Sunday May 15, a total of 16 Air Cadets from 552 Key City Cranbook & 904 Kootenai Creston Squadrons participated in the first “Lord Strathcona Trust Fund” Orienteering Competition in the Kootenay Region, supported by Department of National Defense.
The Kootenay Orienteering Club hosted this competitive event and it was open to the public, Kootenay Cadet Corps and Squadrons. With a finish less than 15 minutes between the two, 904 Kootenay Squadron took home the Gold Medals and Trophy.
Orienteering is an internationally recognized sport, which has steadily been growing in popularity in this region. The Sport of Orienteering combines navigational skills and fitness traversing diverse and unfamiliar terrain to locate “controls” using a topographical map (1:5,000 to 1:15,000 scale). Participants walk, jog, run, or bike around the course locating the “controls”, using strategy as they go.
The parent sponsoring committee of the 552 Key City Air Cadets received a generous donation of an old school bus from Melanie Caron and Rob Benoit to be used as a mobile kitchen during camp-outs and training exercises. The parent sponsoring committee will now be organizing fundraisers to renovate and refit the bus to transform it for it's new purpose. The Cadets, who got a visit from RCMP Cpl. Phil Sullivan and the Police Services Dog, while also preparing for their upcoming Annual Ceremonial Review, which will be held at Parkland Middle School on June 7.