Junior Rangers compete in Yellowknife

Ten Junior Canadian Rangers from Bearskin Lake and Kashechewan scored high marks representing Ontario in a national Junior Ranger marksmanship competition in Yellowknife in May.
One Junior Ranger, Gideon Brown from Bearskin Lake, scored the 13th highest overall score in the Canada wide competition.
“Gideon did very well and they all did a good job especially when you consider how much more shooting the other teams do compared with us,” said Lieut. Caryl Fletcher, the officer commanding Junior Canadian Rangers in northern Ontario.
The shooters competed with Daisy air rifles, shooting at a distance of 10 metres, while standing and lying on the ground, at a variety of targets, including standard paper targets, falling plates and miniature animals.
In one contest they had to run on the spot for 10 seconds between firing 10 times to make shooting accurately more difficult.
“The shooting was fun,” said Junior Ranger Ricky Peters of Bearskin Lake.
But the best part of the competition for most of the Junior Rangers was overcoming their nervousness about travelling so far from home and enjoying the entertainment and educational part of the five-day trip to the capital of the Northwest Territories.
“They were all really nervous, excited, and anxious about getting here,” said Master Cpl. Redfern Wesley of Kashechewan. “But they really enjoyed themselves.
“They were soon talking to Junior Rangers from other provinces and parts of Canada. They had a good time.”
Apart from shooting, the Junior Rangers went on tours of Yellowknife, a shopping centre, the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Territorial Legislature. They also bowled and went to the movies.
“I think the extracurricular activities were phenomenal,” Fletcher said. “They kept the kids busy with an assortment of fun and educational activities. This was an excellent opportunity for 10 Junior Rangers to get out of the province and see another part of Canada. They were learning new things, but they were having so much fun they didn’t even know they were learning.”
All the team members wore special jackets provided by Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The jackets had both the NAN and Junior Ranger crests on them. But the best part for many was the Canadian flag on the left arm.
“That flag looks really good,” said Brandon Spence of Kashechewan.
“NAN did a phenomenal job by donating the jackets for our team,” Fletcher said.
Junior Rangers in the team were River Beardy, Gideon Brown, Byron Fox, Joseph Meekis and Ricky Peters, all from Bearskin Lake, and Raven Friday, Stanford Koosees-Hill, Joshua Lazarus, Brandon Spence and Gregory Wesley, all from Kashechewan.