Yukoners were among the more than 200 biathletes from Canada and the United States, who converged on Val Cartier, Quebec from March 26-29 to challenge each other to three full days of grueling steep hills and alternating icy and wet skiing.

With this championship being in Eastern Canada it is the toughest competition these young Yukon biathletes have faced and they have done the Yukon proud.

On March 26, six Biathlon Yukon biathletes competed in the individual race.

This is a long, tough, race where the biathletes shoot four times (with five, 2.5 km ski loops in between) two prone and two standing for a total of 20 rounds at 20 targets; each missed target adds a one minute time penalty to their final time.

The Val Cartier course is very challenging, with lots of hill work. The weather brought ice in the morning and soft slushy snow in the afternoon.

Seventeen-year-old Ryan Burlingame came in ninth out of 23 youth men in the morning.

Aliye Tuzlak came in 11th; Erin Oliver-Beebe came in 16th, Evelyn Kitchen 23rd, Aryn Clarke 24th and Jennifer Curtis 25th.

There were 34 competitors in the senior girls. Evelyn Kitchen was top gun for the Yukon at eight misses (out of 20).

On March 28 the sprint races were held. This is a shorter race with three loops of skiing and two rounds of shooting.

One prone and one standing, with each missed target the biathlete had to ski an extra 150 meter penalty loop, (potentially adding 1.5km to an individual's racing distance).

Burlingame came in eighth out of 23 in the youth men's with only just more than two minutes behind the gold.

Burlingame shot well with four misses out of 10.

In the senior girls, there were four Biathlon Yukon girls competing in the six-km sprint.

Aliye Tuzlak came in 10th out of 30 senior girls with three misses out of 10 and 2 1/2 minutes behind the gold medal winner.

Oliver-Beebe came in 30 seconds later in 13th place with three missed targets. Kitchen came in 23rd and Jennifer Curtis came in 27th.

At the end of the day, Burlingame was ranked 14th in the North American Cup 2008-2009 series in the youth mens category.

Judy Hartling, the coach for the senior team at Valcartier, said she is proud of all the biathletes that attended Val Cartier.

"This is a big race and can be very intimidating to Yukon youth, not just by the sheer number of athletes, but also the caliber of the biathletes our young biathletes were up against," she said. "I am very proud of all of them and feel privileged to be coaching such an incredible group of young biathletes.

"At the end of the day the Yukon can be very proud of what these young Yukon skiers and shooters have accomplished."

Story provided by Mary-Jane Oliver on behalf of Biathlon Yukon.