A pair of Junior Canadian Rangers were among 50 competitors from across the country who traveled to Victoria this month to compete in the National Marksmanship Championship.
Chelsea Colcol, who was born in the Philippines but who relocated with her family to Alert Bay, earned one of 10 positions on the JCR shooting team for the fourth straight year, and placed second in the team shooting competition with the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group in the championships.
Cynthia Jones, a 14-year-old who has been shooting the air rifle for only a year, became the first member of her family to make the shooting team.
50 Junior Canadians Rangers from across Canada participated in the Daisy Air Rifle Championship. Marksmanship is an important component of the JCR Programme as it “teaches self-discipline, builds confidence, and allows JCRs the opportunity to compete equally in a recreational sport that is gender neutral.”
Colcol is a grade 12 student at North Island Secondary School who will graduate this weekend in a ceremony at Chilton Regional Arena in Port McNeill. She also finds time to work a part-time job, play floor hockey and basketball and go for bike rides.
She also volunteers her time to help out at local community events.
Jones has been an active member of her JCR patrol for two-plus years and has offered her time to the community as a volunteer at the local Legion. Outside from the JCR programme, Cynthia also enjoys figure skating, dancing and playing baseball.
The annual JCR National Marksmanship Championship was held at the Albert Head Training Facility, west of Victoria.