Parksville’s Victor Kamel competed at a provincial cadet biathlon competition at Mount Washington and placed 22nd in his category.
The 15-year-old cadet’s true achievement, for him, was simply being at the Feb. 3-4 competition, which combined cross-country skiing with riflery target shooting.
“Our corps has never competed in biathlon before and it’s amazing that half our team made it to the provincial competition,” said Kamel. “Most of us had never even skied before.”
Kamel is a cadet with 296 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps in Parksville. Two other cadets, Devin O’Rourke and Jordan Glendale, also took part in the competition.
More than 80 cadets competed, testing their fitness, skiing, teamwork and marksmanship skills against the best cadet biathletes in the province in hopes of achieving a spot on Team B.C. at the National Cadet Biathlon and attending the National Cadet Biathlon Championship March 5-10 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Team Canada 2018 Olympic Biathlete Emma Lunder was first introduced to her sport through the cadet program in Vernon, B.C.
The cadet program aims to develop in youth ages 12-18 the attributes of good citizenship and leadership, promote physical fitness and stimulate the interest of youth in the sea, land and air activities of the Canadian Armed Forces.
— NEWS Staff