizers of the current competition handover responsibilities to next year’s competition organizers.  The Handover was done using the flag of Canada.  The National Marksmanship Competition of 2020 will take place in Ottawa.

The final act of the ceremony was to commend and thank Captain Owen for taking care of accommodations, transportation, and meals.  He is the same officer who picked us up from the airport on May 3 and gave us a ride back to Work Point later that day.

Captain Owen (centre).

A herd of deer was grazing on a lawn next to the gym when I was walking back to Rainbow Block.  This herd must frequent the base because they appeared well-behaved and not afraid of my presence.  I was able to get pretty close and take a few pictures.

Oh deer!

Everyone spent the remainder of the evening packing.  Tomorrow was going to be a day of travel.  Even though my cadets didn’t win anything, at least we experienced what it’s like to compete on the national level.  Watching the Finals and speaking to the coaches taught me what the cadets have to do to make it to the top 10.  I would use this information at the corps level.      

To Be Continued . . .