Air cadet Sergeant (Sgt) Jason Reimer is off to Val Cartier, Que. for the National Biathlon Competition.
Sgt. Reimer, 16, parades with No. 43 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in North Battleford and is an avid competitor in biathlon.
Biathlon combines skate or free style skiing with rifle marksmanship. In competition biathlon is performed using skate technique and 22 calibre rifles. Athletes skate a short ski loop, fire five rounds at the biathlon target and head off again around the ski loop. Skate skiing uses longer poles to drive the skier forward gliding out onto the leg much like an ice skater. The targets are metal and the sizes are 11.5 cm in diameter for the standing targets and 4.5 cm, the size of a silver dollar, for prone target. The shooting distance is 50 m for both types of shooting. On a hit, the black target is covered by a white metal plate that flips up.
Sgt. Reimer, who has participated in the national competition for the last two years, will once again represent the local squadron, zone and province in Quebec March 2 to 10.
The provincial team consists of the top female team, the next three top competitors, one of which must be a junior, who form the composite team, the top male team and the next three male competitors, again including a junior who form the male composite team. Jason will form part of the composite male team.
To get to this level Sgt. Reimer participated in a squadron competition to become part of the male unit team, a zone run and shoot where the team advanced to the provincial level and then the provincial competition where he finished first overall, and the team finished second in the competition. The team consisted of Sgt Jason Reimer, Warrant Officer first class Austin Legacy and Corporal Zachary Blackmon. In order to advance to the provincial competition the team finished first in the zone run and shoot. The provincial competition was held at Round Lake at the Cadet Camp near Kelvington.
