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November 2012

To: All Biathlon Bears participants

The Bears program for all years will start this season on Saturday December 15, 2012 at 10:00 hours at the Brookvale Nordic site. This will be a registration date and a fun activity for first year Bears and a range refresher practice for returning Bears participants.

Regular session Start-up:

Regular sessions will commence on Wednesday evenings January 2, 2013 at 17:30 hours.

Sessions this year will run both Wednesday evenings from 17:30-19:00 and Sundays from 12:00-13:30 for all levels of the Bears program.

Registration and Costs:

The cost this year will be $85,which includes trail passes for all sessions.

If you have a Brookvale Nordic seasons trail pass for your child please bring it at registration time and we will deduct $32 from the registration price (the amount that we pay Brookvale for trail passes for each Bears participant).

Registration and payment is done online and we will have on line access to the membership link on the registration day. If you prefer to do this in advance directions are below.

Actual registration is done on line using the Biathlon Canada membership system at www.biathloncanada.ca

1. Click on the Membership button
2. Select individual membership
3. Fill in athlete information
4. Select recreational athlete category
5. Select Biathlon Bears under Provincial fee adjustments
6. Continue completion and pay using credit card

Equipment:

Ski rentals are again available at the Brookvale Nordic site at a low cost and this includes many sets of skate skis that are available on a daily rental basis.

For second and third year bears participants, Biathlon PEI has purchased a limited number of sets of high quality Salomon skate skiing equipment and these are available on a first come first served basis for second and third year participants only. There will be charge of $50 for the season for use of each set of equipment and half of this will be returned to you less any damages beyond normal wear. In addition 2^nd and third year participants will be able to use Air arms compressed air magazine fed rifles, a professional biathlon air rifle.

Coaching:

We have a number of qualified and dedicated coaches returning including Darlene Mac Donald, Trudy McGrath, Bob Bentley, Paul Ellis and we are always interested in having parents or family members volunteer in some capacity to help out.

Coach training:

Any person interested in becoming a coach for the Bears program may be eligible to take an entry level-coaching course at Brookvale the weekend of January 18-20, 2013. We also plan to offer Nordic ski clinics to coaches to enhance their ability to teach our young people.

Schedule:

Registration: Saturday December 15, 2012

Official session start-up: Wed Jan 2, 2013

Sessions every Wednesday evening at 17:30-19:00 hours and Sundays from 12:00-13:30

Last training session: Sunday March 10, 2013

Bears Fun Day: Sunday February 3, 2013(date subject to change); we also plan to attend a Bears Fun Day in New Brunswick this year date TBD.

Storm conditions:

Providing Brookvale Nordic site is open we will normally proceed with lessons. Check the Nordic site desk if in doubt. Telephone 658-7866.

For additional information please contact Bob Bentley 964-3294 Darlene MacDonald at 314-9611 or email biathlonpei@gmail.com