SUDBURY—The Manitoulin Sea Cadets Corps 348 achieved amazing results at the Sea Cadet marksmanship competition in Sudbury last weekend, placing first as a team for the sixth year in a row, in addition to many personal bests.
The competition took place at the Sudbury Armoury on Saturday, February 22 with seven cadet corps represented from the Sudbury area including Manitoulin, Espanola, Capreol, Naughton and three from the City of Greater Sudbury.
The Manitoulin Cadets team achieved a combined score of 1,267 points out of a possible 1,600 points to take first place, while, individually, Leading Seaman Eric Harper took first place, Petty Officer Second Class Zoe Murphy won third place and Leading Seaman Nick Harper was awarded second place in the junior category.
The team included team captain Petty Officer Second Class Zoe Murphy, Leading Seaman Eric Harper, Petty Officer Second Class Brad Sayyae, Leading Seaman Nick Harper and Leading Seaman Ben Sayyae.
Each February, Cadet Corps from the Sudbury area meet for this competition. For 348 Manitoulin, training began in October with the cadets practicing each Sunday indoors at the Little Current Legion for four hours using Daisy 853C pellet air rifles. During the training year they fire thousands of pellets in order to perfect their technique. They shoot from a distance of 10 metres at paper targets backed by a canvas backstop.
“All cadets in the corps compete for a coveted spot on the marksmanship team, but only the five best shooters are picked along with two spares (in case of sickness at the time of competition),” explained marksmanship team coach Lieutenant (Navy) Denis Blake, who has had this the role for the past nine years. “Two spots on the team are reserved for juniors, which are cadets between the ages of 12 and 14. The other three spots are usually occupied by older cadets between the ages of 15 to 18.”
“The two teams with the best scores will represent Northern Ontario in an upcoming provincial competition,” continued Lt. (N) Denis Blake. “The Manitoulin team is waiting for word if their score is high enough to earn them a chance to attend this prestigious competition. The cadets are to be congratulated for their hard work and dedication in preparation for this competition. They are carrying on a proud tradition established by cadets who came before them in winning this competition now for the sixth year in a row.”
