Nunavut cadets learn the biathlon for Yukon competition

A group shot of the cadets before a training session. Clockwise from bottom right: Teghan Amgulalik, Cyril Amgulalik, Nathan Gray, Kale Aitaok and Mindy Tootiak. (PHOTO BY KELCEY WRIGHT)

Cambridge Bay cadets practice shooting twice a week. Here they are in the community hall Jan.21, aiming for targets about 15 feet away. Staff Cadet Nathan Gray sits, in chair, offers tips on how to aim better. (PHOTO BY KELCEY WRIGHT)

Special to Nunatsiaq News

CAMBRIDGE BAY — Before 14-year-old Mindy Tootiak joined the Cambridge Bay Cadets, you could say she lacked motivation.

“I didn’t want to finish anything at all,” she said. “Now I can finish everything I want to and I have friends with me to support me.”

Tootiak and 14 fellow Cambridge Bay teenagers are enrolled in the program, now in its 30th year in Cambridge Bay, and they meet three times a week.

For some, joining the cadets has completely changed their lives.

“It’s been a really positive experience,” said Patti Bligh, Tootiak’s foster mother. “It really brings out the best parts of her.”

Those parts include a will to succeed, a bright mind and a healthy body.

“It’s the structure,” said Bligh — keeping teens occupied means they have less opportunity to get into trouble.

And as of Jan.15, the cadets have been busier than ever.

On top of their regular meetings, the group has started training for an annual biathlon in Whitehorse.

The Cadets of Canadian Prairies Biathlon includes skate-skiing and shooting and is scheduled to take place from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9.

Only cadets from Nunavut, Northwest Territories and the Yukon will compete with winners heading to the nationals.

And even though it’s mostly a training exercise, they’re still serious about the preparation. The Cambridge Bay team won’t officially compete in the event, since the sport is so new for many of them.

They train constantly, during lunch hours and on weekends, with special shooting practice twice a week.

“We can’t get out to ski because we’re restricted and we aren’t able to take them out [when it’s colder than] -25 C which is like April here,” said Michelle Buchan, the training officer for the cadets.

“So we focus mainly on dry land training. As long as we get them fit they have a better chance against a lot of other competitors.”

And with this kind of workout regime, there’s no question they’ll be fit.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon until 1 p.m. in the Kiilinik High School, the cadets who want to compete in the biathlon work on their fitness levels.

“They never compete against each other, they are just competing against themselves right now,” said Buchan.

They do pushups, sit-ups, planks, sprinting circuits and much more.

In order to qualify for the trip, cadets must come to practice, show a positive attitude and work hard, said Buchan, the former physical education teacher.

“I figure they’ll get the techniques there, we just want people who are committed and are ready to participate.”

Cambridge Bay will send up to six cadets to the event this year.

But instead of going up to Grey Mountain for the actual competition, Cambridge Bay participants will remain at Boyle Barracks to receive specific training in skiing and shooting to get ready for the 2016 competition.

“They never really have a chance to practice their skills [in Cambridge Bay],” said Buchan. “I’m hoping next year they’ll be ready to compete.”

For Tootiak, who has been a cadet for three years, the training and exercise is welcome.

“I didn’t really know what to do,” she said after coming in 12th last year. “I’m not ready to compete yet. I haven’t gotten enough training.”

Nathan Gray, on the other hand, who has been competing in the biathlon for many years, has a different role to play.

“As a staff cadet, last year, [I got] stationed at one point on the course and had to mark each time a competitor passed my check point,” said Gray, who will travel as a staff cadet again this year and help adjudicate the event.

And though the 18-year-old Gray won’t be at the base camp, he’s still in the gym training alongside them.

“It’s a good workout for me,” Gray said. “I like helping out with the cadets, I love being with them.”

And that kind of team effort contributes to success.

“My heart is still in education and my passion is still with kids,” said Buchan.

And parents of the young cadets appreciate that kind of enthusiasm and effort.

“I’m a big supporter of cadets and the adults working with them,” said Bligh. “Cadets is only as good as its leaders and we have some very, very dedicated people working here.”

With the Whitehorse trip quickly approaching, both coaches and cadets are kicking into turbo-drive.

“It’s been good so far,” said Tootiak. “I think we are close to being ready to go.”