Fourteen athletes made it down to the Polar Cup biathlon tournament at the Hay River Ski Club over the March 5 and 6 weekend.
Chuck Lirette, biathlon coach, said there was a rough balance between eight participants from Hay River and six from Yellowknife. He said the growth in skill since the last Polar Cup in Hay River in December was particularly evident.
“It was a fun weekend and you can really see the development of the kids like from the last time,” he said.
“A lot of them are first year biathletes so in December they only had about six or eight weeks of training.”
Organizers avoid extremely cold weather for the Polar Cup and that is why the event was rescheduled from its original dates of the Feb. 25-26 weekend.
Typically the Polar Cup demonstrates the best abilities in NWT biathletes and takes place three times a season. Originally the intent had been to have the event held once in Fort Smith, once in Hay River, and once in Yellowknife.
Because of low participation in Fort Smith, it was held twice in Hay River this year.
The next Polar Cup will be held in Yellowknife over the April 2 and 3 weekend.
Final results
Midget Girls
Sophia Touesnard, Hay River, 19:35.3
Midget Boys
Maximilian Olesinski, Hay River, 21:29.8
Davin Swallow, Hay River, 30:36.6
Juvenile Boys
Jaxin Coombs, Hay River, 20:30.2
Kason Coombs, Hay River, 20:34.3
Francis COOK, Hay River 32:52.9
Junior Girls
Neve Mahon, Yellowknife, 32:19.6
Penelope Berrub, Yellowknife, 39:23.0
Novice Junior Girls
Kate McShane, Yellowknife, 16:38.7
Novice Juvenile Boys
Toryn Wheler, Yellowknife, 13:13.6
Kaleb Major, Yellowknife, 13:47.7
Jordi Casas, Yellowknife 14:57.6
Novice Junior Girls
Millie Hunt, Hay River 26:19.2
Iga Olesinska, Hay River, 30:48.9