British Cadet Rifle Team

The British Cadet Rifle Team, also known as The Athelings, are a team of eighteen cadets selected from the Community Cadet Forces of the United Kingdom. Every year applications are submitted in the Autumn term and a selection committee with twelve members choose the best eighteen applications, and name an additional three non-travelling reserves. These selected cadets then shoot at the British National Rifle Association's Imperial Meeting in July before flying to Canada to compete with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and shoot at the Dominion of Canada meeting held at Connaught Cadet Training Centre.

Selection criteria
In order to gain selection for the Athelings, cadets must fit the following criteria as determined by the selection committee.


 * The cadet must have experience shooting in competition at Bisley
 * The level at which they compete must be very high
 * Must be under 18 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 were 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. Ætheling was an Old English word meaning "young noble". For the first time in history, the Athelings did not travel to Canada in 2021 following the Covid-19 Pandemic. This also occurred in 2022, with these being the only two times ever, the Athelings did not travel to Canada.