Fourteen year old local athlete Emily Dickson recently returned from the 2012 National Biathlon Championships with a silver medal in hand.
Emily competed in three races at the championships held in Valcartier, Quebec from March 15 to 18.
Just six Northern athletes, including Emily were selected to Team B.C. to participate at the championships.
Emily said winning the silver medal in the 7.5 kilometre senior girls individual race was pretty exciting.
"We had to ski 1.5 kilometre laps five times and stop in between to shoot four times," she said, adding that the formats were different for each of her three races at the event.
"In this individual race, if you miss a target during a shoot they add a minute to your time. I missed four shots out of 20 so they added four minutes to my time. In the other two races I competed in, if you miss a target they add a lap."
Emily said her abilities at skiing and shooting are about equal, but she added that slowing your heart rate down after a lap in order to make an accurate shot is one of the challenges of biathlon.
Brian Dickson, Emily's father and biathlon coach said, "In the individual race, Emily was sixth fastest, but the others missed more shots. Emily controlled her skiing and shot better than average."
Emily's second race was the senior girls sprint which she said was 'only six kilometres.' It consisted of two laps of three kilometres each, with two shoots in between."
Finishing the race in 11 position she said missing five out of the 10 shots resulted in an extra five penalty laps. "I had to ski an extra 750 metres .... when you miss the shots it starts to add up after a while," she laughed.
Emily's next race was the senior girls pursuit race. She explained that the results from the senior girls sprint race are taken and the competitors starting times are calculated from those results.
"I came in 11 place in the seniors girls sprint race, so in this race I started 50 seconds after the first competitor. They calculate the starts in five-second increments. Starting way down in the field like that is a big handicap to make up," she said.
This final race covered a 7.5 kilometre distance and required four shoots. Penalty laps for missed shots were also required for this race. "I shot 15 out of 20 this time, so I had to do five penalty laps," she said.
Emily came in sixth place in the race, passing five competitors despite starting back in the pack and completing penalty laps.
"When you have a start like this people race faster to try and keep up with the first competitor and because they ski faster their shooting tends to not be as accurate," Brian said.
"I made up a lot of ground in this race," Emily said.
Of her silver medal win, Emily said, "I new that race was my strongest of the season but I didn't think that it was silver medal worthy .... I was hoping for top 15."
She explained that until all the competitors are finished racing and their times and shooting results are calculated competitors don't know if they have placed in the top three.
Emily's silver medal is an achievement to be proud of, especially when you consider that she was competing against the top biathletes from across Canada, and raced up an age category.
"Emily is 14, but was competing against athletes that are 15 years and older. These competitors have an advantage because they have had more time for training, more time to practice their shooting skills," Brian said.
He said some of the biggest competition came from athletes from Alberta and Quebec.
"I was pretty pleased with my results at the championships. Going into the competition I didn't know how I compared to the other athletes. It was a great experience as I was able to meet a lot of people from all over Canada. It was my biggest competition so far."
She said she credits her long time skiing coach Chris Paulson as well as her dad, who is her biathlon coach and Marvin Gerow and John Howett.
"Marvin and John helped me with my shooting at the Tweedsmuir Rod and Gun Club. There is a junior night on Mondays that I have been going to," Emily said.
Her sister Alexandra Dickson, also a successful biathlete was also a big influence and helped with coaching.
Because of her results Emily is now eligible to participate in the 2015 Canada Winter Games which will be held in Prince George, as long as she qualifies for Team B.C. when the time comes.