Nunavik jr. rangers compete at national marksmanship event

Around 170 Junior Rangers from across Canada were handpicked by their patrols to represent them at the National Marksmanship Championship, an event that combines competition and socializing.

Maj. Dexter Ruiz-Laing plays a pivotal role in maintaining the Junior Rangers program in Quebec. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

The competitors, aged 12 to 18 years, travelled to Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec City May 14 to 18 to show their prowess with a Daisy 853C Air Rifle on Olympic-grade shooting targets.

“I love going on trips like this,” said Kuujjuaq’s Kyle Unatweenuk. He was one of five junior rangers to participate.

Once his patrol was done shooting, he took part in a rappelling challenge.

The junior rangers also did an escape room, archery and shooting challenges against a mighty foe of plastic geese. 

The event is held every year, rotating between the five patrols in Canada. Quebec’s patrol, the 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, last hosted the event in 2019.

“It is fun to talk to people from other parts of Canada, they have different points of view from their lives out there,” Unatweenuk said.

Maj. Dexter Ruiz-Laing said the rangers look forward to the competition. They train the junior rangers on their guns months ahead of time, selecting the best shooter to bring. 

“The idea is that it helps [the junior rangers] develop and train a very crucial skill for survival, like hunting and predator control,” he said in an interview, outside the shooting hall where the competition was taking place. “It is also an excellent opportunity to be able to teach them self-confidence and leadership for the junior rangers who are helping to train and mentor younger junior rangers.”

The young group also had the opportunity to try a Quebec culinary classic, fresh maple syrup straight from the sugar shack where it’s boiled.

While in the area, the rangers participated in the Canadian Armed Forces Small Arms Concentration, an annual shooting competition held in Ottawa’s Connaught Ranges and Primary Training Centre. 

Junior ranger Kyle Unatweenuk enjoys the opportunity to travel and meet people his age from across the country as much as he enjoys competing. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

“It is a very important tradition for the rangers,” said Ruiz-Laing, “and passing it on to juniors is like a passing on the torch moment for them.”

One patrol always looms over the championship as fierce competitors — the First Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, which represents the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and northern British Columbia. This year was no different as this group took home both the team and individual performance awards. 

The winner was given a seat on the ceremonial chair during the closing ceremony, which was then lifted by the rangers of his patrol, to the clamour of the crowd.