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552 cadets tops in Zone Orienteering Competition
Four cadets from 552 Key City Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron (RCACS) in Cranbrook took home the first place trophy in the second annual Kootenay Zone Orienteering Competition, held in the Cranbrook Community Forest beside College of the Rockies on April 30. Thank you to the Kootenay Orienteering Club for hosting this event.
Orienteering is a competitive international sport that combines racing with navigation. It is a timed race in which individual participants use a specially created, highly detailed map to select routes and navigate (usually on foot) through diverse and often unfamiliar terrain and visit specific control points.
Cadets test their athletic, navigation and problem solving skills during a 10 control point score oriented style course. For this competition, each “team” consisted of two junior cadets and two senior cadets and we also had participants from 3066 Golden Army Corp, 2756 Invermere Army Corp, and 904 Kootenai Creston Air Squadron. For the majority of cadets, this was their first Orienteering event. Interest in this sport has been gaining momentum in the Kootenay Region and the cadets want to continue to participate. Orienteering meets all three aims of the National Cadet program which is to develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship, leadership, promote physical fitness. Cadets also practiced environmental stewardship and teamwork.
The Cadet Program is a community-based organization that requires the support of dedicated adult leaders to be successful. Adult leaders are needed to train, administer and supervise the youth involved in the Cadet Program. Training, pay and uniforms are provided for those that choose to join the Canadian Armed Forces as a Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) officer.
CIC Officers are not required to deploy overseas or be operational members of the Canadian Armed Forces. They are community youth leaders, making a difference at home.
The skills acquired through training as a CIC Officer are transferable to your regular employment.
CIC Officers work with cadets an average of one night and one weekend day per week, with additional time devoted to organizing and planning activities. Many of them also spend their summers instructing cadets at one of the 22 cadet summer training centres or accompany cadets on competitions, expeditions or foreign exchange visits. CIC officers instruct cadets on the wide variety of skills and knowledge that is contained in the Cadet Program. They also provide coaching and mentorship and become role models for our youth.
Interested adults can become volunteers with their local corps or squadron while going through the enrolment process.
Lead image: A total of 21 cadets participated in this years’ Orienteering Competition. Front row: 1st Place – 552 Key City Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Cranbrook. Second row: 2nd Place – 3066 Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Golden. Back rows: 2756 Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Invermere & 904 Kootenai Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Creston. Photos submitted
Submitted Capt. Lori-Lee Bott
