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RANKIN INLET - A special gathering was held to acknowledge the accomplishments of a group of Rankin Inlet cadets this past week.

Rankin Inlet cadets Carmen Napayok, left, and Adam Ussak, right, accept 10 sets of cross-country skiing equipment donated to the corps by Mayor John Hickes on behalf of the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet this past week - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The Rankin shooting team of Carmen Napayok, Adam Ussak, James Pflueger Anawak, Cassandra Gordon and Meaghan Alogot captured bronze at the Northern Region Cadet Marksmanship Competition in Whitehorse, earlier this month.

Napayok struck gold in the Eastern Arctic Area open division, scoring 370 points out of a possible 400.

Master Cpl. Napayok, a fourth-year cadet, will now go to the National Cadet Marksmanship Competition in Charlottetown, P.E.I., from May 10-16.

Napayok and Ussak also attended the national cadet biathlon this year.

To honour that accomplishment, the hamlet donated 10 complete sets of cross-country skiing equipment to the corps.

Commanding officer Dorothy Tootoo said Napayok will be the first Rankin cadet to compete at the nationals.

"Emelda Aupilardjuk went as an alternate in 2006, but she never got to shoot in the competition," said Tootoo.

"This is a huge deal for our corps and we couldn't be more proud of Carmen.

"These are the types of accomplishments that attract kids into our local program."

The Rankin corps had 37 cadets registered this year, with an average of 20 to 28 attending regularly.

The cadets meet once a week at the FOL site, and also have a physical fitness program on Sunday afternoon at Simon Alaittuq School.

Tootoo said the corps experienced a bit of a slump with its numbers just after this past Christmas.

She said promoting cadet triumphs has prompted others to be more involved.

"Promoting their accomplishments creates a buzz in the community, said Tootoo.

"We had some kids who got involved in other things and were pretty much walking away from cadets.

"Now some of them are indicating they'd like to come back, and our doors are always open."

Tootoo said having elders involved with the corps is working well this year.

She said she'd like to see every Nunavut cadet corps have elders involved with their program on a regular basis.

"We've had our elders take turns in coming out every Thursday evening and it has made a positive impact within our program.

"We encourage them to talk to the kids about land skills, the value system and things of that nature.

"I must also mention how much Ranger Sgt. Herb Scharer gave to our program this year. He's our marksmanship coach and comes in from the mining camp every Thursday night to attend cadets."