NAUJAAT/RANKIN INLET
The marksmanship team from the 3019 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps of Rankin Inlet took top spot in the regional shooting competition in Gimli, Man., earlier this month.

2nd. Lieut. Dorothy Tootoo, Master Warrant Officer Qilak Everard and Master Warrant Officer Obadiah Sanguin, back row from left, and Lance-Cpl. Sakkataaq Zawadski, Cpl. Rachel Oolooyuk and Master Warrant Officer Tatonya Autut will be heading to the national cadet marksmanship final in Gimli, Man., in May of 2016. - photo courtesy of Dorothy Tootoo

Rankin finished three points ahead of Arctic Bay at the event, with Iqaluit placing third and Naujaat fourth.

Arctic Bay were disadvantaged at the competition due to their air rifles being left behind in Toronto by Air Canada, which left the all-junior cadets to borrow rifles and then adjust their shooting on the fly during the competition.

The cadets did three relays of prone shooting and two relays of standing shooting at the regional event.

The regional win advances the Rankin cadet corps team to the national competition in Gimli this coming month from May 2 to 7.

Corps commanding officer 2nd Lieut. Dorothy Tootoo said although the four corps were competing hard, it was the friendliest of competitions.

She said many of the cadets have friends in the other corps and they're always happy to see each other, competition or not.

"It was not a fierce competition, because kids from the North are just not like that," said Tootoo.

"They were taking it seriously, but they were also wishing each other good luck and that sort of thing.

"We won the competition on the strength of our stand-up shooting.

"Most of the corps were pretty evenly matched with the prone shooting, although Naujaat put up the best scores."

Rankin will advance to the national competition as a team this coming month for the first time in corps history.

Tootoo said the cadets are all very excited and can't wait to go.

She said they put in a lot of time practising for the regional competition.

"We practised on average three or four days a week for about the past four months.

"I expect our cadets to be a little bit more intense getting ready for the national competition.

"I know how much winning the regional competition meant to them and I'm proud of their efforts.

"But even if we had come in as the last place team, as long as they did their absolute best I would still have been pleased as punch."

Naujaat commanding officer Capt. Lloyd Francis said overall he thought the competition went very well.

He said the event was well organized and set-up properly.

"All of the Nunavut cadets who participated did very well, and I was really proud of my cadets," said Francis.

"They were tops in Nunavut for prone shooting - finishing first, second and third - but they need to work on their shooting while standing.

"That's what cost us at the competition a little bit, their shooting in the upright position.

"We'll address that with more practice back home."

Francis said the cadets from every competing corps were rooting for each other at the competition.

He said his cadets were happy with their results, but they definitely want to improve for the coming year.

"We pick our team based on a corps competition each year, so the team could change depending on how they shoot in that competition.

"But one of our cadets on this year's team, Jonathan Ijjangiaq, is ageing out and two others were juniors.

"They'll be seniors in the coming year, and the team has to include two cadets between the ages of 12 and 15, so two new juniors will be on our team.

"The four remaining cadets will have to compete for the three spots on the senior team."

Naujaat cadets Charmaine Putulik, Jonathan Ijjangiaq and Veronica Uttak were scheduled to go out for their five-year training this past weekend, Mother Nature permitting.

Francis said the Naujaat corps still has a number of big events coming up before season's end, including a land trip this coming weekend.

He said the cadets will take part in numerous activities and training sessions, such as navigation, while out on the land.

"We'll have Rangers support us on the trip, which will see us build an iglu and put up tents, and some cadets will be staying out overnight.

"We have our silver-star expedition the weekend after our land trip, so I'll be taking a group of 28 cadets down to Winnipeg to go to White Shell Lake for that.

"Then we'll practice for two or three weeks for our annual ceremonial review, which will be held this year on May 24.

"And, as far as I know, there's a good chance the commanding officer for the entire region will be coming up for that."

Francis said it's been a great year for the 3005 Naujaat Army Cadets Corp.

He said having record numbers of cadets join the program was the icing on the cake.

"The community is starting to appreciate cadets even more, and everyone's really taking notice of the program.

"We're getting a lot of support from the Legion in Iqaluit, the Order of Saint George, and numerous community organizations.

"So overall, I'd say it's been a banner year for us."

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