A team of Yukon and Northwest Territories cadets that came together for the first time in Prince Edward Island received the team sportsmanship award at the National Cadet Biathlon Championships last week.

The team of 12 cadets between the ages of 12 and 18 consisted of five Whitehorse cadets and seven from Yellowknife to form the Northern Region team at the championships.

Capt. Jennifer Lafrenière of the 551 Whitehorse Lions Air Cadet Squadron said 23 cadets in the program started biathlon training in September and from this group five were selected at the regional championships in February to represent the Northern Region team.

“They didn’t have a lot of time to get to know each other but they did an amazing job and they became one group and we’re very proud of them,” the Whitehorse commanding officer said of the team’s dynamic.

It was also the first time at a national-level competition for many of the athletes, Lafrenière noted.

Going from the Yukon to any centre, already it’s a big shock for them,” she said. “We were travelling for over 24 hours in the end to get there.”

Nominated by the competitors, coaches and officials from the other regions, the team received the Sportsmanship and Esprit de Corps Award.

The team also had two senior cadets make the trip from Whitehorse as coaches, Alexandria Duchaine and Morgan Yuill. In another award voted by peers, Yuill was recognized as the top cadet coach at the championships.

“It just shows that coming from the Yukon we just keep going and they’re very positive,” Lafrenière said.

Although the leader of the cadet squadron, Lafrenière said she doesn’t have a background in biathlon and so they have developed several partnerships to allow for the best training the team can receive. They paired with Biathlon Yukon for range shooting training and Mike Gladish from the Stride & Glide Ski School.

“We just reach out to whatever we need to do to get the team where it needs to be and we’ve got some pretty amazing kids who aim high and achieve and succeed and I’m very proud of them,” she said.

To prepare for the national competition, the cadets brought in Natasha Boyes, an experienced coach from Saskatchewan to make the trip with the team. Boyes was voted the top adult coach of the championships.

On the course, the team took home one medal with Aidan Hupé winning a medal for the second-straight year at the championships. He took the bronze medal in the senior boy’s mass start race, the final event of the competition.

Former Whitehorse cadet and Biathlon Yukon athlete Noah Gilbert had a strong performance on the Quebec team.

Lafrenière said Gilbert was a member of the 551 unit since he was 12 until his family moved east last year. Gilbert won the junior boy’s sprint race and took the silver in the mass start race.

“It’s amazing to see him succeed,” she said. “From this kid to come from Whitehorse, live in Ottawa and to be on the Quebec team, that is huge, huge, huge for us. So we are very proud of him.”