Last weekend, the Black Jack Biathlon Club had a event for those who wanted to try out the sport.
Gord Gibson, who has coached the club for some 25 years, said the day was a success.
“It ended up going really well. We had about 44 people. I think everyone ended up enjoying themselves. We may get a number of people wanting to come out on a regular basis to train for competitions.
Gibson said he especially hopes to get younger people interested in biathlon, but has no problem coaching the older Masters category.
Every Sunday the club practices from around 1 to 3 p.m.
“I get anywhere from five to 10 people coming out for that,” he said.
In February the club is heading over to Kelowna for a race with five of the youth athletes.
Gibson said there will likely be another one of the try-out fun events in mid-March and April for anyone who missed this one, but he said that depends on the snow conditions.
“We’re holding them periodically just to get people interested or to have people come out and have fun for a day,” he said.
“We had a lot of new people this time. We had some people from New Zealand come up and try it.”
There was also an exchange student from Germany.
He said last year there were some Japanese exchange students who tried it out.
“So we get some international relations out here too,” he said.
Megan Heximer, who skis competitively for the Black Jack Ski Team, was out on Sunday.
Heximer said she came out to try biathlon because she usually just gets to do the skiing part.
“I just like shooting, because I always get to ski,” she said.
For those interested in joining the regular sessions on Sundays, you can contact Gibson at 250-365-5381.
The cost is $5, which includes ammunition, use of a rifle and insurance, as well as the course fee.
