Marksmanship plays a large role in the Canadian Cadet Program, teaching & promoting accuracy, dedication, focus, and teamwork. Tournaments are held every year to promote friendly competition and determine the best shooters in Canada. Cadets develop and perfect their shooting skills on the Daisy .177 calibre air rifle. A regional marksmanship competition was held in Winnipeg for the Northwest Region in late April. Four of my cadets participated and I also attended as coach & escort officer.
Marksmanship
competitions are divided into four stages.
Stage 1 happens at the corps level where team tryouts are held. Stage 2 is where teams compete in their
respective zones. These are done as
mail-ins and in person. Cadet corps in
the territories usually do Stage 2 as mail-ins because air travel is very
expensive. Paper targets are mailed to
the corps, the cadets shoot them once, and then they’re returned down south to
be graded. Teams with the highest scores
advance to Stage 3, the regional competition.
The winners of Stage 3 advance to Stage 4, the national competition. Unfortunately, there was no Stage 4 this
year.
3045’s Marksmanship Team practiced shooting prone & standing on the weekends. The cadets selected their shooting jackets & air rifles and labelled them. Participating corps are required to bring their own rifles, shooting jackets, safety glasses, and any other equipment they may need. We packed everything the night before our departure.
We arrived at the airport on the morning of April 27. We flew down to Iqaluit where we met the Iqaluit team and their coach at the airport. My cadets enjoyed lunch before going through security. The flight down to Ottawa lasted three hours. It was the late evening when we exited the terminal with our luggage and rifle cases. Two officers escorted the two teams to waiting vehicles and drove us to Connaught Cadet Training Centre for the night. We were given boxed dinners and then assigned tents with bedding. I had a tent to myself.
The metal bunk beds and lockers brought back memories of my time spending many summers at cadet camp as a cadet, staff cadet, and civilian instructor. Although, in the early 2000s, we slept in sleeping bags on cots. And the tents were green and modular.
Everyone was out of bed and dressed at 6:15am on the morning of April 28. We headed over to the mess hall for breakfast. The menu consisted of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and various fruits, a standard across cadet camps. Breakfast lasted an hour. We returned to our tents for some downtime.
Our flight wasn’t until the afternoon, so the Iqaluit coach & I decided to take the cadets on a tour of the camp. I had previously visited the camp on many occasions, so I already knew my way around.
We started at the shooting ranges, large open flat grasslands with big number signs at one end to show the individual shooting lanes. None of the ranges were in use. The cadets were more interested in trying out a set of 4 chin-up bars. A few managed to get a high number before their arms got tired.
We continued walking along a main road, stopping several times to inspect various military vehicles & a helicopter on display. The had been turned into outdoor museum displays. We followed the road for quite some time, passing an M109 Howitzer, and eventually ended up at Shirleys Bay. We stayed there for 30 minutes, resting, and enjoying the view of the Ottawa River.
We returned to camp following a different road, passing an obstacle course that featured many different, um, obstacles. Unfortunately, we did not have clearance to try them out. Maybe another time.
The escort officers drove us to the Ottawa Airport after lunch. We thanked the escort officers for their help, checked in, and went through security. We flew direct to Winnipeg, landing in the evening. Two different officers met us in the Arrivals area and helped us recover our luggage & rifles from the baggage carousel. We loaded everything into military vans and were driven to the hotel. We were assigned rooms. One more team from out of town arrived in the late evening. The cadets & coaches were instructed to get some much-needed rest. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy competitive day.
To Be Continued . . .
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