Somba K'e/Yellowknife - One Fort Simpson cadet has proven his skills at biathlon.

Warrant Officer Jordan Snider returned from the Northern Region Cadet Biathlon Championship in Yellowknife with a silver medal in the open male division for the Western Arctic Region.

Six members of the 2860 Royal Canadian Army Cadets Fort Simpson represented their corps at the Northern Region Cadet Biathlon Championships in Yellowknife. Cadets include, from left, front row: Cadet. Lonnie Wright, Cadet. Nikita Larter and Cpl. Alex Porter; back row: Sgt. Josh Baton, Cadet. Katelyn Harold and Warrant Officer Jordan Snider. - Jessica Klinkenberg/NNSL photo

The win was a repeat for Snider who also took the silver medal in the same division at last year's championship.

"I was proud of myself that I got another medal," said Snider.

Snider said he was shocked when he heard his name called because he hadn't expected to place that high.

Snider was one of six cadets from the 2860 Royal Canadian Army Cadets Fort Simpson chosen to represent their corps at the competition from Dec. 1 to 8.

A total of 75 army and air cadets from across the North attended the event that is designed to train cadets at all levels in the sport of biathlon. Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and marksmanship.

But none of the cadets spent the two days assigned for training actually skiing. With a wind chill creating temperatures in the -30s cadets were kept inside, said Lieut. Diane Porter, who accompanied the Fort Simpson cadets.

"It was certainly too cold to ski," said Porter.

Instead the cadets practised sighting their air rifles and doing the running that was substituted for the skiing element.

During the three days of competition each cadet participated in three races. Each race included running seven lengths then shooting five rounds, running eight lengths and shooting another five rounds before running a final seven lengths.

Cadets were scored according to their overall time with a 20 second penalty applied for every missed shot, said Porter.

"The shooting was fun but the running wasn't too exciting," said Sgt. Josh Baton.

Baton, who also competed last year at the regionals, said he would have had a better time if he had of been skiing.

Snider said the running requirement, especially in the last race, helped him win his medal. With a time of 5:46 in his first race, Snider improved by over a minute to reach 4:54 in his final race.

The championship was the first time that the other four cadets in the team, including Cadet. Katelyn Harold, Cadet. Lonnie Wright, Cadet. Nikita Larter and Cpl. Alex Porter, had competed at the regionals.

"They all tried their best and achieved their personal best," said Lieut. Diane Porter.

For the new cadets, the event was a learning experience and they were able to build their skills for next year, said Porter.

By their final race, all the cadets had increased their confidence level and their ability to shoot with an elevated heart rate, she said.

Cadet. Katelyn Harold said she enjoyed trying to beat her personal times.

"I learned you're not supposed to race against other people, you're supposed to race yourself," said Harold.