Eleven Air Cadets from the local 653 Champlain Squadron in Renfrew travelled to Connaught Cadet Training Centre on Saturday, Jan. 19 participate in the Zone Biathlon Competition on Sunday, Jan. 20. Despite the freezing temperature and wind chill, cadets from Pembroke Renfrew, Arnprior, Cornwall and a few other locations attended the 2019 competition. The biathlon is generally made of two parts – cross-country skiing and shooting, however, with the weather being less than ideal with freezing temperatures, the decision was made to revise the competition to running with the shooting portion. The majority of the cadets were entered as a relay team, however, each cadet had to run a total of three kilometres that was split into one-kilometre laps and shoot twice with the goal to shoot five targets each time. Each of our competitors bundled up and did a fantastic job braving the cold temperature. The 653 Champlain Squadron cadets who attended were, back row from left, Rylan McManus, Liam Gillett, Zack Rieger, Andrew Lemieux, Will Desabrais and Jack Gordon. Middle row: Quinn Bursey, Sam Cuccaro and Thomas Desabrais. Front: Brianna Barnet and Hailey McLaughlin-Shepherd.
Photo and write-up by Kerry McLaughlin
