British Cadet Rifle Team
The British Cadet Rifle Team, also known as The Athelings, are a team of 18 cadets selected from the best cadet forces from throughout Britain. Every year applications are submitted in the Autumn term and a selection committee with 12 members choose the best 18 applications. These 18 cadets then shoot the National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom Imperial meeting in July before flying to Canada to compete with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and shoot the Dominion of Canada meeting held at connaught cadet training centre.[1][2]
Selection criteria
(Quoted from the official CCRS/TARA website) [1]
- The cadet must have experience shooting in competition at Bisley
- The level at which they compete must be very high
- Must be under 19 years of age.
- They should have competed in at least one main NRA meeting in July
- They should have an excellent cadet record
- They must have accompanying references from their Headmaster or Cadet Unit Commander.
History
The Athelings was started in 1910 when cadets from Australia, New Zealand and Canada came to shoot in England. This followed by subsequent exchanges that took place through the Imperial Cadet Association, founded in 1908 by Captain RJE Hanson. These early exchanges where well received and regular exchanges where started in 1928. This was also the period in which the term "Athelings" was introduced by Hanson to describe the members of the teams who go overseas to represent their country. The word is of Anglo Saxon origin and means "young noble".[1][2][3]
Results
The results up to 2013 are as follows (Quoted from the official CCRS website)[2]
Michael Faraday match: Canadian Cadets 38 wins; Athelings (UK) 32 wins
Alexander G Bell match: Canadian Cadets 11 wins; UK Cadets 50 wins
Rex Goddard match: Canadian Cadets 11 wins; Athelings (UK) 15 wins (1993: no match)
References
- 1 2 3 "TARA information". TARA website. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- 1 2 3 "CCRS history". CCRS website. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ↑ "Athelings history". Great British Rifle Team website. Retrieved 17 December 2013.