Emily Dickson's North American Cup biathlon race results speak for themselves.

Fourth and second one week, third and first the following week.

The 16-year-old Caledonia Nordic Ski Club racer is making medal podium visits a habit. That happened on two consecutive weekends in late-November and early-December in Canmore, and that was before she had a chance to fire her rifle on her home range at Otway Nordic Centre. Saturday's official opening offered Dickson her first chance to shoot on the new range and despite the rain, it was a thrilling experience.

"I'm so excited to use it, it's a great facility, right up there with Canmore and Whistler now, so it's going to be a real treat to train here," said Dickson. "It's going to give me a lot better training on a 30-lane range. I'll be better prepared or the bigger races I attend and it will be a real big advantage."

Now in her eighth season in the sport, Dickson is among a group of 22 Caledonia biathletes. She's convinced the new range and its prominent location near the lodge at Otway will raise the profile of biathlon and trigger an onslaught of new athletes to the club.

Read the full article by Ted Clarke at the Prince George Citizen.