Snow and Ice 2016 by Catharine Moss

www.awsa.org.uk

Army Winter Sports Association

2016

and

ARMY WINTER SPORTS ASSOCIATION

In this issue 2016 ICE and

Army Winter Sports Association Army Winter Sports Association a: c/o MOD ASCB, MacKenzie Building Fox Lines, Queens Avenue, Aldershot GU11 2LB t: 94222 7078 (military) t: (01252) 787078 f: 94222 7079 (military) f: (01252) 787079 e: membership@awsa.org.uk w: www.awsa.org.uk Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG GCMG CCVO DC (P)

Events

AWSA News

Alpine

13 AFPST 19 Bobsleigh 22 Cresta

President Lt Gen Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE Chairman Maj Gen PNYM Sanders CBE DSO chairman@awsa.org.uk

24 Luge 26 Nordic 28 Skeleton

Vice Chairman Brig MP Moore CBE vice-chairman@awsa.org.uk

32 Snowboard

Trustee Brig R Haldenby

36 Telemark

Director Ice Sports Col SB Crossfield

38 Sponsorship

Secretary Lt Col (Retd) MK Allen secretary@awsa.org.uk

General Interest

Ex SPARTAN HIKE

Ex PIPEDOWN

Ex SNOWLION

Sponsorship Secretary Lt Col JA Scott MBE SCOTS sponsorship@awsa.org.uk Public Fund Manager Maj KF Badham-Thornhill REME pf-manager@awsa.org.uk Editor Snow and Ice Catharine Moss editor@awsa.org.uk Discipline officials are listed on individual sports pages. Images are AWSA Copyright unless otherwise stated. Cover image: Sgt Dani Scott QARANC - Luge

Army Winter Sports Association The Army Winter Sports Association was founded in 1947 by Field Marshal Montgomery to help provide military personnel with a break from routine training and operations. Since then it has encouraged generations of Army personnel to take to the snow and ice - often for the first time in their lives. The Association helps soldiers to develop their skills in demanding conditions thereby fostering self discipline, physical courage and teamwork. Many have gone on to represent their country in successive winter Olympic games. Winter sporting disciplines currently encompassed by the AWSA are; Alpine, Bobsleigh, Cresta, Luge, Nordic, Skeleton Bobsleigh, Snowboard and Telemark. If you are a keen snow or ice sportsperson you need to be an AWSA member to compete in any Divisional or Army Championships. For further information contact membership@awsa.org.uk

© This magazine contains official information and should be treated with discretion by the recipient. No responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised in this magazine can be accepted by the publishers or printers. Published by Forces and Corporate Publishing Ltd, Hamblin House, Hamblin Court, Rushden, Northamptonshire NN10 0RU. Tel: 01933 419994 • Fax: 01933 419584 • Email: kerry@forcespublishing.co.uk

Managing Director: Ron Pearson

Designer: Kerry Wells

Season Events 2016 - 2017 Army Winter Sports Association

AWSA Discipline Secretaries Meeting AWSA Management Meeting AWSA AGM and Cocktail Party

Army HQ Cavalry & Guards Club - London Cavalry & Guards Club - London

08/09/16 01/11/16 01/11/16

Alpine

Divisional Championships 1 EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers - France 15/01/17 - 25/01/17 Divisional Championships 2 EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines - France 14/01/17 - 24/01/17 51 Brigade Championships EX SNOW LION Aviemore - UK 24/02/17 - 5/03/17 Army Championships EX LIONS CHALLENGE Serre Chevalier - France 24/01/17 - 03/02/17 Inter Services Championships (ISSSC) Meribel - France 28/01/17 - 04/02/17 Royal Navy Championships Tignes - France 07/01/17 - 21/01/17 Royal Air Force Championships Saalbach Hinterglemm - Austria 14/01/17 - 28/01/17

Bobsleigh

Army Ice Camp - week 1 & 2 EX RACING ICE I Igls - Austria 26/11/16 - 10/12/16 Army Championships (Novice, Junior, Intermediate & Senior) EX RACING ICE II Igls - Austria 11/02/17 - 18/02/17 Army Pre-Inter Services Week EX RACING ICE III Lillehammer - Norway 22/02/17 - 03/03/17 Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Lillehammer - Norway 05/03/17 - 10/03/17

Cresta

Army Junction Novice Championships 17th / 21st Lancers Cup St Moritz - Switzerland 21/01/17 Army Top Championships Scots Guards Cup St Moritz - Switzerland 24/01/17 Inter Services Cresta Championships Prince Phillip Trophy St Moritz - Switzerland 26/01/17

Luge

Nordic

Divisional Championships 1 EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers - France 15/01/17 - 25/01/17 Divisional Championships 2 EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines - France 14/01/17 - 24/01/17 Army/ National / Inter Services Champs (ISSSC) EX RUCKSACK Ruhpolding - Germany 25/01/17 - 10/02/17

Skeleton Bobsleigh

Army Ice Camp - week 1 & 2 EX RACING ICE I Igls – Austria 26/11/16 - 10/12/16 Army Championships (Novice, Junior, Intermediate & Senior) EX RACING ICE II Igls – Austria 11/02/17 - 18/02/17 Army Pre-Inter Services Week EX RACING ICE III Lillehammer - Norway 22/02/17 - 03/03/17 Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Lillehammer - Norway 05/03/17 - 10/03/17

Snowboard

Army Pre-Season Event Bispingen - Germany 08/09/16 EX SNOW SUMMER Hemel Hempstead - UK 15/09/16 51 Brigade Championship EX SNOW LION Aviemore, UK 24/02/17 - 5/03/17 Army Freestyle Championships EX SNOW METHOD Kaunertal - Austria 08/10/16 - 22/10/16 Army Championships EX SNOW JACK Stubai - Austria 25/03/17 - 08/04/17 Inter Services Championships (ISSSC) Meribel - France 28/01/17 - 04/02/17

Army & British Championships EX TELEMARK TITAN Inter Services Championships (ISSSC)

Telemark Pralognan La Vanoise - France Meribel - France

07/01/17 - 18/01/17 28/01/17 - 04/02/17

AWSA PRESIDENT Lt Gen Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE 2016 has been a very positive year for the AWSA. There have been some challenges, but overall, it has been a hugely successful year for Army Winter Sports. The new management team has worked tremendously hard to enable this success and I would like to acknowledge a few key members: the Chairman of the Association, Major General Patrick Sanders, has provided sound leadership and direction during his first year in appointment; we are all delighted that he has been selected to take over as Commander Field Army on promotion in December 2016. His Vice Chairman, Brigadier Martin Moore, has worked tirelessly to support him and the AWSA. And as always, the three colonels â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Martyn Allen, James Scott and Steve Davies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have remained the bedrock of the Association. Finally to the backroom staff of Diane Walters and Wendy Porter, who provide invaluable service in the office. On behalf of all the athletes, coaches and officials who have benefited from your dedication and hard work, thank you. Once again, attendance at all events was very high this year, which meant that demand was still outstripping supply. The task of providing winter sport for all soldiers continues to remain a harsh financial challenge. However, the figures indicate that due to the hard work of all the organising committees, the drive and determination of team captains and the application and courage of the competitors, we are succeeding. In the 2016 Inter-Services Championships, we have had a bumper year, taking 8 out of the 12 male/female team events; our best ever results. The teams took the Inter Services honours in the following events: Male and Female Alpine; Male and Female Snowboard; Cresta; Female Skeleton; Nordic; and Telemark. Special plaudits must go to the following individual winners: WO2 Dougie MacPherson - Alpine Champion; Maj Rachel Beszant - Female Snowboard Champion; Capt Sam Seccombe - Cresta Champion; and Sgt Hayley Larcombe - Female Skeleton Champion. Our elite athletes continue to thrive, with Cpl Amanda Lightfoot on the Biathlon World Cup circuit, LSgt Lamin Deen on the Bobsleigh World Cup Circuit and Gdsmn Raymond Thompson and Sgt Danielle Scott, who represent GB in Luge. There are articles about these athletes later in the Magazine. Army Winter Sports have continued to flourish and long may that continue. I look forward to seeing athletes, coaches, officials and support staff next season, either on snow or ice, or perhaps even both! Good luck in 2017.

Visit the AWSA website at www.awsa.org.uk for further information on Army winter sports

DID YOU KNOW - Army Sports Lottery Grants Army Sports Lottery (ASL) members are eligible to apply for a grant towards the cost of any authorised winter sports activity (WSA) held in Europe, including Scotland, be it competitive or training, subject to the following limitations: • Maximum number of athletes regardless of gender as laid down in the ASL DIN. • One grant per member per FY. Grant applications are made retrospectively and must be accompanied by:

Annual General Meeting

• PXR. • If not an Army authorised competition, a copy of the authority issued in accordance with 2015DIN07- 122 Army European Winter Activity Instruction. Organisers are to ensure all participants are members of ASL prior to the start of the event.

Date for your Diary - the AGM of the Army Winter Sports Association will be held at the Cavalry and Guards Club, 127 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PX, 4 St James’s Square, London on the 1st November 2016 at 1730 hrs.

Grants will be awarded on a pro rata basis according to the number of tickets held: £25 per ticket, up to a maximum of 5 tickets. All members who increase their lottery tickets within 6 months of claiming a WSA grant must retain their increased lottery tickets for a period of 12 months from the WSA activity date. The cut-off date for AWS grant applications is 1 June 2017.

How to join All those participating in AWSA sponsored events, including divisional championships, or in receipt of ASCB managed grants are required to hold current AWSA membership. Full membership of the AWSA is open to all ranks of the British Army, whether serving on a regular, FTRS or Reserves engagement or as a member of a UOTC or the Army Cadet Force. Associate membership is available to: • All members on retirement from the Army. • All serving members of the RN, RAF and overseas forces whilst on the strength of an Army unit or establishment. • MOD civil servants. The annual subscription for membership, which will be subject to periodic amendment by the Management Committee, is £15 (one off fee of £125 for Life Membership) payable on joining and thereafter annually on 1st August.

Do you use Facebook? If you are a facebook user, the AWSA has its own page where all the latest news and updates will be posted. During the season there will be updates with images from the various disciplines and AWSA members are encouraged to use the site as a notice board. Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with our dislocated population so spread the word. Visit www.facebook.com/ArmyWinterSportsAssociation and click LIKE.

Please visit www.awsa.org.uk/membership to complete the application process.

MAJ BEE BRYAN

ALPINE

The unseasonal conditions throughout December 2015 had many of the LION’S CHALLENGE committee twitching and developing an unhealthy obsession with watching the webcam footage from the top of the Serre Ratier lift, looking for the slightest greying of the skies or a solitary snowflake to start the season off. But no. The year ended with Serre Chevalier, the home of the Army Alpine Championships for the past 25 years as green as a pleasant summer day in July. Even those who were out for pre-championship training or holidays incredulously posted pictures of the snowless resort on Facebook – the outlook was bleak. However, the secret snow dances the committee and competitors were performing worked on the weather gods, and on 4 January 2016, the snow finally started to fall, and by the start of the Regional Championships on 6 January, the resort was declared open for business. 12 days later and the 114 qualifying racers from Ex SPARTAN HIKE and Ex PIPEDOWN made their way to Chantemerle for the start of Ex LION’S CHALLENGE. It was fantastic to see some new faces at registration, qualifying in their own right, including some Junior and Novice skiers. Despite unstable snow conditions and the threat of avalanches in many parts of the Alps, the snow conditions in Serre Chevalier were good and the efforts of the French pisteurs to prepare the slopes for racing were incredible. The North facing slopes helped protect the snow and it was possible to complete two runs each day allowing an excellent competition. The championships started with the technical events on La Draye and we learnt to expect the unexpected as falls and injuries reordered the top 15 and saw some racers climb 20 to 30 places. We were joined once again by some talented and inspirational racers from the Armed Forces Para Snowsports Team and the slopes were buzzing; sponsors, competitors, guests and Commanding Officers crowded round the finish netting to cheer each and every racer over the finish line. The big question on everyones mind were the speed events and whether we could use the Piste Luc Alphand – the iconic downhill run straight into the heart of the resort. Despite the recent snowfall, there were still a lot of criteria to meet in terms of stability of snow, homologation from FIS and the ability to place and anchor sufficient safety netting along its length. Again, the work of the French Pisteurs and Hill Team and the tireless liaison from our own Technical Delegate, Maj Ross Anderson SCOTS DG were critical and with only 24 hours to go, the Luc Alphand was declared homologated and good to go for the speed events. The Downhill training days did much to reshuffle the order of the pack after the technical events, as some spectacular falls and distinct changes to skiing style took their toll. Downhill race day dawned bright and blue, the piste

was groomed to perfection and there was a distinct anticipation in the air as Army Team places would be gained or lost in the forthcoming race. The tight group of top seeds were all focussed and for those with an eye on an Army Team place for the first time, the pressure was rising. The ladies raced first and a bar was immediately set when Capt Lizzie Cranfield AAC crossed the finish line at an incredible 124kph. There followed impressive performances from Capt Scarlett Geering RA and Pte Amy Brookman RLC cementing their places on the Army Ladies Team. When the turn of the Men’s competition came around, Capt Duncan White YORKS managed a speed of 136kph, just shy of the all-time race record set by WO2 Geordie Dryden QRH, now the finish judge and committee member. One by one, the top 15 men came down, giving it their all for the possibility of going on to the Inter Services Snow Sports Championships. Everyone’s eyes were on Capt Joe Williamson KRH. Tipped to win the DH for the men having recorded 142kph on the wall in training, relief was palpable as we heard over the radio that he was safely through the two big jumps at Pylone and Brigadier’s Leap and on track for a speedy time. Then at the top of the wall and a few hundred feet from the finish line whilst negotiating a lip over a road, disaster struck and Joe fell breaking his leg. The mood immediately changed to one of concern and reflection over what people were putting themselves through. Tearing down an Olympic Downhill run on 7ft skis at speeds of over 90mph is not for the faint hearted. Joe was treated in Briancon and is making a good recovery. We all wish him the best of luck with his rehabilitation and look forward to him taking care of unfinished business next season. With all done bar the shouting of the Super G, which rounded off the championships during another glorious alpine day (and thankfully without incident), the Army Team Captains, Capt Yan Thomas RLC and Capt Lizzie Cranfield AAC) could select their racers to go forward to the Inter Services. Some new talent was selected for each of the teams and new Army jerseys were presented. Prize giving at the end of the Army Championships was dominated by 1 RLC, 5 Bn REME and 9RLC who were like yo-yos up and down from the podium. It was a pleasure to have so many sponsors with us this year, both on the hill, hosting events for the competitors and presenting prizes at the prize giving. Their support is invaluable and appreciated at all levels and a huge vote of thanks goes to them all for their unwavering involvement and support. Thanks must also go to Maj Ross Anderson, our TD who has completed his time as TD of Ex LION’s CHALLENGE this year and will be going on to TD for other services in the coming season.

ALPINE

CONTACT ALPINE Ex LIONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CHALLENGE ended just as snow conditions started to deteriorate. Much needed snow was forecast in the next few days, but unfortunately, over in Meribel, where the Inter Services Snow Sports Competition was due to start, that snow fell as rain. Pistes became a rather disappointing mix of ice and slush and in some cases dangerous.

Images: laura janedalephotography.com

Chairman Alpine Brig KL Ford MBE Vice Chairman Alpine Lt Col H Campbell-Smith MBE RDG Secretary Alpine Maj BH Smith R Signals e: alpine@awsa.org.uk

ALPINE

EVENTS 2017 Divisional Championship 1 EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers, France 15-25 Jan 2017 Regional Championship 2 EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines, France 14-24 Jan 2017 Army Championship EX LIONS CHALLENGE Serre Chevalier, France 24 Jan - 3 Feb 2017 Inter-Services Championships (ISSSC) Meribel, France 28 Jan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 Feb 2017

RESULTS 2016 Army Championship Male Champion Female Champion Best Veteran Best Junior Team Champion Corps Champion

Capt Duncan White 1 YORKS Capt Lizzie Cranfield AAC Capt Ian Thomas REME Spr Kieran Southall RE 1 Regt RLC RE

Inter-Services Championship Male Champion WO2 Dougie MacPherson RLC Runner-Up Capt Duncan White 1 YORKS Female Champion Sqn Ldr J Wroe RAF Runner-Up Capt Jen Kehoe RE Best Male Newcomer Spr Kieran Southall RE Best Female Newcomer Capt Mel Birtwhistle RE Male Team Champions ARMY Female Team Champions ARMY

ALPINE

INTER SERVICES Capt I Thomas REME (Army Mens’ Captain) and Capt Lizzie Cranfield AAC (Army Ladies’ Capt)

The selection of the Army team is always a contentious issue and this season proved to be no different. It was widely recognised that the competition at Ex LION'S CHALLENGE was at the highest level it had ever been: a new generation of army skiers is emerging to keep the old guard on their toes. Plans are afoot to arrange bespoke training for the Army teams - the first time that a coordinated effort has sought to ensure that success is built on solid foundations. The current formula of plucking the best skiers from Ex LION'S CHALLENGE, with no formal training, relies on an element of luck for success at the ISSSC. The 2016 ISSSC saw Capt Lizzie Cranfield of 5 Regt AAC return as Team Captain for the Army Ladies team with the new Alpine Team Manager, Captain Yan Thomas of 27 Regt RLC was also given the chance to Captain the Army Male team, after injury cruelly robbed him of his chance in 2015. Selection did indeed prove to be difficult and came down to the wire for the last few slots in both teams. Whilst the idea of taking specialist skiers for individual disciplines is hardly new, both TCs saw an opportunity to pick squads that were capable of dominating each individual race and winning back both highly coveted crowns. In true Army Male team fashion the boys started off the hard way: two of the selected six skiers failed to finish the first Downhill race, relying on SSgt Mike Roberts to carry the team home. That placed the team 13 seconds behind the RN and the pressure was firmly on for the remaining races. The ladies fortunately didn’t follow the TC’s lead, (crashing through the safety netting on the wall!) and dominated thenceforth with resounding team success, and individual silver for Capt Jen Kehoe. The weather threatened to wreak havoc on the event and kept all the competitors on their toes throughout but fortunately it held sufficiently to allow all races to take place, including the Super G which saw the Army Male team start to eat into the RN lead, hounded by the RAF. Again the ladies’ team demonstrated their dominance in the speed disciplines, with Captains Lizzie Cranfield and Jen Kehoe setting the pace, ably supported by Lieutenants Scarlett Gearing and Hollie Suff. After an expensive (for the sponsors) tenth anniversary party, the racing took a twist and night slalom was the order of the following day (or night). Fresh from their mid-morning slumber both teams dominated this event with the Army Male team seeing six of its racers finish inside the top eight positions. This firmly swayed momentum into their path and

Images: Cpl Jamie Dudding RLC

saw them overhaul the RN and set up a 20 second buffer heading into the final event, the Team GS. The ladies’ team yet again showed their strength in depth with the junior racers stepping up to the plate to deliver team results when it counted. Although the margin wasn’t as big as the previous races it still proved to be too big a challenge for their RN and RAF counterparts. By now R Kelly’s ‘Bump and Grind’ was part of the start routine for all teams, ably led by Geordie Dryden and his ‘radio mate’ Sgt Chalky White who had unfortunately sustained a championship ending injury in the Super G but was able to help relay crucial start/finish information to each racer. Finally both teams knew that a steady finish in the Team GS would be enough to walk away with both main prizes; the men retained their overall lead, and the ladies once again reinforced their supremacy with a team win, and individual gold and bronze. At the start of this final event, Capt Jen Kehoe was in the running for the overall Ladies Champion and both WO2 Dougie Macpherson and Capt Duncan White were both still in the running for the overall Male prize. Credit must go to all three who skied well within their limits to ensure that team success came first. WO2 Macpherson managing to stave off fierce competition to take his first Inter Service title, and Capt Kehoe was narrowly pipped into second place in the Ladies competition. Sapper Kieran Southall (RE) took further honours as the Best Male Newcomer. The podiums were indeed painted red with success showing that Army Skiing is once again back where it belongs, on top. Planning is now in place to ensure that the ‘Army Development Squad’ underpins success for some considerable time yet.

AFPST

ARMED FORCES

PARA-SNOWSPORT TEAM (AFPST) Lt Col Mel Bowler

SAC Shona Brownlee at the Army Championships What a season it has been for the newly titled Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team! It has been a year of development, growth and positive change for the Team and individuals alike. The introduction of adaptive Nordic, and consolidation of adaptive snowboarding, has allowed greater opportunity for athletes to participate as part of their recovery journey. The whole Team has benefitted from closer links with the Parasnowsports GB Development Squad, as well as from stronger links with an increasing number of Service charities, such as H4H, BLESMA, ABF-TSC, Blind Veterans UK and Skiing With Heroes. We have also achieved some impressive results at the highest levels, making tangible progress towards the goal of preparing a select number of athletes for the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in South Korea. AFPST now delivers a world-class training programme giving Team members the best foundations from which they can pursue their chosen para-snowsport. To be able to do this we adopted a flexible structure that allows our team members to move easily between streams to provide them with the best possible pathway for recovery. We have also developed opportunities for members wanting to race for fun, catering for members who want to race competitively but maybe cannot commit to being a full-time athlete. Finally, we have introduced an ‘instructor development’ pathway for recovering athletes who want to pursue a career in snowsports and to possibly return to the team as staff to ‘give something back’ to those still recovering.

Ford UK’s Debbie Ling hands Flt Sgt John Kirk the keys to the new Team minibus at Tedworth House

FROM CSDST TO AFPST A change of name for the Team at the start of the season demonstrated that we now conduct competitive adaptive alpine skiing, snowboarding and Nordic programmes, as well as reflecting the nomenclature of two key organisations upon whom we rely enormously. The ‘Combined Services’ have now become the ‘UK Armed Forces’; the ‘British Disabled Ski Team’ has now become ‘Para Snowsport GB’. We have decided that we would follow suit so that we remain aligned and pertinent. The Team therefore has officially re-named to, ‘Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST)’. With the change in the Team’s title, the triangular logo remains exactly as before, keeping us instantly recognisable.

AFPST with the new Ford bus - L-R Ollie Thorn, Paul Spanner, John Kirk, David Eadie, Mark Scorgie 13

‘

AFPST

It is incredible to have created Nordic ski opportunities, for these incredible Athletes, to achieve incredible success on their route to recovery. Nordic Manager and Coach Major Elizabeth Winfield RLC

’

Ollie Thorn Army Championships

This change in title was formally marked at the handover of the Team’s new minibus from Ford UK at Tedworth House in November. The vehicle is absolutely vital. It enables us to move injured service people and veterans to training and competitions throughout the UK and Europe. Ford UK have provided this vehicle as part of their longstanding support to the team since 2010. Receiving no public funding, the Team relies on generous donations from Team Army and over a dozen other companies to maintain the extremely high standards and ‘offer’ to wounded, injured or sick Service personnel and veterans.

PRE-SEASON TRAINING The Performance Development Camp at Tedworth House Recovery Centre was an ideal opportunity to draw participants from all three disciplines together to prepare for the forthcoming season. The aim of the camp was to educate our Alpine, Snowboard and Nordic athletes in the elements required to be effective competitors on the International Paralympic Committee racing circuit. Subjects covered included resilience and stress management, strength and conditioning and media training. The support offered by the team at Tedworth

14 Capt Jen Kehoe and Menna Fitzpatrick

House was exceptional. The Hidden Wounds team delivered first class presentations on stress and resilience and the training was complimented by a yoga session. In the early part of the season, the Team continued to offer serving and veteran WIS personnel a programme of flexible summer training both in UK at the indoor snow centers (Hemel Hempstead, Castleford and Glasgow) and in the excellent training facilities at Landgraaf, Holland. Much of this training was under the supervision of our UK Chief Instructor Sgt Ryan Swift RLC. These sessions form the bedrock of training to develop Foundation Team athletes to the standard required to train in the challenging conditions found in the mountains.

ALPINE Mountain training started at the Stubai camps with focus on effective posture and balance. Whether a seasoned veteran or a relative newcomer, the fundamental elements remain the same and if you can’t stand or sit on your kit correctly the chances are you will not be able to balance correctly. A lack of snow during December was a blessing in disguise, as training moved to Pitztal, where the National Team were able to provide inspiration for some intensive pre-race training. The IPCAS Super Giant Slalom produced some excellent performances from ex-RMP SSgt Grant Harvey and despite some challenges, Retired OCdt Ollie Thorn gained valuable experience. Visually impaired GB skier Menna Fitzpatrick and her guide, our Performance Manager Capt Jen Kehoe RE, won their first gold of the season. The tour of the National and IPCAS meetings

continued to Germany and to Kuhtal in Austria, where more wins followed for Jen and Menna, and the Performance Team athletes benefitted from the exposure to more challenging courses. The new year brought the long awaited downpour of snow and the Performance Team went back to the training pistes in Stubai. Ollie Thorn enjoyed some valuable one-toone coaching from Pte Adam Coulson RLC, focusing on Giant Slalom. The Army Alpine Championships brought the opportunity not only to ski alongside military colleagues, but also the opportunity to tackle some very technical courses. The meeting is one of the highlights of the calendar for the Alpine team and a great opportunity to demonstrate to some of the Field Army what the AFPST is all about. Andy Barlow GM was back on snow having recovered from injury earlier in the season and produced an impressive finish in 38th place in a field of 116 at the Army Championships. This event provided the first taste of competitive racing for SAC Shona Brownlee, Sjt Dan Ord and Cpl Ash Winter. The season highlight for the Alpine squad has to be the International Inter Service Championships in Meribel. It’s a wonderful opportunity to race with the best the military has to offer and also to enjoy the company of many of our supporters and sponsors. This year’s meeting produced some exceptional performances across the board. Flight Sergeant John Kirk, returning from a serious injury at the end of the previous season, ably led as Team Captain, having regained his ski legs again at the RAF Championships in Austria. Andy Barlow excelled in the Super G and GS. Visually-impaired Ash Winter and guide Dan Ord took the Coombe Trophy as best overall adaptive racers – an impressive feat considering Ash only started skiing in March 2015. Following the night slalom the team had the honour of meeting with Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex. The Countess took a great deal of time to chat with each of the team members and showed a real interest in the recovery pathway that we offer.

AFPST

Nordic group – L-R – Jason Sklenar, Maj Liz Winfield, Si Harmer, Jamie Weller, Sgt Simon Allanson (image by ML Photography (M Laponder)) National Championships followed in the last part of the season, including the first ever British Para-Alpine National Championships in Tignes, France. Andy Barlow won a bronze medal and yet more medals followed for Menna and her guide Jen Kehoe. Two more Service guides also put in great medal-winning performances – Able Seaman Brett Wild guiding Millie Knight and Cpl Gary Smith RAF guiding Sochi medalist Kirsty Gallagher. An incredibly successful season for Jen and Menna was concluded with the award of the Crystal Globe for the best cumulative performance across all four disciplines – a first for Great Britain in winter sports. It was a fantastic achievement and a very proud day for the whole team.

‘

It is great to give back to a sport that I have loved and has given me so much. Working with these amazing Athletes is humbling. Nordic Coach Jason Sklenar

’

NORDIC Nordic training supported seven athletes this season, starting with dry-land summer sessions in UK followed by on-snow training at the International Biathlon Camp in Colorado. In the new year, the Nordic team got the chance to ski at the military competitions at the Divisional and Army Championships in France and the National, Combined Services and Army Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. Although not racing, all athletes gained some very useful experiences, including Jamie Weller who had just transferred to the Nordic discipline from alpine. Another milestone was reached when ex-Royal Marine Major Paul Spanner achieved classification at the IPC World Cup in Germany. Jamie Weller made the long journey across Europe to attend his classification where he became the first visually impaired athlete from Great Britain ever to be classified B2 for Nordic Skiing. He is now on our full-time training programme.

Coach and Nordic Manager Maj Liz Winfield with Jamie Weller (image by ML Photography (M Laponder)) 15

AFPST

Darren Swift at the AIG Summit, Vermont

SNOWBOARDING

TEAM ACTIVITIES

A fruitful season for Owen Pick kicked off with invaluable training at the Para Snowsports GB’s Podium Training Camp in the USA. The focus was on hitting kickers and finding the right position in the air, ready for some high profile competitions. Owen competed in his second X Games in Aspen, finishing in sixth place in the high profile, invite only contest. ‘When it came to race day I had trained so much on the course I was really happy and ready to ride. I almost got taken out in the semi-finals but managed to sneak past on the inside and qualified for the finals. During the final I got sandwiched between two riders, which made me fall, so I only managed a sixth place. I’m happy overall though and have learned many lessons from the experience.’ Owen Pick Owen went on to participate in World Cup races in Aspen and Canada. In March Owen and Rich Ward took part in training and competition with the Para Snowboard GB Team in Les Angles, France. Both got some valuable training under their belts but unfortunately suffered injuries during the competition week.

Snowboarder Darren Swift, the X Games, joined by his alpine teammates Aspen Ollie Thorn, Dan Ord and Chairman Brig Fred Hargreaves OBE attended the AIG Winter Summit in Vermont, USA. Just to be given a chance to get back Representing the Royal Foundation’s Endeavour Fund, they had the amazing up on my board and ride the slopes is opportunity to ski and snowboard alongside always an awesome feeling especially some of the best disabled coaches and when you can show people no matter athletes in the world. The Team supported regular, reservist the disability it can be done. and civilian staff and athletes working towards formal coaching and instructional qualifications as part of the formal instructor Rich Ward development pathway. Athletes Ivan Giles and Dan Ord qualified as Level 1 BASI Alpine wish him very best wishes for the future on his instructors. Ivan has also become a qualified retirement from the Army. Our Season Launch boot fitter and ski technician. Head Coach will take place at the In and Out Club, St James’, Mark Scorgie and UK Coach Ryan Swift are on London on Wed 05 Oct 16. their way towards certification as BASI ISIA Ollie Thorn sums up the season and what instructors. AFPST means to him: AFPST’s annual Newcomers’ Event took “The 2015/16 season was a full on one. We place in May at Hemel Hempstead, which hit the ground running and all my training in attracted 27 expressions of interest and 13 the summer massively helped with my skiing. potential athletes attended to find out more I was racing well and finding some significant about all three disciplines. We rely improvements in my skiing. I had found the on donations and fund-raising, extraordinary enjoyment and freedom that particularly as the Team expands. comes from sitting at the top of a mountain and A team from ATR Winchester, then tearing down it in both control and style! led by Commanding Officer and The end of the season saw me attending the AIG Team Finance Director Lt Col Andy Winter Summit in Stowe, North America. For Cox took part in the Marathon myself, to be able to ski with a group of other sit des Sables in April. They raised skiers was brilliant. The ‘Wolf Pack’ as I referred an incredible £75,000 for the to it, provided an amazing source of information, Team (the highest sum raised at experience and motivation to always strive for the event by a UK fund-raising improvement and push the limits of what is team) and finished in a very placed on you as someone who is ‘disabled’. impressive 5th place. This amazing The AFPST has given me more than I could ever achievement was amplified by a repay. It has given me back my identity, given very stylish Gala Dinner in their me a purpose. It has enabled me to ski with my Officers’ Mess which raised an family once more, and introduced me to my additional £52,000. girlfriend. Sit skiing gives me a freedom which in The Team is very pleased to my opinion, can be found in no other disability welcome Lt Gen Jaques CBE as our sport. When I’m in my sit ski I’m not disabled. I President. We thank Lt Gen Evans can do anything or go anywhere that my mates CB CBE DSO for his dedication to can do, and thanks to the training of the Team I’m the Team during his tenure and now better than them all!”

Handover of the funds raised by ATR Winchester at AFPST’s Gala Dinner Night - Lt Gen Jaques and Lt Col Andy Cox

Owen Pick at

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BOBSLEIGH

BOBSLEIGH Lieutenant Colonel HS Smyth RAMC – Chairman Army Bobsleigh

his year the Army Novice/Junior and Senior Bobsleigh Championships were scheduled to take place the week prior to the Inter Service Ice Sports Championships. Last year the Army Championships were held a number of weeks prior to the Inter Services training week and competition however due to available ice time, this year they had to be held immediately before the Inter Services. The venue for the Championships this year was Winterberg in Germany. The track at Winterberg is a technical track and over the years has developed a fearsome reputation as a track that “bites back”. It certainly does not allow for a driver to become too complacent when sliding. The track is 1609 metres long with 15 corners including a 270 degree “Kreisel” curve and racing bobsleighs can reach speeds of up to 130km/h. Following the success of Ex RACING ICE 1 held in Jan 16 and the success of the Army Team at the Inter Service Championships in Mar 15, 19 bobsleighers were keen to compete in the Army Championships and they arrived on Sun 28 Feb ready to train, race and face selection for the Army Team. Recently there has been a push on increasing female participation in the sport so it was excellent to have two female teams turn up to race. Overall, there was representation from both the Regular and Reserve forces with a range of cap badges competing. The Army Championships were scheduled to take place on Friday 26 Feb following a week of sliding at the Winterberg Bobsleigh Track. However, in true military fashion, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The track proved to be extremely challenging for all the bobsleighers no matter what

Junior Champions -Pte Jonathan Brown and Pte Jason Joseph [missing from the photo is Pte Nick Gleeson who was injured after the first run]

British Female Champions (WO2 Sarah Smith/Sgt Bella Pearson)

level of experience they had and the decision was taken at the mid-week point that for safety reasons, the race would be postponed. In the sport of bobsleigh safety is paramount and over the years there have been some serious accidents at the Winterberg track (at all levels of the sport and all nationalities) and the safety of my bobsleighers had to come first. As progression up to the top of the bobsleigh track had taken most of the week, it would not have been safe to have everyone racing off the top of the track on the Friday as that would have been a step too far for them. The decision was not an easy one to make; by postponing the race until the Inter Services week would mean that some of the athletes who had turned up for the Army Championships would not be able to race as they had to return to work. It was impressive to see the positive attitude displayed by these individuals when they were briefed that there would not be a race at the end of the week. Everyone fully understood the reasons behind this and supported the t tac igh decision. Con Bobsle MC an th RA h irm y Cha l HS Sm obsleig RAMC t o Lt C etar y B Taggar .uk g r c c o . a a r Se ny M aws n @ 19 19 a h D ig t Cap bobsle e:

The bobsleigh staff throughout were just superb and thanks must go out to the Army Head Coach, Mr Sean Olsson, the Army Assistant Coach, Mr Steve McFall and the Army Brakeman Coach, Sgt Steve “Smudge” Smith. The event could not have taken place without the medical staff; SSgt Chrissy Lyon and Cpl Kimberley Springhall provided the medical cover and spent all day, every day at the track patching up those athletes who took a tumble and providing them (and sometimes the bobsleigh coaches) with a warm brew and usually some chocolate or the cake of choice in Winterberg “Dickmans”. The Army hosted a number of visitors during the week; we welcomed Brig Ian Bell (Comd BFG) and Col Ritson Harrison (Sec BFG Sports Board), Lt Col Bradley and WO1 Atkins (CO & RSM 33 Engr Regt), Lt Col Cansdale and WO1 Davies (CO & RSM 3 PARA) and Col Crossfield, our new Director Ice Sports. It is crucial that ice sports have the support of the chain of command and it was fantastic to see a number of the CO’s visiting their personnel during the training. I would encourage this to continue and all CO’s who have personnel involved in bobsleigh are more than welcome to visit any of the ice sports Exercises. RTR bobsleigh has had the support of the Vintners for a number of years and it was again a delight to welcome Col Steven May and members of the Vintners out to Winterberg to see the races; whilst they only observed the bobsleigh training they were able to watch the Army luge and skeleton races. Col May was accompanied by Alderman Andrew Parmley of the Vintners who very kindly presented the prizes for the luge and skeleton races at the end of the week. He also presented the Spirit of the Event Award, which is an award for someone who has contributed to ice sports; they don’t necessarily have to be an athlete. This year it was awarded to Maj Belinda Beard, who is retiring from the Army. She was presented with the award for her vast contribution to both skeleton bobsleigh and bobsleigh over the years and she was a worthy recipient of the award. With no Army Bobsleigh Championships taking place at the end of the first week of sliding, the Army Team was selected on the performance during the week as well as on previous results. Three individuals could only turn up for the Inter Service week but these were all experienced sliders and included our GB athlete – LSgt Lamin Deen who had just finished competing on the World Cup Circuit. Unfortunately LSgt Deen was unable to bring his GB sled with him to the Inter Services; this had an impact on the team as the Army Bobsleighs (together with the race runners) are an ageing fleet and having to provide LSgt Deen with an Army bobsleigh meant that one of the older sleds had to be used for the Inter Service Championships. WO2 Sarah Smith and Sgt Arabella Pearson also turned up for the Inter Service week and they are the most experienced female bobsleigh crew in the Army at the moment so it was great to see them arrive on the Sat prior to the start of the Inter Service training. During the Inter Service training week, it was a real pleasure to welcome Gen Nitsch (AWSA Deputy PresidentIce) to Winterberg and he visited all the ice sports disciplines. As he visited during training rather than on race day, he was able to chat in depth to the athletes and get a feel for how challenging the sliding had been.

Army Champions LSgt Lamin Deen and Pte Ricky Wilde The Army Squad selected for the Inter Service Championships consisted of five male teams and three female teams and in addition there were a number of spare brakemen. It was absolutely crucial that there were spare brakemen in case any of the Army team were injured during training or during the race itself. Two weeks of sliding does take a toll on the body when athletes are experiencing 3.5 g during a run with speeds in training in excess of 120 km/h. To continue to slide when your body is telling you to stop takes great physical courage and to get in a bobsleigh when you do not know whether you will complete the run on all four runners takes great moral courage. This was apparent throughout the Army team and I have never experienced such teamwork, grit and determination before. It was outstanding. Unfortunately during the training, the sled driven by SSgt Michelle Slade-Jones with Lt Col “Goz” Dufty as brakewoman crashed resulting in SSgt Slade-Jones injuring herself which meant that she could no longer slide. She was absolutely gutted but continued to support the sliding for the rest of the week. For the second year running, Lt Col Dufty raced for the RN/RM as their female team was depleted and Lt Col Dufty stepped up to the mark and offered to brake for one of their drivers. The rules for the Inter Service Bobsleigh Championships are based on the Bobsleigh World Championships where the race is held over two days (a total of four laufs). The Army male team were defending the title they won in La Plagne last year and this year there would be a female team for the first time in a few years so they had it all to play for. During training, five male teams can train but this is reduced to four teams on race day, with the fastest three teams to count. As the female side of the sport has been developing over recent years, the rules for the females are three teams to race, two to count. It had been decreed that the Army Championships would be decided on the outcome of the first two race runs of the Inter Service Championships with the Inter Service

Novice Champions Cpl Dougie Callard/LCpl Steve Round results being a culmination of the two days of racing. However, even this simple plan did not come to fruition. On race day, the women’s first run took place; there was an issue with a couple of the female bobsleighs not making it up the braking straight but no damage to runners. However when it came to the start of the male race, the first four bobsleighs had slower than normal times and some complained of an issue at the top of the track. Immediately the race was stopped to investigate the problem. A hole had appeared at the top of the track at the first corner and the weight of the male bobsleighs had resulted in the runners scraping against concrete which slowed the sleds down significantly. This may not sound like an issue but when athletes spend hours polishing their runners to make sure that there are no scratches on the runners (a small scratch can add time to your run), to find deep gouges in your runners is a show stopper. The track were at fault, the race was postponed and the decision taken by the race jury was to restart runs one and two the following day, thereby making the Inter Service Championships a two lauf race. It also meant that the Army Championships would have to be decided on the two race runs on the Friday. One of the damaged sleds was the Army two sled piloted by Pte Jonathan “Strangely” Brown and his brakeman Pte Nick Gleeson. They had been using one of the best sets of Army race runners; as a result the Army runners had to be redistributed amongst the team and a lot of hard work put into preparing another set of runners for the race. It was certainly turning out to be a fortnight of drama. Thankfully the final day of the Inter Services went smoothly but unfortunately, due to inferior equipment (bobsleighs and runners), the Army did not retain their Inter Service title. The athletes put their heart and soul into the race and could not have given anymore. During the race two of the brakemen suffered ice burns and the spare brakemen stepped up to race in the second lauf; the teamwork displayed was incredible. The injured brakemen would have got back into their bobsleighs for the second run had they had

their way. The women’s race was nail biting; the RN and Army had two bobs racing whilst the RAF had three. The RAF led by ex GB slider Sgt Michelle Coy took first place and sadly, due to a crash in the second run, one of the Army sleds crashed and did not get a finish time. However, it was important just to have Army women racing and to have two sleds and an Army brakewoman sliding for the RN/RM was superb. All the Army women who slid during the two weeks were worthy of a place in the Army team.

BOBSLEIGH

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS

Results 2015 - 2016 Army Championships Champions: LSgt Lamin Deen Gren Gds & Pte Ricky Wilde 3 PARA Runners up: Cpl Dougie Callard 2 PARA & LCpl Steve Round 3 PARA Fastest brakeman: Pte Ricky Wilde (5.38 secs) Female Champions: WO2 Sarah Smith RSA Larkhill & Sgt Bella Pearson ATR Winchester Fastest brake woman: Sgt Bella Pearson (6.24 secs) Junior Championships 1st Place: Pte Jonathan Brown & Pte Nick Gleeson (Pte Jason Joseph took second run due to brakeman injury during run 1) 3 PARA Fastest brakeman: Pte Jason Joseph (5.54 secs) Novice Championships Runners up: Pte Ollie Harrison 2 PARA & Sgt Aaron McHale SFSG Novice Champions: Cpl Dougie Callard 2 PARA & LCpl Steve Round 3 PARA Fastest brakeman: Pte Nick Gleeson 3 PARA (5.42 secs)

Inter Service Championships Inter Service Champions: RAF Runners Up: RN/RM 3rd Place: Army Female Champions: RAF Runners Up: RN/RM 3rd Place: Army

Events 2016 - 2017 Army Ice Camp EX RACING ICE I Igls, Austria 29 Nov-10 Dec 16

Cpl Callard and Sgt McHale finishing their 2nd run at the British Champs The British Bobsleigh Championships were held on Saturday 12 March 2016. This was an ideal opportunity for service personnel to remain in Winterberg following the Inter Service Championships and compete for the title of British Bobsleigh Champion. There was a male and a female race. A number of the Army drivers wanted to compete in the Championships and it was also an opportunity for the Army Head Coach and the Army Brakeman Coach to race together for the first time in a number of years. There was a Veteran’s category for which they qualified (I won’t mention their combined age but it was eye watering)! The race was run over two laufs and the results were as follows: British Champion: LSgt Lamin Deen (pushed by SAC John Baines) Runner-Up and Novice Champion: Cpl Dougie Callard/Sgt Aaron McHale British Veteran Champion: Mr Sean Olsson/Sgt Steve”Smudge” Smith British Women’s Champion: WO2 Sarah Smith/Sgt Bella Pearson

Army Championship EX RACING ICE II (Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) Igls, Austria 11-18 Feb 17 Army Squad training week Ex RACING ICE III Lillehammer, NOR 22 Feb – 3 Mar 17 Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Lillehammer, NOR 5-10 Mar 17

Maj PJR Chishick LG

CRESTA

Contact Chairman Cresta Lt Gen Sir James Everard KCB CBE Secretary Cresta Maj PJR Chishick LG e: cresta@awsa.org.uk

Events 2017 Army Junction Championship 17th/ 21st Lancers Championship St Moritz, Switzerland 21 January 2017 Army Top Championship Scots Guards Cup St Moritz, Switzerland 24 January 2017 Inter Service Championship Prince Phillip Trophy St Moritz, Switzerland 26 January 2017

After two years of close defeats at the hands of the Royal Navy the Army team was set for a comeback. This season we had 27 riders representing 11 regiments for the Junction InterRegimental Championships of whom, one third were soldiers.

Army Squad Front – Lt Shaw RY, Lt Pryor KRH, Capt Harbord LG Rear – LCPl Tonkin RHG/D, Capt Barnes RHG/D, Capt Seccombe RY, Commander Field Army, Capt Chishick LG, CSjt ARmon- Jones RIFLES, Capt Wythe RL

The Army Championships takes place mid-January and is the early tool for selecting potential talent for the Army squad and then ultimately the Army Team. It takes the form of a Regimental Pairs race, over two or three courses, as well as an individual novice championship and individual handicapped race. This means that all personnel have a chance at some silverware, though the Regimental Pairs is the most contested. As ever with race day, the ice was hard and fast and with riders pushing themselves to go faster there were the inevitable falls. There was, however, some extremely good riding and many riders got their personal bests including LCpl Tonkin RHG/D and Tpr Grossman LG who both got down to 45 seconds. Colour Serjeant Armon-Jones RIFLES from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst also performed very well pulling out a very fast time of 43.98 in his first course, beating his previous best by over a second. Capt Garton Grenadier Guards improved to 52 seconds winning the junction handicap competition, closely followed by Tpr Halfhide RHG/D. In

CRESTA

Regimental Teams the Regimental Pairs race, the Life Guards won by over six seconds with Capt Chishick and Tpr Grossman, followed by Capt Barnes and LCpl Tonkin from the Blues and Royals. In Inter-Services week the Army held the Top Championships for the Scots Guards Cup on the Tuesday with again, a strong field of nine riders. Capt Tom Wythe RL came in third place, Capt Paul Chishick LG in second and Capt Sam Seccombe, for the Royal Yeomanry, in first place. It is fantastic to have such a strong Top Squad, and the places in the team were fiercely contested this year. In the end, a hotly contested sixth place in the team was awarded to LCpl Tonkin RHG/D who therefore gained his army half-colours. On race day itself, the team put in a fantastic performance, overseen by our Chairman, Lieutenant General Sir James

Everard (Late QRL). All six riders from the Army team got down safely in the first course, with three best of season times. LCpl Tonkin rode his best ever with a 57.88, Capt Chishick with a 53.88 and Capt Sam Seccombe with his best ever time, and the fastest time in Interservices history, of 53.15. The Army team all made it to Celerina three times, while two members of each of the other service teams fell at Shuttlecock, leading to a resounding victory by almost 40 seconds ahead of the Royal Navy over the three courses. There was excellent representation from former Army Colours riders in the handicap races, with Capt The Lord Wrottesley gaining the fastest time of the race and season and taking second place

in the Harland Trophy. Lt Scott Pryor KRH, who converted to Flat Top this year from novice won the Silver Spoon handicap race from junction and shows strong promise for the future. This has been an excellent season for Army Cresta and we hope that the squad will continue to grow in strength and depth. We have good representation from the Other Ranks (who made up a third of the Army Team) as well as the reserves with three reservist Top Riders. In addition, both Capt Sam Seccombe and the author won their Club Colours this season â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the first service riders to do so in a decade. In sum, we have a young squad and with continued support, we should be in a strong position for some years to come.

RESULTS Army Top Championships Scots Guards Cup Open Individual Race Capt SO Seccombe RY Army Junction Championships 17th/21st Lancers Cup Open Regimental Pairs Race The Life Guards Open Novice Champion Lt S Pryor KRH Handicapped Race Capt JAL Garton GRENS Inter Services Championships Prince Philip Trophy Open Team Race from Top The Army

Lord Trenchard Trophy Fastest Combined time from Top Capt SO Seccombe RY Auty Speed Cup Fastest time of race from Top Capt SO Seccombe RY Harland Trophy Serving, Reserve and Retired handicapped race from Top OCdt DD Pattinson REME (Retd) Silver Spoon Serving, Reserve and Retired handicapped race from Junction Lt S Pryor KRH

Army Squad walking up to top 23

LUGE It was a late start this year for all those involved in Army Ice Sports with our annual Novice camp (EX RACING ICE I) Igls, Innsbruck, Austria not starting until late January, early February. Both weeks were well attended with a total of 80 personnel trained over the two week period in all three disciplines Luge, Skeleton and Bobsleigh. A big thank you must go to our long suffering Army Luge coach Mike Howard for his continued support during the season and excellent coaching. For those who decided to give Luge a go! It was an eventful two weeks training.

EX RACING ICE I Novice Camp, Igls - Austria

For week one we had a total of seven personnel from the services (which included four Army and three Royal Navy) and a civilian, James Clark from Bath University who did remarkably well for his first experience dealing with the military. Having heard about the sport of Luge from the GB Luge team in Bath he had decided to have a go. Although his height was against him (about 7 feet tall) he survived the week and was glad to have experienced the sport, his farewell comment was ‘thanks for the experience’. A notable success during the first week was Pte Bianca Smith from the RAVC who took to the sport with great ease and I’m sure she will be a credit to the Army Luge team in the future. Week two consisted of mainly Army personnel with two from the Royal Navy. The contingent from the KRH (Kings Royal Hussars) Lt George Lynch-Staunton, Sgt David Oakes, Cpl Lewis Rymer and Tpr Cameron Whatmore supplied the week’s entertainment and morale boost for all involved. Never before have I seen four more competitive individuals from one unit each trying to outdo the other on every single run of the day; this was much to everyones amusement. They are to be commended for their efforts and we hope to see the one who missed out on The Army Championships back next season. The week also brought to the fore three really good novice sliders in the form of Capt Lucy Wyatt RE, LCpl Josh Smart Royal Lancers and Tpr Cameron Whatmore KRH. On being selected for the Army Luge team they all managed to return to Winterberg, not only for the Army Championship but also for the Inter Services Championships.

EX RACING ICE II Army Championships Winterberg - Germany

We returned to Winterberg for the Army Championships for the first time since 2011, to many this was a completely new experience with its extremely fast five final curves; 10, then going into the labyrinth 11,12,13 and the massive curve 14 which brings you the finish timing line. To many this was a complete transition to the top of the track which many found to be relatively slow; it’s almost as if the track is trying to hoodwink you into a false sense of security then trick you into think you are going to have a good run. Unfortunately this year two of our most prominent Army sliders from the past few years were unable to slide, LCpl Harry Foulkes, Royal Lancers due to head injury whilst preseason training in Germany and Sgt Dani Scott QARANC due to injury whilst competing with the GB luge squad at the World Cup race in Park City USA. Be in no doubt they will be back next season to reclaim their status. We started with four days training with the intention of getting all participants up to the doubles start (which used to be the old ladies start); a massive challenge to any person partaking in luge for their first season. We managed to get all the novices up to the junior start which was just short of the doubles start. This was an outstanding achievement for all those taking part. Race day for the championships took place on Friday 4th March, the men’s race start was from the doubles start ramp although there were only three competitors GDSM Ray Thompson, Tpr Steve Webb and Lt Andy Posner. It was a close call but Ray’s experience came though after the two runs; a fairly easy victory and his first championship win. Steve took the runner up place and Andy was named the Army Junior champion. For the rest of the sliders their competition started from the junior start for the (non-gender specific) Novice championships. This included Capt Lucy Wyatt, RE, LCpl Josh Smart, Royal Lancers, Pte Robb Everson, Int Corps, Pte Bianca Smith, RAVC and Tpr Cameron Whatmore, Kings Royal Hussars; all competing in their first ever Luge race. The Novice race proved to be one of the most closely fought races in recent years. It was remarkably close after the first run with the favourite to win Rob Everson seemingly having

things under control and just needing a solid second run. Suddenly from out of the blue Tpr Cameron Whatmore, in his best run of the week, stole the show and became the 2015/16 Army Novice Champion. This was a total surprise to all as Cameron is small in stature and only weighs in at about 60kg. A remarkable achievement which just shows that in Luge sometimes the impossible can be achieved! All eight competitors from the Army Championships were selected to represent the Army at the Inter services Championships.

Sponsorship

As with last year a big thank you to our Team Army sponsors and to Sodexho for their continued support throughout the season. Much of this year’s success, both for the Army and Great Britain Luge teams, has been due to their generous support.

LUGE 24

WO2 Graham Holmes RE

Results

LUGE

Army Championships Male Champion Runner up

GDSM Ray Thompson 1IG Tpr Steve Webb RTR

Junior Champion

Lt Andy Posner RE

Novice Champion Runner up

Tpr Cameron Whatmore KRH Pte Rob Everson Int Corps

Inter Services Championships Team Champions RAF Runners up Army Third Royal Navy Male Champion Runner up

Flt Lt Gavin Arnold, RAF Cpl Danny Burke, RAF

Female Champion Runner up

Cpl Amy Smith, RAF Capt Lucy Wyatt RE, Army

British Championships Male Champion AJ Rosen Runner up Rupert Staudinger Third Ray Thompson Female Champion Runner up

Sarah Shekhdar Kate Houghton

Novice Champion Runner up

Sarah Shekhdar Rob Everson

British Championships ‘GDSM Ray Thompson and AJ Rosen at the Luge World Championships Konigssee’

12th March 2016

This year’s British Championships included three categories, Male, Female and Novice (which included male and female on an equal footing). All participants had to start from the doubles start. This included all military personnel from the last two weeks of sliding and completion. Also present were our two GB civilian sliders AJ Rosen who has competed in two Olympic Games and is now part of our new doubles team with GDSM Ray Thompson, we also had Rupert Staudinger who is new to the GB Luge squad and currently on the junior Luge World cup circuit, both were a welcome edition to the competion. This year was the first time in five years that we have had nearly all of the GB team sliding in the British Championships. AJ won by .007 of a second beating Rupert by the narrowest of margins with Ray taking third place. The Female and Novice races were a complete surprise, as Sarah Shekhdar had struggled for the past two weeks trying to master the fast final part of the track and at one point looked defeated. However, on the last day she decided to move up for the first time to doubles start for the race. A brave move to say the least but not only did she take the Novice trophy she also took the Female title as well, a fantastic result.

Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Winterberg - Germany After a hard weeks training for the first time we decided to spilt our normal one race into two race days. The first racing over 10/11th March was for the team event. The outright winner was GDSM Ray Thompson, however Ray’s efforts were not enough as the next three places fell to the RAF giving them outright victory. The Army team was clearly missing the talent that is Sgt Dani Scott (who came out to help us during the week). We are already planning revenge next year! However the team must be commended for coming second as they are virtually a brand new ‘out of the box’ team, I am sure next year they will win with ease having showed their potential already. The individual race again proved to go the way of the RAF after Ray Thompsons DNF on his first run which was a shame as up to the point of impact with the wall, he had set the fastest time of the week with his timing splits. Our saving grace was in the form of Capt Lucy Wyatt, who took the runner up place in the inter services female race, this was well deserved as Lucy showed great determination during both weeks to improve her sliding. Congratulations must go to the RAF for their successful season. See you next year!

Contact Chairman Capt LN Wyatt RE Secretary Luge WO2 Graham Holmes RE m: 07957 564677 e: luge@awsa.org.uk or grahamholmesluge@yahoo.co.uk For events see Bobsleigh page 21

Contact Chairman Nordic Col AM Thurgood

NORDIC

Vice Chairman Nordic Col BW Bennett OBE Secretary Nordic Maj SA Grieg AGC e: nordic@awsa.org.uk

Maj SA Grieg AGC (SPS)

he picturesque town of Ruhpolding in the Bavarian once again hosted Exercise RUCKSACK, the Army, InterService and National Nordic Skiing Championships from 20 January to 5 February 2016. In its 69th year the Championships saw a total of 238 skiers from 33 teams take part in biathlon and cross country races in the world class Biathlon Stadium. This included 23 Unit Male teams,

2 RN/RM team, 1 RAF Male team, 3 Army Female teams, 1 RN Female team and 1 RAF Female team. It was excellent to see participation from across all three Services in both the male and female competitions, including a RN Ladies team for the first time ever at this championship. As Ex RUCKSACK incorporates the National Championships as well there were also competitors from a number of

civilian biathlon clubs. RUCKSACK 16 saw another first in the exercise’s history: a Cross Country Competition was run for the first time between a UKAF team and a Swedish Engineer Regiment (GÖTA INGENJÖRREGEMENTE). The objectives of Ex RUCKSACK are manifold. Firstly it is vital that we provide a physically demanding, professional and varied race programme focussed at the right technical level in order to test all the competitors. Given the

breadth of experience and ability of the skiers, and the very poor snow conditions seen this year, this can be a challenge. Access to the state of the art range facilities within the Ruhpolding Stadium also allows teams and individuals to practise and test their marksmanship skills. A less direct, but equally valid objective is the development of organisational, administrative and management skills amongst Team Captains and their NCOs. Arguably this can be said of all extracurricular activity undertaken within the Services, but

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NORDIC LUGE

The snow conditions for RUCKSACK 16 were less than perfect but although they deteriorated rapidly throughout the fortnight, all cross country and biathlon races ran as planned. from experience it seems nowhere more true than in the delivery of a biathlon ski team who are fit, well trained, well equipped and ready to race and win. The intensity of training required, the additional impact of having two disciples to master, the long periods spent at reach from the Chain of Command and the holistic duty of care for the individual often sets the Team Captains apart from their peers. As mentioned, the snow conditions for RUCKSACK 16 were less than perfect but although they deteriorated rapidly throughout the fortnight, all cross country and biathlon races ran as planned. The poor snow towards the end of the exercise forced us to split the Military Patrol Race over two days with a 20km ski race on the first day and a 10km SA80A2 shooting race following the day after. Combining the results of both days gave us the overall results of this blue ribbon event. This year saw the RLC sweeping the board with 17 P&M Regt RLC winning the Men’s competition and the RLC Ladies overcoming their RA rivals. Outshooting all other teams, the RA Ladies won the coveted prize for best on the range. With competition for the podium positions being closer than anyone has ever seen in RUCKSACK history 16 Regt RA were victorious as the Champion Inter Service Nordic Ski Team, winning the SAS Cup. 1 Regt RLC once again became the Army’s Champion Skiing Unit, reclaiming the Princess Marina Cup for the eighth year in a row. In the Ladies’ cup the RLC Ladies triumphed after good competition from the RA Ladies. After last year’s first award of UKAF Biathlon Colours, this

year saw the first ever award of UKAF Cross Country Colours. These went to LBdr Fountain (16 Regt RA), Cpl Woolley (17 P&M Regt RLC), LBdr Jackson (16 Regt RA) and Capt Huggett (42 Cdo RM). Army Cross Country Colours were awarded to LBdr Fountain (16 Regt RA), Pte Patterson (1 Regt RLC), Gnr Grist (26 Regt RA) and LCpl forward to next season eagerly, continued support that this sport Drew (6 Regt RLC). Army Biathlon and a date for your 2017 dairy: receives from units across the Colours were awarded to Hldr Ex RUCKSACK 17 runs from 25 services. In part this comes from Wishart (4 SCOTS), Gnr Shaw (26 January to 10 February 2017. the athlete’s love of their sport, Regt RA), Cpl Brownlow (4 Armd but it is also largely down to the Med Regt) and Gnr Grist (26 Regt support and backing of unit and RA). formation chains of command. As in previous years the Armed Without this, and without our Events 2017 Forces Biathlon Development competitors we would have no Squad (ABDS), which seeks to competition. I hope that the Divisional Championships 1 progress young athletes to national benefits of this sport are shared EX SPARTAN HIKE level, selected nominations by those units once their team’s Monetiers, France for full time training from the return to barracks, ship or station, 15 – 25 January 2017 results of this year’s competition and I hope that this support at RUCKSACK. These athletes continues to manifest itself in Divisional Championships 1 will take part in three 3-week oversubscribed competitions as EX PIPEDOWN training camps where they will we saw this year. This makes the Les Contamines, France be continually assessed on their standard and the sport better for 14 – 24 January 2017 fitness, mental attitude and all. biathlon skills. At the close of each Our thanks must of course Army, Inter Service & British camp a formal selection will inform also be extended to our generous Championships those who are invited to continue sponsors whose support allows us EX RUCKSACK to the next stage of training. to maximise the number of young Ruhpolding, Germany This process takes dedication, Service people who are exposed to 25 January – 10 February 2017 commitment (both financial and the sport. We are already looking personal) and determination, and all the young athletes undertaking ABDS this year should be commended for their First placed teams: success in selection. We will SAS Cup (Champion Inter Service Unit Nordic Ski Team) – 16 Regt RA track their process keenly and Princess Marina Cup (Champion Skiing Unit of the British Army) – 1 Regt RLC wish them all the best of luck. Kentish Cup (Champion Army Unit Nordic Ski Team) – 16 Regt RA The training will continue to Champion Army Ladies Team – RLC Ladies be based at Kinloss, and we are Women’s Military Patrol Race – RLC Ladies grateful to 39 Engr Regt RE for Men’s Military Patrol Race – 17 P&M Regt RLC their continued support to this endeavour. Individual results: With another successful Junior Men – LCpl Adam Williams 6 Regt RLC season wrapped up it remains Junior Novice Men – LCpl Dan Wood 1 RIFLES encouraging to witness the

Results 2016

Senior Novice Men Junior Women Novice Women Senior Men Senior Women

– Lt Josh Miers 4 RIFLES – Gnr Sam Grist RA Ladies – LBdr Bronwyn Metcalfe RA Ladies – LCpl Vinny Fountain 16 Regt RA – SSgt Adele Walker RLC Ladies

British Biathlon Union

The British Biathlon Union (BBU) is the National Governing Body for the sport of biathlon in Great Britain. Although tasked to develop the sport at all levels it has particular responsibility for the training and selection of the National teams. All the team members bar one are currently serving in the Army. For further information visit www.britishbiathlon.com

SSgt Nicky Moxon R Signals

SKELETON

verall it has been a very promising season for the Army Skeleton team this year. Whilst further developing our depth and knowledge we have certainly laid the foundations for success in the future. Skeleton is a demanding sport and the Army values and standards that are applied on operations are clearly evident at every RACING ICE and Inter-Service Championships. Army Skeleton athletes strive to be the best and with strong cohesion, collective experience amongst coaches and athletes coupled with shared encouragement, the Army team will continue to excel.

Ex RACING ICE 1 - Igls, AUS

The season commenced with the annual Novice Ice sports camp, Ex RACING ICE 1, which is designed to introduce complete beginners to Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Luge. The success of the GB team in past seasons has no doubt re-energised Ice sports within the Army. This has increased interest and encouraged many to apply for the camp. All three disciplines had the full complement of soldiers taking part. This season we had Mr Michael Robson, Maj Tim Haskell, SSgt Nicky Moxon and Sgt Julia Bloomer as Skeleton coaches and safety staff to deliver instruction and training. Ex RACING ICE 1 commenced with all participants being issued with all the necessary equipment that they needed for the camp. The potential skeleton athletes produced a tremendous amount of padding - varying from rugby to snowboarding or the ever dependable issue roll-mat ... complete with black tape! It was apparent that everyone wanted to cover their entire body and it took a mammoth amount of reassurance and persuasion that they would only require a few purposefully placed pieces of padding for protection against the ice. A vast amount of trust and dependency is placed on the coaches and staff for the first lauf and there are not many offers to be the first person to attempt the challenge. On the first morning breakfast is rather quiet as the realism of what they are about to do sets in. Both physical and mental strength will be tested alongside their reaction times. Once at the track the first slider is given the green light whilst the other sliders watch and psych themselves up. They are gently pushed off from the junior start which is approximately three quarters of the way up the track but they will still exceed speeds of over 40mph. The first lauf is never the cleanest but at the finish both adrenaline and excitement are clearly seen across all faces and everyone is keen to have another go. Skeleton athletes are very fortunate that their progression to the top of the track is much faster than the other two disciplines.

Events 2016 - 2017 Army Ice Camp EX RACING ICE I, Igls, Austria 29 Nov-10 Dec 16

Army Championship EX RACING ICE II (Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) Igls, Austria 11-18 Feb 17 Army Squad training week Ex RACING ICE III, Lillehammer, NOR 22 Feb â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 Mar 17

28 28

Chairman Skeleton Bobsleigh Maj TDE Haskell RA Secretary Skeleton Bobsleigh SSgt N Moxon R Signals e: skeleton@awsa.org.uk

Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Lillehammer, NOR 5-10 Mar 17

On the second day they found themselves at the top of the track with assurances from the coaches and staff that it is easier from the Olympic start as the skeleton is designed to go from the top and at high speed, over 60 Mph! Some sliders were not convinced but by the end of the second day, all were smiling and had achieved so much in a short period of time. The courage and determination of all participants was admirable. We had some very talented novices this year who achieved times to compete with some of our more senior athletes.

Ex RACING ICE II Army Championships, Winterberg GER

The next event within the Ice sports calendar was the Army Skeleton Championships, held at maximum capacity with over 25 athletes. This season the Championships was at Winterberg, Germany; a new track for many athletes. It was a brilliant opportunity to put their lightning fast reaction times to the test and to compete for the title of Army Champion. Our new coach Mr Stuart Hayden, an ex RLC serviceman and GB athlete certainly pushed and mentored the athletes to the highest of standards. His style of coaching allowed all sliders to develop at a rapid rate and produce extremely positive results throughout the season. On race day all athletes were striving for the best result over their two laufs but anything can happen on race day. It was tense between returning Army and Novice Champion LBdr Sam Banda of 26 RA and LCpl Nathan Jackson of 29 Regt RLC who had one goal ... ‘Army Champion’. Both athletes remained focused and fought hard but there could be only one Champion. LCpl Nathan Jackson persevered and won both Army and Junior Titles by 1.21 of a second whilst LBdr Sam Banda took the Army and Junior runner up title. The Army Novice Champion title was taken home by 2Lt Rhiannon Graham, the first female novice athlete in over ten years to win this. One of the biggest surprises was the Novice runner-up which was taken by Cpl Johnathon Knowles. He arrived at Novice week with the nickname Knocker - he hit nearly every wall on the track leaving everyone gasping. Luckily he came away with no injuries and returned to the championships more focused than ever avoiding the walls and applying himself in every way.

The Women’s race had the largest number of competitors that it has seen for many years with a healthy mix of Novice and Senior skeleton athletes competing for the top spot of Women’s Army Champion. The competition was fierce but on race day, returning Army and Inter-Service Champion Sgt Hayley Larcombe, 7 RHA stormed to victory and held on to her title. After returning from maternity leave, experience paid dividends for SSgt Nicky Moxon 30 Sig Regt who won the Army runner up title, closely followed by 2Lt Rhiannon Graham with only a 0.09 difference. The final achievement was the fastest start title, his determination, drive and the need for speed at the top of the track began early on in the Championships and was won again for the second time by Junior athlete, Capt Giles Moon QRL. Overall it was the most successful Championships for the past eight years. The athletes’ determination and perseverance, combined with selfless commitment and wanting to achieve their best made the next step, Army Squad selection, much more difficult.

Inter-Services Winterberg, GER

SKELETON BOBSLEIGH Novice, Junior and Senior sliders; the team had new depth and the race was on! Podium finishes were a realistic and achievable goal for this championship. As we trained alongside the other services, everyone had been sliding with consistency. This applied pressure to the race, it was tense, nailbiting and exhilarating. Both the female and male race took place over two days. With the following Army sliders being selected to race:

Army Team:

Male: Capt Pete Botterill RAMC Lt Scott Pryor KRH LCpl Nathan Jackson RLC LBdr Sam Banda RA LCpl Dave Gomez Int Corps Female: 2lt Rhiannion Graham AGC (SPS) SSgt Nicky Moxon R Signals Sgt Hayley Larcombe QARANC LCpl Sarah Raby R Signals

The Inter Services Championship was held the week following the Army Championship. Fortunately we had a strong squad this season; in previous years we have only had the minimum numbers to compete which did not allow for any injuries during training. This season we were in fighting spirit and ready to race the RAF and NAVY. Coached by Mr Stuart Hayden alongside Mrs Donna Leslie this was to be our best year yet! During the training week the weather played an important part with regards to the condition and speed of the track. On one training day in particular the heavens opened, snow fell and, complete with thunder and lightning, this added at least 10 seconds to their laufs. Unfortunately, due to Injury, LCpl Lucas Crofton had to return to unit which was a huge disappointment as he is one of the more experienced sliders. However, towards the end of the training week the Army Squad was looking powerful and the race was not going to be as clear cut as in previous years. For all Army skeleton athletes the pinnacle of the sport is to represent the Army and race. So the team selection went ahead with a mix of

Sadly at the end of the first day it was obvious that the RAF would take the Male team title, due to SAC Rhys Thornbury, who currently represents New Zealand, being an impressive four seconds quicker than most athletes. His talent and experience shone amongst the other sliders. That said the Army team of five had a sensational race and held on to the Inter-Service Runner up Title for the second year running with a clear lead in front of the Navy. Junior athlete LCpl Nathan Jackson had a storming race and finished 3rd on the podium; all of the other four team members finished in the top ten. Another outstanding result!

The women’s team race was equally exhilarating, Sgt Hayley Larcombe once again slid flawlessly and held onto her Individual Champion title and female fastest start. The female team last season unfortunately did not have a finishing position so this year that was to change and team cohesion and passion was more noticeable than ever. At the end of the first day the RAF female team were slightly in front and the overall result was yet again going to be finalised on the last lauf of the race. Over previous years the team have narrowly missed the Team winning position, but this season that was going to change. All athletes remained focus and committed, utilising previous race experience and it certainly paid off. It was one of the closest results, but the female team had trained hard, persevered and finally won the Inter-service Championship. Presented at the end of the season are Army Colours and this season both Lt Scott Pryor and LCpl Sam Banda received these as they had competed and represented the Army twice at the Inter-Service championships.

Great Britain - Winterberg GER - 12th March 2016

After the Army team’s success at the InterService Championships the next event was to be the GB Championships. This was one of the first races under the newly BBSA, allowing our athletes to compete against the best on the World Cup circuit. With over 36 athletes, combining both the three services and GB squad it was set to be an exciting race and an experience the Army athletes would certainly remember. In the male race it was soon apparent after the first lauf that the top three podium positions would be taken by GB athletes. Dominic Parsons who was ranked 5th at the World Cup took gold with a 1.35 second lead with David Swift taking silver closely followed by Jack Thomas. All six Army athletes did not let this faze them and remained focused. Both Lt Scott Pryor and LBdr Sam Banda had a first class race and finished within the top ten which was an amazing achievement. In the female race talented GB athlete Laura Dees took gold with a 3.15 lead over GB athlete Jor’dan McIntosh who took silver and who has only recently returned from injury. Only 24 hours after retaining her Inter Service Champion title Sgt Hayley Larcombe delivered and won Bronze. SSgt Nicky Moxon took Gold in the Veteran Category and finished within the top five. Racing against the elite athletes was paramount within the race season and all eight Army athletes did not disappoint, performing to the highest of standards whilst racing and at the track. This event was a great success and will hopefully be repeated so that service athletes can compete and experience racing against GB athletes.

Could you handle it? Ex RACING ICE I, the Novice Ice Camp, will be held over 29 Nov to 10 Dec 2016. All Interested participants both Regular and Reserve please email SSgt Nicky Moxon at skeleton@awsa.org.uk

FROM LACKLUSTRE LECTURES TO SLIPPERY SLOPES Lt Rhiannon Graham AGC (SPS) – Army Novice Champion 2016

n 2014 during my training at RMAS we received talks from a number of guest speakers. Although most were informative, they struggled to hold the attention of an intake of exhausted officer cadets. There was one guest speaker however that was very inspiring and captured the interest of all of us. That speaker was Olympic Gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold who being young and determined with a clear personal importance placed on physical fitness could relate to all of us. Previously I had not thought much about skeleton, not because I found it dull but because of a general lack of awareness. I mean we have all seen Cool Runnings and most agree it is a brilliant film, but how many of us actually know much about ice sports? After speaking to a number of friends since starting, I can say not many!

‘Prior to the camp I avoided watching any videos of skeleton just in case I put myself off.’

On arrival at my first Unit, the KRH, I was asked if I would volunteer to take part in the Army Skeleton Novice Camp being held in Igls, Austria in 2016. I had to give my answer almost immediately and not wanting to disappoint my new colleagues I said yes. Prior to the camp I avoided watching any videos of skeleton - just in case I put myself off - so when I arrived I had a bit of a shock! How steep and high are those bends? Are you seriously expecting me to slide down on that tea tray? How fast will I be going and how many G’s will I be experiencing? Needless to say my first run down I was bricking it and had so much padding on my body I looked like an American football player! After that first run though, I was hooked. I have never experienced anything like it, exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. The speed at first makes it impossible to figure out where you are in the track and you get your fair share or bumps and bruises. However the awareness slowly kicks in over the week and the bruises start to heal and lessen as you improve your body position on the sled due to the awesome coaching and encouragement you receive. After the Ice Camp I was lucky enough to be accepted back to attend the Army Championships and if I performed well, be

selected for the squad going forward to the Inter Services Championships, both taking place in Winterberg, Germany. On arrival it was a little intimidating being around people with much more experience however everyone was so friendly and wanted to help you improve. There was extremely close competition for all awards, I was ecstatic to win the Novice Cup for 2016 and to come third in the women’s competition. As a result I was selected for the Inter Services Squad and moving on, due to some brilliant coaching, the Army team. For the first time in a number of years the Army ladies won the Inter Services Championship and I feel very privileged to have been a part of that team, especially in my first year in the sport. Thinking back to the talk at RMAS, I never thought I would get a chance to try skeleton. Thanks to the incredible people who put in all the work to keep the Ice Sports Camps going I was lucky to get the opportunity and now I have a new sport which I love. I strongly encourage anyone to give it a go, be a yes man and try something new by coming to the Novice Camp next year.

Results 2016 Army Championships

Inter Services Championships

Male Champion Male Runner-up Female Champion Female Runner-up Novice Champion Novice Runner-up Junior Champion Junior Runner-up Fastest Start

Male Team Service Champions RAF Male Team Runner-up Army Female Team Service Champions Army Individual Female Champion Sgt Hayley Larcombe QARANC

LCpl Nathan Jackson, RLC LBdr Sam Banda, RA Sgt Hayley Larcombe, QARANC SSgt Nicky Moxon R Signals 2Lt Rhiannon Graham, AGC Cpl Johnathon Knowles, ATR (W) LCpl Nathan Jackson, RLC LBdr Sam Banda, RA Capt Giles Moon QRL

SKELETON BOBSLEIGH **Quote*** ‘As a Commonwealth soldier from Australia, when it comes to winter sliding sports there are only a handful on the international scene.’

SLIDING HIGH! LCpl Nathan Jackson 29 Regiment RLC

hat a difference a year makes. After completing my novice camp last season, I felt pretty confident about my new found sport, then at last years’ Army championship, anything that could go wrong did go wrong and I found myself lucky to even start on race day. I finished in last place and well off the pace. It was then that SSgt Nicky Moxon, took me to one side and basically told me to go and have a long hard think about my approach to the sport. As a Commonwealth soldier from Australia, when it comes to winter sliding sports there are only a handful on the international scene. So after taking SSgt Moxon’s advice on board I responded to a talent ID poster I saw online in March and four months later, went to a remote testing camp held in Park City, Utah. I was lucky enough to train and spend time with athletes from Australia, USA, Israel and Jamaica. And after passing the standard to become a development athlete, I was able to gain my International license. Work was also busy at this point, with transferring from the RA to the RLC, completing my class three course and then deploying to Poland on Ex DRAGON for two months with my new unit 29 Regt RLC. However I still had to keep my training up ready for the approaching season. It was finally December and time to head back to Park City for some early season sliding and testing. Things didn’t go to plan as my international license hadn’t been processed in time, so after just a day of sliding I had to frustratingly observe from the side-lines and wait untill January and the main part of my season. Next stop was St Moritz, Switzerland and a three-day sliding school. I had some decent sliding there and was able to match my times against a crop of International athletes who were training for the upcoming European Cup and World Cup events later that month. This season wasn’t just about the sliding, I found myself in a supporting role for other Australian athlete’s both at the World Championships in Austria and the final World Cup event in Konigssee, Germany. Being able to watch and learn from the best sliders in the world has

definitely helped me develop this season. Then it was back to Igls, Austria and with the support of Army Skeleton, I trained alongside the new novice sliders taking part in Ex RACING ICE 1. It was a great to see a new crop of sliders from across the Army all willing to throw themselves down the track, with some hitting speeds of 65mph come the end of the week. Then, after 12 months of having the disappointment of last years’ Army Championships hanging over me, we were off to Winterberg for two weeks of training and back to back competitions with the Army and Inter-Service Championships. It was a competitive first week of sliding and in a sport that can be decided by .01 of a second it was great to secure the Junior and overall Men’s Army title by 1.8 seconds. I also picked up second place in the Navy’s guest race - only losing out to RAF and New Zealand International Rhys Thornbury. With some trophies in the bag I wanted take that momentum into the following week and really give the RAF and Navy something to think about; it was something the Army squad wanted to do as a whole. After another really close week of sliding, I was determined to take a podium position for the Army this year. Going into the final run on the second day I found myself in fourth place by 0.05 of a second. Knowing that I’d given away almost 3/10ths of a second due to my slower start, I really had to focus on getting a clean run and drive the bottom of the track smooth in order to make up the time. It wasn’t my quickest run but I held my position and as the next RAF slider crossed the line I saw he was in second place behind me. It left just the last two RAF sliders to follow and I could start celebrating a podium position. It has been such an incredible turn around in 12 months; to come from last place and then to win the Army title and then to go on and claim third at the Inter Services. I really appreciate the support from both my unit and Army Skeleton. I’m looking forward to next season and the goal of being able to represent both the British Army and Australia on the European Cup circuit.

ARMY GOLD TO BRITISH BRONZE Sgt Hayley Larcombe QARANC

he Olympic bobsleigh track at La Plagne in the French Alps had many of our team shaken, stirred and terrified in 2015. So the majority of the Army Skeleton Bobsleigh team were pleased to hear that the 2016 Championships GB Championships - Sgt Hayley were going to be Larcome bronze held at Winterberg in Germany. We were really pleased with the amount of novice Skeleton athletes that qualified to compete this year and we spent the week prior to the Championships being coached by Stuart Hayden; who kindly came back to coach the Army team, which we were very grateful for. After finally mastering corner nine (which was no easy feat), I was able to retain my Army Champion title at the Championships. The Inter-Services Women’s Skeleton Championships was a very close race this year with the Army women’s team beating the RAF team by only 0.01 of a second. This was the first year in a long time where the women’s Army team won gold at the Inter-Service Championships and I could not have been prouder of my team. SSgt Nicky Moxon, LCpl Sarah Raby and 2Lt Rhianon Graham all slid superbly. The first British Championships under the newly merged British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association took place the following day. Laura Deas saw off the challenge of fellow GB Skeleton slider Jor’dan McIntosh to claim gold. McIntosh capped her comeback season following brain surgery with the silver, whilst I took bronze less than 24 hours after retaining my Inter-Services title. It was an absolute honour to race alongside such promising GB athletes.

SNOWBOARD

SNOWBOARD 29 CDO REGT RA WO2 Mick Tiller - Team Captain The Regimental Snowboard Team deployed a team of nine riders over the 2016 season which took part in two events, the first of which was at Neustift to compete at the 2016 Royal Artillery Snowboard Championships (Ex SNOW STORM 16) and the second at the Stubai Glacier to compete at the 2016 British Army Snowboarding Championships (Ex SNOW JACK 16). The competitions consist of three separate events: Parallel Giant Slalom, Snowboard Cross and Slope Style. The 2016 season was an exciting and challenging year producing the best season to date resulting in the regimental team winning the Royal Artillery championships for the fourth consecutive year and going on to take first place as an individual Army unit at the Army Championships. Snowboarding whilst mentally and physically challenging, fosters competitive spirit by building on the foundations laid by the success of winning teams over the last four years. Nestled amongst a frantically busy work schedule for officers and soldiers; snowboarding presents a unique opportunity for a short break from regimental duties offering a different set of challenges for regimental personalities whilst still allowing commando ethos to prevail. The recent success over the 2016 season has set a benchmark for all future riders in the regiment and the Royal Artillery; four of the regimental team were selected to represent the Royal Artillery in the Gunner squad and two were selected for the Army team for the 2016/17 season.

Contact Chairman Snowboard Brig RNH Bennett MVO Vice Chairman Snowboard Col JC Connelly Secretary Snowboard Lt Col TM Holmes REME snowboard@awsa.org.uk

INTER SERVICES This year (2016) marks the 10th anniversary of the Inter Services Snow Sports Championships held in Meribel, France. Personnel from the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) compete in various disciplines throughout the week.

Events 2016 - 2017 Ex SNOW SUMMER UK (Hemel Hempstead) 15 Sep 2016 Ex SNOW SUMMER Bispingen, GERMANY 8 Sep 2016 EX SNOW METHOD Army Freestyle Championship Kaunertal, AUSTRIA 8 – 22 Oct 2016 EX SNOW JACK Army Championship Stubai, Austria 25 Mar – 8 Apr 2017

Photographer: Cpl Jamie Dudding RLC

Inter Services (ISSSC) Meribel, France 28 Jan – 4 Feb 2017

ispingen Alpine Centre in Germany was recently the venue for Exercise SNOW SUMMER the British Forces Germany’s indoor ski and snowboarding freestyle championships. Chief of Race, Colonel John Connelly, commented: “This is a fantastic location to start the season from and provides the riders with a chance to show their potential with a view to going forward to the UK championships and later on the Alpine championships. For the competitors the facilities at one of the best indoor centres in Europe provided them with many difficult features to challenge them as they progressed down the slopes with something for all the riders regardless of experience to tackle. One of those riders was Corporal David Sullivan, 1 Military Working Dogs (1MWD) who has been snowboarding for EIGHT years: “Snowboarding is a real passion of mine and something I like doing to relax. I have not done much freestyle until this year but I like to push the boundaries of my ability however this indoor course is a lot bigger than I am used to and the kickers are proving very testing.” Another competitor was Staff Sergeant Graeme McIlmurray, 35 Engineer Regiment who said: “It’s good to get back on the board in a nice and relaxed atmosphere” on being asked what were the biggest challenges of the course Graeme remarked: “Everyone will find a different challenge, for some it will be the kickers because they are not used to flying through the air, but for me it’s the rails and getting your balance right.” The contestants are given a chance to show the judges what they do and marked on the technical difficulty of the tricks, the speed and confidence at which they attack the course, flair and the amplitude they achieve on the jumps or kickers, sliding boxes and street rails. After an energetic afternoon of runs the marks were added up and the winners announced as Lance Corporal Sam Westlake, 6 Regiment RLC who won the snowboarding competition and Private Terrie Murphy, 1 MWD who took the award

SNOWBOARD

for the skiing freestyle competition. Terrie commented: “Today has been a great introduction to wintersports and it’s been a very enjoyable experience, I have had a lot of fun skiing and meeting people with similar interests.” Whereas Sam’s previous competition experience definitely helped him: “I represented my Corps earlier this year at the Army championships and did ok so I was quietly confident going into today’s competition. I am pleased to win today, it’s good to keep on improving and progressing. Snowboarding is a thrilling sport and you get a great adrenalin rush when you get in some serious air time over the kickers.” Chief of Race, Colonel John Connelly commented: “It has been a great day of competition. You need plenty of moral courage and drive and determination to compete in this demanding vibrant sport and there have been plenty of thrills and spills today. But it’s been really pleasing seeing the progression everyone has made through the day.”

Photographs: Dominic King, Army Photographer Extracted from a report by David Allen, Army Press Office

Results 2015 - 2016 Army Championships

Individual SBX Women: SSgt Sarah Craig AMS Men: Cpl Chris Gregory RE Individual PGS Women: SSgt Sarah Craig AMS Men: Cpl Maki Rees-Stavros REME Individual Slopestyle Women: SSgt Sarah Craig AMS Men: Cpl Chris Gregory RE Team SBX: Unit Unit: 23 PARA Engr Regt Corps Men: RE Corps Women: AMS Team PGS: Unit Unit: 29 Cdo Regt RA Corps Men: RE Corps Women: AMS Team Slopestyle Unit: 29 Cdo Regt RA Corps: RE Corps Women: AMS

Individual Champions Ladies Mens

SSgt Sarah Craig AMS Cpl Chris Gregory RE

Newcomer 35 & Over U21

Cpl Chris Marshall REME SSgt Sarah Craig AMS Gnr Louis Wright RA

Overall Champions Unit Team 29 Cdo Regt RA Corps Team Corps Ladies Team RE AMS

Inter Services Championships

Team SBX Women : Army Men : Army Parallel GS Women: Army Men: Army Team Slopestyle Women: Army Men: Navy Combined Team Champions Women: Army Men: Army Ladies Champion Maj Beszant RE, Army Mens Champion LAET Taylor RN Best Newcomer: Pte Kinnear QARANC, Army Best Trick: AB Sanderson RN

Ex TELEMARK TITAN (Ex TT) is the single Service and British Telemark Championship event. In 2016 the event was undertaken in Mürren, Switzerland 9 – 21 Jan 16 with a consistent attendance against the 2015 success. 145 skiers from across the three services and their civilian counterparts conducted five days of training prior to a six day race programme…

TELEMARK

Army Team at the Inter Services

Major JC Painting AGC (ETS)

Mürren and the Jungfrau region is a location steeped in skiing history. It staged the first Alpine Ski World Championships in 1931, run by the Ski Club of Great Britain. Three years before that it held the very first Inferno race, believed to be the longest downhill race in the world attracting around 1,500 skiers every January. Among Mürren’s many claims to fame, mention must be made of the revolving restaurant perched on top of the Schilthorn Mountain (2970m / 9750ft), also known as ‘Piz Gloria’ of James Bond fame, with incredible views all around. The panorama from here includes Mont Blanc on the French - Italian border, the German Black Forest as well as the local peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Ex TT provides opportunity and development across the Telemark skiing community. The training develops all abilities of Telemarkers, as well as providing high quality racing for the accomplished skier. During the first five day training phase, Swiss and BASI qualified Telemark instructors provided instruction and race coaching prior to the qualification event. For skiers who require further development, training continues concurrent to the Championship racing programme, after which

Contact Telemark Chairman Brig Suzanne Anderson Secretary Major JC Painting AGC e: telemark@awsa.org.uk 34

the novice skiers finish with their own development races and competition. The aim being to develop novices so they come back for more in future years. The Championship field for 2016 was made up of 80 skiers. Continuous snow fall made the racing phase challenging, but the full race programme of Championship Giant Slalom, Classic and Sprint was successfully completed. The Novice Sprint had to be cancelled due to high winds and white out conditions, but the Novice Classic was successfully achieved giving the novices an opportunity to try their hand on the Championship Classic course, finishing with some impressive attempts on the jump. The Championship races were

Telemark Results 2016...

TELEMARK

Army Championship: Overall Champion Novice Champion Development Sprint Championship Sprint Championship Classic Championship Giant Slalom

Male: OCdt Ben Atkinson Exeter UOTC Female: OCdt Tara Parks London OTC Male: Cpl Jack Taylor RDG Female: OCdt Elizabeth Harris OTC Male: Cpl Jack Taylor RDG Female: OCdt Elizabeth Harris Exeter OTC Male: OCdt Robbie Houston Exeter UOTC Female: OCdt Tara Parks London OTC Male: OCdt Robert Houston Exeter OTC Female: OCdt Tara Parks London OTC Male: OCdt Ben Atkinson Exeter UOTC Female: OCdt Tara Parks London OTC

Inter-Services Champions Army

held on the Kandahar Slope which provided a fantastic challenge and atmosphere for the race days. Results were calculated with combined times across the GS, Sprint and Classic races found worthy. OCdt Ben Atkinson from Exeter OTC, and OCdt Tara Parks from London OTC showed the best consistency across the combined times of the GS, Sprint and Classic races and finished as the respective Army Champions. Mr James French and Miss Jasmin Taylor won the overall British titles. The Novice classic saw excellent spirit and some great performances, including some huge jumps that put many championships racers to shame, and was won by Cpl Jack Taylor from RDG and OCdt Elizabeth Harris from Exeter OTC. The final day of the racing phase, as is now traditional, takes Telemark back to its roots with the Mountain race. MĂźrren provided a challenging course in the Gimmeln area, with a very steep uphill and some interesting variable snow coming back down, though hamlets and onto a long path bringing the skiers to the start / finish

area. With the course run over three circuits it provided a chance for all to see the effort and determination being put in by individual entrants and those in the relay teams. The mountain race is always a true test of stamina and fitness and the winning time was an impressive 47 minutes.

A highly talented team represented the Army at the Inter-Services championships; captained by Maj Martin Chohan RLC, and comprising of Maj Daz Howells RE, Maj Sven Hay RA, Maj Mark Brett RA, Capt Joe Wooldridge RA, 2Lt Stefan Hurst RLC, Cpl Daniel Johnson RE. OCdt Tara Parks attended as a GB development athlete. The Army achieved an impressive clean sweep of the team races of GS, Sprint, Classic and Parallel. 2lt Stefan Hurst showed the potential for the future winning the Best Newcomer medal with his second place overall, closely followed by Cpl Danny Johnson. With these two and an increasingly youthful number of skiers emerging there is a bright future ahead. As the 2016 season draws to a close, we reflect on another great season of Telemark. The sport engenders enthusiasm and endeavour in all who are involved with it. Whether a competitor, official, organiser or spectator, all are impressed by the growing talent in a sport that has become a mainstream event in the Winter Sport competition calendar. We are delighted to announce that the next Championships will be held in Pralognanla-Vanoise (PLV) from 7-19 Jan 2017. If you would like to take part in 2017 please contact the Army Telemark Secretary by email at telemark@awsa.org.uk. Alternatively, if you wish to have a go this summer there is the British Indoor series which is held around the country. Details are available from http://gbtelemark.co.uk/events/2016-indoorchampionship/

Events 2017... Army Championship EX TELEMARK TITAN Pralognan La Vanoise (PLV), FRA 7-17 Jan 2017 Inter-Services Champions (ISSSC) Meribel, France 28 Jan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 Feb 2017

Images : Dominic King and Cpl Jamie Dudding RLC

THANKS

SPONSORS TO OUR

Army Winter Sports Sponsorship Lt Col James Scott MBE SCOTS

his is my forth iteration of AWSA sponsorship and Army Championship Event notes. Looking back over these great years I am immediately struck by the significant and enduring support provided by our sponsors to the Army’s winter sports competitors. Your generosity through thick and thin continues to enable large numbers of servicemen and women to participate and to continue General Montgomery’s post WW2 tradition of Army winter sport competition. On their behalf, the AWSA thanks you. The 2015/2016 season was special for a number of reasons, not least because of the challenge of securing approval for appropriate officer representation at the Army Championships. This was testing in terms of event benefits as well as event organisation but it was humbling to see continued sponsor support. The second challenge was that of a lack of snow with the slopes looking as green as Kermit’s nose for much of the early season. Thankfully, sufficient eventually arrived and the resort were outstanding in their ability to enable what many of the Army racers call ‘proper speed events’ on the Luc Alphand piste. The combination of snow (always helpful!) and a generosity of spirit approach from attendees made the Championship event very special. Whilst there was undoubtedly less relationship building, but this provided the opportunity for deeper business to business

GS Racer on the piste

Ian Dale and Paul Jaques

The snow kept falling

Ian Heath, EMC

ADCs Alex, Jamie, Gorgia, Pete and James

SPONSORSHIP

Thrill seekers; Ian, Tor and Amyas (with Kermit!)

Changing of the Chairmans Guard, David Claridge and Maria Wolffram Lorimer to Sanders

Claes-Klammer-Peter Cederlof

Mark Snape, Steve, Helen, Barry and Holly, Fred, Catharine, Tim and James.

engagement as well as more focus on the race pistes. Clearly the latter paid off with the Army teams going to win in emphatic style in Meribel, not just in Alpine, but across most of the winter sports disciplines. Off the slopes the 2016 event was equally successful. The combination of a new President, Chairman and Vice Chairman, ably supported by a team of redcoat veterans, provided new opportunity to get the best from the event. Additionally, the 2016 crop of ADCs proved to be the very best yet, not necessarily in skiing terms, ensuring the event ran smoothly. Our hotels were in good form, dinner was more than edible and thankfully the only injuries were to pride rather than to limbs. I wonder if “Jaques’ turn” (or the lack of one) into the start

James with Jeff Pete

Prize giving

Behave

of the border-cross run will endure in AWSA vernacular!? Arguably the most significant outcome of the event was the Abba ‘happening’ which some say was directly responsible for encouraging the group out of retirement one final time! It was good to see Kermit at the centre of all this mischief too and I hope he is spending his holidays wisely in preparation for another busy season to come! So to 2016/7. AWSA remains focussed on delivering for both our sponsors and soldiers. The popularity of our sports remains unabated and we hope that our predominate Armed Forces success will continue. No doubt there will be challenges to be overcome, not least due to Brexit uncertainty, but I shall end as I started, with our heartfelt thanks for the support of our sponsors, without whom much of what we do would simply not be possible.

’

Mike and Tracey Gilbert with 'Chalky' Mitchell

Mike Gilbert presending the Downhill prizes

Contact Sponsorship Secretary Lt Col James Scott MBE SCOTS sponsorship@awsa.org.uk

FROM KAJAKI DAM TO PARA ALPINE RACING

GENERAL INTEREST

Fus Andy Barlow GM

It all started at 1100hrs on Wed 6 Sep 06 when a patrol set off from location’ Normandy’ to get a better over-watch position of Kinaki Dam. At 1130hrs there was a call on the radio stating there was a casualty to the south and they needed urgent medical assistance. The medics were tasked and a section headed for the casualty; I volunteered to go with them as there could have been Fusilier casualties and I wanted to be there to help them. After tabbing up the mountain with medical kit, by midday we had reached the area where the casualty had been hit. It was Cpl Hale who was injured, one of the 3 PARA snipers. All Fusiliers were safe but there were two or three attached to the patrol. At this point it was clear Stu Hale had been blown up by a mine, but it was not clear where the minefield was. It was an area where we had set up trip flares day in day out. The medics ran down to Stu and started to do their thing. The MFC Cpl Mark Wright GC sent a message requiring a CASEVAC chopper with a winch soonest, the reply came back; ‘estimated time of arrival 1hr and no winch’. It was agreed to move Stu about 20m so a chopper could come in and we could throw Stu on and tab out. The guys on the patrol started to clear a safe route looking for mines with bayonets. It was then that when we started looking around and saw the different indicators for mines. We knew we were in deep trouble, there were stacks of rocks everywhere indicating there were mines everywhere. The patrol lifted Cpl Hale and moved him about 20m to the left along the just cleared safe route, laid him down and waited for the chopper. Cpl Pearson then started to walk back towards me along the safe route; the next minute there was dust and rocks everywhere, a black cloud of smoke and then the loudest bang I had heard since being there. I sprinted to Stu Pearson and started to calm him and reassure him. His left leg was gone and his right in bits. I managed to stop wrap his right foot then a medic, Alex Craig and Mark Wright joined me. We carried on giving first aid whilst reassuring him. Mark got on the net and asked where the chopper was as we now had two casualties and needed a winch, the reply was; ‘45mins and no winch’ [the winch was requested for fear of the helicopter setting off more mines by either landing or the downdraft from the blades of a Chinook]. We waited. I was at one side of Stu’s head, Mark was opposite me, we were on our knees sheltering him from

‘

Mark got on the radio and shouted ‘don’t land that chopper’. As the chopper came over our heads it set off a mine.

’

the sand and talking to him. The medic Alex was next to me on my left keeping an eye on his legs. We looked up and saw Apache helicopters circling; we assumed this was the rescue. About 15mins later there was a Chinook, it flew round then started to descend towards us. Mark got on the radio and shouted ‘don’t land that chopper’. As the chopper came over our heads it set off a mine. I was flung about 6ft backwards and the medic next to me had been hit and his lung punctured. Stu was hit on his right side and spun round; Mark dropped in front of me like something out of a horror movie he was in bad way as he had unknowingly sheltered me from the blast and saved my life. All I had at this point was shrapnel in my arm. Alex, the medic, managed to climb to the top of the hill to get medical assistance; I was now left with the two casualties. I quickly wrapped Stu’s leg up and looked at Mark. The other medic, Tug was 20m away and was shouting and helping me as best he could. I applied a tourniquet to both of Marks arms to seal his chest and talked to him to keep him awake. Sometime later I noticed the guys getting

dehydrated. I shouted for a bottle of water it came down a line from the top of the hill then was thrown to me, it hit my hand and dropped to the ground. Going to retrieve it, I remember thinking I can stand there or stand there and then bang! I didn’t hear the blast but felt the ground move below me; I landed and then fell down. The pain then kicked in. It was like being on fire and not knowing what damage was done I looked down and saw the top of my boot still tied round my leg but my foot was gone and my right leg was bleeding all down my thigh. The soldier who had thrown the water bottle now had shrapnel sticking out of his chest and Tug, the medic, had swallowed the blast which punctured both his lungs. He was shouting ‘put a tourniquet on your leg’, so I ripped my shirt and tied off as tight as I could. I carried on talking to Stu and Mark and injected myself with all of my morphine. This was a bad situation to find out I had a rare immunity to the affect of the drug. The medic knew Mark was bad and needed treatment so Stu started throwing his empty med pack on the ground ahead of him and

made his way towards every unbearable; I was givenus, a nerve step could have been fatal but he blockage. made it and threw me some more morphine. HomeFus inForeman the UKhad tried to runThe down the hill save me but I next day wetowere shouted ‘stop’. I wasn’t brave CASEVAC’d back to the being UK. I was at this for point I just want him awake most of didn’t the flight and standing on astopping mine next my remembered in to Turkey head (Thanks anyway to refuel. A doctor gaveGeorge). me an Two hours and wewhen sangI injection and went I was by shocked ‘Happy to later. DaveWe wholanded woke upBirthday’ two hours threw me the water just kept in Birmingham after and 17 hours and talking rubbish to to stay awake. were blue lighted Selly Oak.We We then choppers inITU. the Twelve distance were saw all taken to the and chopper dayseventually later I wasahome andcame my in; it was a Black Hawk. A winch rehab started. man came down picked up I was in and outand of Headley the first Stu Hale, and Court forcasualty, about three months took him up in the stretcher. The in before returning to the Battalion chopper then overI carried us and Dec 06. For thehovered next year the winch manthen, cameindown, we I on with rehab late 2007 shouted ‘take Mark’ but he threw got a phone call asking me to go the strop me. This Markwas wasa skiing witharound the Army. then liftedstep and(excuse we were our for way new first theonpun) to Bastion. Sadly Mark died. the Army and me. It was a great success and started my skiing Camp Bastion career. IInwas taken from the chopper March 2009 I went sailing and put into ITU I was in Portsmouth onwhere ‘Fusilier’, thetold I had beenboat. fighting withup thenot doctor Infantry I turned as he tried to put aabout catheter in me. knowing anything yachts Iorremember seeingtosome of the I sailing. Thanks Cpl Fletcher guys from patrol bringing stayed andthe managed to make me my Nuts magazine andtoHaribo. way up the ladder Yacht Master I was then intosailing theatre Coastal. Sincetaken starting I and thesport haveremember found a new countdown which I loveand andthe blurred white lights. have achieved things At 0745hrs that civiliansthe paynext morning with thousandsI woke of pounds tubes I asked to do. everywhere. I have competed the nurse to remove They in two Fastnet races, them. which are checked my OBS Professional races.then The started first was taking out thewith tubes. A nurse asked with BLESMA a fully disabled if I would likewea came piece of toast, crew where 18th in I said ‘I’d like fried breakfast’ as our Class outa of 350 yachts. The Isecond had been compo wason with 2 RRFrations wherefor I month. Whenan it arrived I couldn’t put together Expedition crew. eat I should her We it, came 3rd inhave our listened class butto1st advice. I looked the room out of the Armyacross big boats. I also and sawa the guysininselecting comas; I was played big part and the onlythe onecrew awake. I could feel my training from the Fusiliers legs imagine the sight who and weredidn’t to participate in the ISouthern found when I pulled the Ocean leg ofback Exercise covers. I looked,I and I had TRANSGLOBE. was realised gutted when lost both legs I wasmore told than by theI thought, Army I couldn’t were bandaged one leg had go because I amand disabled. If that been the knee. policyamputated was aroundabove 200 years ago This was anever shock;have I didn’t knowof any we would of heard above knee amputees, how put Admiralthe Nelson! I was however would cope, leg what on the Ihome of prosthetics TRANSGLOBE were to whereavailable, we werewould hit by Iabe bigable storm walk I had in theagain? Atlantic andaIfew wasvisitors told then was moved I afterwards that I into couldITU sailwhere on any saw casualties weren’t boatother anywhere in thethat world after critical. The pain in my stump surviving that experience. I amwas not disabled, I just have a leg missing!

Skiing I joined the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (as it was back then) in 2012 and attended

the UK Divisional and Army Championships in Serre Chevalier, France before moving onto the Inter Service Snow Sports Championships in Meribel where I competed against able and disabled soldiers and had a great time racing. I was fortunate to bring home the gold in the British Disabled Skiing category. This gave me a taste of what was to come and I loved it. I started my racing career straight after the Sochi Paralympic Games, at the Austrian Championships. I had very little training, and if was honest with myself, I was not in the right frame of mind to take on the challenge. I crashed in every race and came home from the Championships without any results. I decided to take some time out to get myself squared away. After a year out of

GENERAL INTEREST

‘ ‘

The first race didn’t end well as I was disqualified for straddling. Head Coach Scorgie quoted ‘Are you sure you can straddle with only one leg? the game, a battle with PTSD and a divorce, I made a phone call to the team coach and said I’m ready to come back. The team invited me out to Landgraaf, Netherlands for an intensive five days of slalom training. I turned up not very fit. However, the time away seemed to have put my head into a better place and I slowly started to slap the plastic over and over. I began to go faster and faster and I felt that I was ready to commit again to a full time programme. On the back of this I was invited to join the Performance Team for a probationary six month programme. After a short spell of training in Stubai, Austria caused by challenging conditions due to the lack of snow, the training became very limited. The first race of my new focused career was to be my third ever race. This was back in our summer training regular spot of Landgraaf. We had two days of slalom with three runs combining to make the total time. The first race didn’t end well as I was disqualified for

’

straddling. Head Coach Scorgie quoted ‘Are you sure you can straddle with only one leg?’ one embarrassed gate keeper later and the TD reinstated me. Despite all this I still crashed out on the third run. The second day went well, after managing two concussion tests first thing after a fall down some stairs I was allowed to race. It was all going great and all I had to do was finish my 3rd run and it looked like a Europa cup start was insight. However, the last gate stood in my way; I banked, hit the tip of the ski on the wrong side of the gate and then flew over the finish line in the superman position. Once again this resulted in a disqualification but this time with no reinstating. After another short spell in Stubai we headed over to Pitztal, also in Austria, for some speed training with PSGB. After a couple of days of GS and a trip to the hospital with a team mate, the big planks were waxed and ready to ski. It was time for Super G training. I was back in the gates and it felt good. Speed is what we live for

in this game. That evening it was announced that the following day would be a training a race simulation of two runs of Super G. It was to be timed and we were to train alongside the Dutch and the Aussies. The morning came, we drove up to the glacier, donned ski boots/ boot, protection and helmets then headed up the world’s longest T bar and did the course inspection. Back up the bar of death to the start. I went out of the gate skiing the course as fast as I could, then it all went wrong the next thing I know I’m sliding towards a piste

marker and then bang. I span around and flew over the edge. I got up from the deep snow and felt a pop. It was at this point I knew it was my ribs. The Dutch coach helped me back on piste and off to the bottom I skied. The next day I woke up in pain and couldn’t use crutches. I made the decision with Scorgie to head home and recover. I found out I had broken two ribs. There goes another solid training block. After seven weeks at home and a solid three weeks of strength and conditioning I once again

rejoined the team. I travelled to the Army Championships in Serre Chevalier, France and was immediately thrashed for four days of one on one training with Scorgie in slalom gates. I then raced, the slalom felt good (we decided to focus on slalom as I stood a better chance of qualifying for the Europa Cup in this discipline) and I put in two solid runs and finished 39th out of 120 able bodied soldiers. We then headed to Veysonnaz Switzerland specifically targeting Slalom points but also to race GS. We had one day training on the race hill before the first GS. I had a decent GS race and was feeling great with the result. I hit my target and this was the first IPC GS race I’d finished. I woke up the next morning and all was not good. I was very ill but I got myself to the start and managed to get down the hill somehow. I got myself off to bed early too try to rest as much as I could in order to be fresh for the Slalom the next day. Again I woke up ill. I got to the start went out and then hit the fifth or sixth gate on the steep and slid again crashing out of yet another slalom. The next day was my last chance to get my first slalom result. We got to the bottom of the hill and waited. The weather had come in and after an hour the race was cancelled, due to a meter of powder on the hill. Still no slalom result. The next stop was Meribel for ISSSC. The snow was still falling fast. We arrived on Downhill training day one. The day turned into a powder day. My first race of these

‘12 races in 28 days, five ski resorts four national Champs in 3 countries.’

GENERAL INTEREST

Championships was the Super G. The conditions were not the best and this was the first time on a long ski since I broke my ribs (nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end). One nervous coach at the bottom waiting I went down the course did all the hard work then came over the finish line and decided to work more on my superman technique in the finish area. The next race was night slalom. Once again

Mother Nature had been kind enough to drop another metre of snow making the slalom a mogul field. I managed to get most of the way down before another crash and a failed first run. The officials let me run the second run anyway and I put in a storming run and managed to get some confidence back in my slalom skiing. The final day was GS and two solid runs put me comfortably ahead of my competition finishing on a high. After some leave and more strength and conditioning at home we headed back out to our second home of Stubai. We did a week of training before I headed off to join PSGB in Pitztal for some more Speed training. This was great for me as the first day there was way too much snow to safely train speed so it was fat boy (a wide powder ski not a full English breakfast) time out in some powder with the GB boys. The next day was Super G time and it was back on the hill I broke my ribs. This was another confidence booster and the big planks felt good. This was the last training before the National Championship’s sprint.12 races in 28 days, five ski resorts four national Champs in 3 countries.

Looking Forward There are around 500 days to go before the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This may sound like a lot but when you break it down into training blocks, races and strength and conditioning (S&C) development time it doesn’t leave much room for general life. My goal is to compete at these games.

EX SPARTAN HIKE Major R M Young RAPTC(R)

Ex SPARTAN HIKE 16 was conducted in Serre Chevalier, France over the period 10 to 19 January 2016. This year saw a new registration system which worked well with units entering on MOSS. Entries were high and decisions were made to take extra units to the championships which would be paid for with additional Public Funds. Unfortunately late on several units pulled out of the championships and left us with apartments that were empty. Hopefully this sort of problem will be erased for SH17 and units will not drop out at the final hour, as this has a detrimental effect on many things; units sat at home who would have liked to enter but couldn’t due to lack of places available and a waste of public money. Snow conditions from the outside looked much better than SH15 with several large dumps of snow before we arrived in resort, indeed the day the advance party arrived we

had over a metre of snow fall which was very exciting but made setting up quite difficult. Later that day a meeting with the resort staff told us our worst fears – there wasn’t enough snow! The Alpine recce the next day confirmed that the depth of snow and indeed the pack was not good enough to race on; the only place available to us was in Monetier. The resort staff had worked tirelessly to give SPARTAN HIKE a run to work with, contracted for two Alpine hills we only had one and so would struggle to get a complete Alpine programme. Fortunately for us more snow came during the exercise and another recce with Bruno and Fabrice gave the all clear to open up and piste the Clot Gautier which would allow us to get a couple of Downhill races completed before the end of

the exercise. This as you can imagine was a great relief for all concerned, not only for the resort but for the competitors and officials alike. The Nordic recce went much the same way, there wasn’t enough snow around the range area and once again the Nordic elements were all going to be in Monetier; again Christophe and his team had worked tirelessly to give us something to work with. Both Maj Richard Barrett and Lt Col Charles Bromley-Gardner had put back the Biathlon events time and time again waiting for the ground conditions to improve, and again fortunately for everyone the ground finally froze hard enough for Christophe to piste and the Nordic moved back down the valley to the range area and finished its races.

EX SPARTAN HIKE

As a new Exercise Controller I am learning all the time and this year was a big learning curve for me especially regarding the skiing conditions; as I said earlier from the outside looking in there was lots of snow and from my side we were good to go. Unfortunately the early part of the season is key to it being a success or not, for those who have the knowledge already I apologise but I thought I would share some of my new found knowledge with you all. Preparation on the slopes is key to a long season, the resorts need cold weather early on and not necessarily snow, the snow blowers need a temperature of -6 for them to work and start making artificial snow; this and the frozen ground make for the correct conditions for the resort to start preparing the piste for when the snow comes. This year the hot weather worked completely against the resort, indeed visitors to the resort who had booked skiing holidays for the New Year were all sun bathing and eating outside in restaurants. This warm weather combined with the high winds which blew the snow off the mountain gave the resort a nightmare of a task to try and prepare for our arrival. For the Nordic side the same applies, the ground underneath the large amount of snow that had fallen was soft and so when Christophe tried to piste the machines just got bogged in. There is a big move by the AWSA to try and get the two semi-finals SH and PD as similar as possible; this is due to the way units are now selected for each semi-final (seeding) and the fact that a unit could go to SH one year and PD the next. To that end I increased the amount of officials this year by five key appointments; Ex 2IC/WO, Ex SQMS, Ex MT JNCO and 2 x Clerks. This improved life for all, the officials as there was far more support to the officials who spend all day out on the hill and even more support to a somewhat overworked Race Office Manager Capt (Retd) Mick Shreeves. There will be two more additional officials for SH17 to support the range as safety officials; this has been a request from Capt Douglas Punshon (RCO) for some time and I am fully supportive as it will make the range a safer place.

The number of competitors taking part in SH16 were: • Total SH16 Competitors • Alpine Competitors • Nordic Competitors

512 (Regular 482 – Reserve 30) 220 (Regular 205 – Reserve 15) 292 (Regular 277 – Reserve 15)

Key results for the competition were:

Alpine Combination Ladies Champions OUOTC Reserve Army Champions OUOTC A Team Regular Army Champions 1 Regt RLC Regular Army Champions 9 Regt RLC Nordic Biathlon Relay Army Reserve Champions Regular Army Ladies Champions Regular Army Champions

154 (Scottish) Regt RLC 9 Regt RLC 17 Port & Maritime Regt RLC

Military Patrol Race Army Reserve Champions Regular Army Champions

154 (Scottish) Regt RLC 17 Port & Maritime Regt RLC

Nordic Team Combination Army Reserve Champions Regular Army Maj Unit Champions Regular Army Champions

154 (Scottish) Regt RLC 9 Regt RLC 17 Port & Maritime Regt RLC

Unit Ski Combination Army Champions

1 Regt RLC

Ex SPARTAN HIKE 2016 – Lt Col Charles BROMLEY GARDNER MBE QRH We welcomed some new teams in January to Serre Chevalier, as well as losing some more familiar to Les Contamines, due to the re-organisation of SPARTAN HIKE and PIPEDOWN into seeded Army semi-finals. It was a good shake-up, which should also help to spread best practice across the championships. Nordic skiing has become so popular in the Army that the two championships did not have the capacity to accept all the entries; it was a sadness that some teams dropped competitors, and indeed whole teams, too late to call forward those who had been on the Reserve List. From the SH Nordic officials’ perspective, we will always accommodate as many competitors as we can … up to 330 with some risk that the range will be stretched to manage them all for both biathlon races. So we were not near breaking point in 2016 with only 292 competitors eventually. It was also noticeable that putting the UOTCs on the lowest priority resulted in there being only 15 Reservists competing – hardly a viable Reserve Championships, which was nonetheless won by 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC. We shall see the UOTCs back in 2017 to provide some competition! Reporting the paucity of snow has become de rigeur in recent seasons. It did start falling in the valley just in time to enable us to run all the races, albeit in a delayed different order as we adapted the programme to fit the conditions: it was easier to produce a classic track for the individual cross country race than the classic and skating courses for the relay. The French pisteurs worked endlessly to produce viable tracks, under the leadership of Christophe as Patrick Maure finally retired having been assisting us since the very first SPARTAN HIKE. Patrick was much more relaxed when we saw him during the week! The Men’s competition was a continuous nip-and-tuck battle between 17 Port & Maritime Regiment RLC, frequent winners at Serre Chevalier, and 1 Regiment RLC, racing

here for the first time. 1 Regt RLC took first blood in the Individual Classic race, plus they won the Biathlon Relay comprehensively. 17 P&M Regt RLC got their noses in front in the other 2 events, so they were tied on points and everything depended on the Military Patrol Race. It is never a proper Patrol Race without some controversy! 17 P&M Regt RLC protested against a ruling of a Range Official to categorize their prone unsupported position, with the magazine on the ground, as illegal. The protest was upheld and so determined the result of both the Patrol Race and the SPARTAN HIKE Championship. It was the second time that 1 Regt RLC had been thwarted by an official decision, and one felt for them, having had their hopes raised then dashed. It was extremely commendable that Capt Mark Matthews took the setbacks with such good grace and sportsmanship. 17 P&M Regt RLC and 1 Regt RLC also dominated the Individual Combination Championship, between them filling the first 6 places, 3 each. But it was Cpl Ben Woolley of the former who won both races and took the top honour. Cfn Luke Kennedy (2 CS Bn REME) was the leading Junior, having shared race victories with Gnr Joe O’Connor (26 Regt RA), whilst JUO Sam Davies, an individual from Oxford UOTC, was the leading Reservist. The Novice Combination was a tight battle between Cpl James Matthews (2 CS Bn REME) and Lt Joe Fellows (1 RIFLES), finishing in that order, albeit behind a couple of guest Marines. Although 26 Regt RA won the Women’s Classic race, 9 Regt RLC won all the remainder, and thus the Championships, in a large field of 10 regimental and two mixed teams. This was in spite of Gnr Sam Grist (26 Regt RA), the standout female competitor, almost successfully chasing down a 4:55 min deficit during the last leg of the cross country relay over only 5km. Cpl Jo Brownlow (4 Armd Med Regt), the Combination

Runner-up, was the only non-Junior (aged 20 and under) in the top four places. Army women’s nordic skiing looks as though it should go from strength to strength in the future as these women move into the senior age group. Gnr Amy Sutherland (5 Regt RA) was the leading novice in a thoroughly commendable 6th place. In total eleven women from 5 different regiments qualified for the Army Championships from SH. Fourteen male SH teams qualified for the Army Championships (Ex RUCKSACK) that are reported elsewhere. HCR’s 7th Place in the Patrol Race got them through as the SH Wildcard, with Chairman BANSC selecting 47 Regt RA as his Wildcard, and additionally qualifying 9 Regt RLC. As ever we do not rest on our laurels at SH and this year we dared to experiment with social media: ‘Whatsapp’ proved to be such great assistance with communicating to the team captains spread out in their accommodation that we should set it up well in advance of teams travelling to SH17. An SH Nordic Facebook site was also well received by competitors and their families back in UK (and some PIPEDOWN teams!) and will be maintained to report progress and unofficial results. There are some great mass start videos on it taken by the officials. As ever the unsung heroes were the officials who volunteer their time and energy, occasionally unpaid to provide such a good competition for masses of skiers. It could not be done without their expertise, and we neglect that at our peril. There’s always room for more volunteers, indeed SSgt (SSI) Ash Allen RAPTC moves back to skiing for his new team next season, so another course setter is urgently required.

PIPEDOWN

EXERCISE

LCpl Fraser and Cfn Thomas of 3 CS Bn REME on the course in the Military Patrol Race

Major Dave Belam MBE RA

Exercise PIPEDOWN does exactly what it says on the tin - when it comes to delivering exciting, robust and challenging individual military training that demands teamwork, there is no better vehicle. It tests nerve and pushes competitors in ways they might never imagine, creating a stew of the Army’s Values and Standards as the ingredients on which participants feast. It is very easy to associate skiing and family holidays – something that all of us will have done from time to time but, anyone that has experienced skiing the Army way, will know different. Exercise PIPEDOWN 16 set out to deliver this tasty meal to just fewer than 400 competitors this year and it did so with style – style which came mostly from the racers but the delivery team might reasonably lay claim to some of this too. Early in January, a small team from HQ 102 Logistic Brigade deployed from Grantham to Les Contamines in France, to prepare for the annual mass migration of Alpine and Nordic skiers; a real gathering of clans from across the Army. 2016 was a year of firsts: the first time HQ 102 Log Bde has planned and delivered the exercise; the first time there was no immediate regional or formation alignment for team participation; and the first time it has rained in Les Contamines during the winter (the author may be slightly exaggerating on this last one). On arrival in Les Contamines, the conditions could not have been better. If anything, there may have been too much snow, creating the associated avalanche dangers that are inherent in the area but, the rain gods were not far away and they were hell bent on ruining our parade. Close to 400 racers turned up for registration – the largest number of competitors since the 90’s - a possible sign things are getting back to pre-campaign situation, or perhaps, given how busy everyone still is, more units are seizing the opportunity to have their soldiers participate in one of the more creative training events available. Irrespective, as the teams met up – some old friends – relationships quickly turned to rivalry and we were set for an excellent 10 days of competition that would see 16 units qualifying for the Army Alpine Championships (Ex LIONS’ CHALLENGE), and 9 for the equivalent Nordic

event (Ex RUCKSACK). Both Alpine and Nordic fielded all levels of competitor, from novice to those that have represented GBR at international level. Ex PIPEDOWN delivers in equal measure to all participants and is both gender and ability fair. This is demonstrated daily, whether at the top of a hill or the finish line of an Alpine or Nordic race course, the Army’s Values and Standards feed every drop of sweat or ounce of fear that oozes from the racers and, although the competition is ferocious, none forget they are ultimately of one team and help, encouragement and congratulations are never far away. Before all this could happen, the exercise delivery team had a lot of work to do; building the range, establishing the Alpine and Nordic courses and getting them in a position

16 Regt Royal Artillery on the range in the Military Patrol Race with Lt Matt Ireland focussed on his target

EX PIPEDOWN

GOC 1 (UK) Div (Maj Gen GP Hill CBE) watching the start of the Super G Race with 2Lt Michael Houstoun SCOTS DG starting to officiate and deliver professional standard races. Although a few ‘old hands’ were there to assist, it was, after all, a brand new team. A common question that is asked during media interviews is, “How can you [the organisation] know that the soldiers taking part in the exercise are not there for the social aspect of skiing?” And, it is true, “the devil makes work for idle hands” but this has never been a concern on Ex PIPEDOWN. The programme is so full, with long days spent testing conditions, warming-up, racing, coolingdown and preparing late into the evenings for the following day – given the choice between the bar or bed; bed wins every time! Most of the competing teams undergo a regime of training which starts the preceding year. A number attend Corps training camps in Scandinavia or the Alps, with the serious teams creating additional opportunities during the summer and autumn. There is a long established saying, specifically among Nordic skiers

The nervous minute as racers wait anxiously to mass start in the 4 x 7.5km Biathlon Relay Race that, skiers may race in the winter but they are made in the summer. The teams that compete for the top slots follow this mantra and some of the individuals are fortunate enough to be selected for National Development Squads on the strength of their performance at Ex PIPEDOWN. Over the 22 years the exercise has been held at Les Contamines, the village has worked very hard to provide courses which are second-tonone. With a purpose build Biathlon Stadium, National standard Nordic tracks that demand each racer’s respect and Alpine courses that challenge the best French racers, demand for a place here is high. Without any formation or regional alignment, skiing units could end up at either Ex PIPEDOWN or SPARTAN-HIKE (our sister event) and the competition to get to this venue is fierce - there is always frustration when teams are turned away – the answer is to submit bids early and avoid disappointment. The races commenced with the Alpine Giant Slalom and seeding race. This establishes the starting order and provides a benchmark standard for the remaining races. While conditions on the Nordic courses in the valley were introducing considerations for the building of an Ark, the Alpine courses were above the snowline and the races were unhindered. The male winners of the Alpine races were constantly changing; something that is quite unusual but which helped to promote exciting and enduring competition among the racers. The women’s competition was slightly more consistent with Capt Lizzie Cranfield (5 Regt AAC), 2Lt Hollie Suff and Capt Mel Birtwhistle (26 Regt RE) dominating the top three places in most races, with Pte Amy Brookman splitting these in the Slalom race.

The steady drum of rain that was present for the first few days did much to remove the large quantity of snow but did nothing to dampen the resolve of the racers and the Nordic stadium was buzzing with the sound of excitement and rifle shooting. With the 15km Men’s and 10km Women’s Cross-Country races held in watery conditions at the front end, conditions improved mid-week, leaving perfect Alpine winter scenery to run the Biathlon races. Biathlon involves extremes of the sporting spectrum – the rigour of crosscountry skiing and the calm of shooting – all in the same race. It involves an uncommon degree of self-discipline to go from full-on physical effort to standing on a range with 50 metres between the rifle and a target the size of a medium sized orange, knowing every shot missed will add another 150 metres to your race. The Military Patrol Race takes the Biathlon and shakes it up by increasing the race distance to 20kms, forcing teams of four individuals to ski together (pity the slowest person) and hindering them throughout with intermittent range visits and command based tasks – 1 CS Bn REME proved themselves to be masters as they had the fastest skiing time combined with the most targets hit. Nordic Results: Men: 15km Classic Ind - LBdr Vinny Fountain, 16 Regt RA 15km Classic Team – 16 Regt RA 4 x 5km Classic Relay – 16 Regt RA 10km Biathlon Sprint Ind – LBdr Lee Jackson, 16 Regt RA 10km Biathlon Sprint Team – 16 Regt RA 4 x 7.5km Biathlon Relay – 16 Regt RA Military Patrol Race – 1 CS Bn REME

Women: 10km ClassicInd* – LCpl Emma Drew, 6 Regt RLC Alpine results: 10km Classic Team – 16 Regt RA Ind Slalom – Cpl Danny Rix, 26 Engr Regt 4 x 5km Classic Relay – 6 Regt RLC Ind GS – Capt Paul Inman, 3 CS Bn REME 7.5km Biathlon Sprint Ind** – Lt Jess Wood, Team GS Ind - Capt Duncan White, 1 YORKS 16 Regt RA Team Slalom Ind - Capt Ian Thomas, 27 Regt RLC 7.5km Biathlon Sprint Team – 16 Regt RA GS Team – 3 CS Bn REME 4 x 6km Biathlon Relay – 6 Regt RLC GS Team Ind – Capt Ian Thomas, 27 Regt RLC Military Patrol Race – 16 Regt RA Downhill – Cpl Adam Oldham, LD Downhill Team – 3 CS Bn REME *SSgt Adele Walker, RLC Ladies competing as a guest, was Top seeds after 6 championship races 1st – Sig Hayden Grand, 22 Sigs Regt 2nd – Capt Ian Thomas, 27 Regt RLC 3rd – Capt Paul Inman, 3 CS Bn REME

the overall winner. **Cpl Nerys Jones, AGC Ladies competing as a guest, was the overall winner.

For those that have not tried Alpine or Nordic skiing before and would like to, contact:

1UKXX-G7-PIPEDOWN-SO2@mod.uk 49

EX SNOWLION

EX SNOWLION Capt Billy (MAA) Young RAPTC – EX SL Controller

As part of Commander Land Forces’s Directive to encourage participation in sport at all levels, Exercise SNOWLION 16 provided a superb platform to deliver sport in abundance. Sport is to be given high priority to recreate the habit and what better way to achieve than through skiing in the Scottish Highlands. The exercise was run in accordance with the AWSA Alpine and Snowboarding Race Rules. Units from 51st Infantry Brigade and HQ Scotland sent Alpine Ski Teams and Snowboarders to EX SL 16. EX SL is the Army’s Scotland Ski Championships, which took place in the Cairngorm Mountain Range,

Contact EX SNOW LION Coord Capt MW Galley RAPTC e: 51X-G7-PD-SO3@mod.uk 50

Aviemore, Scotland over the period 26 February to 6 March 2016. This is the second year since its relaunch after a four year gap from 2010. Since the operational tempo has lessened it is the Commanders Intent (Brigadier Gary Deakin) to continue to deliver Ex SL and to open it up to snowboarders and Nordic skiers from the tri-Service audience serving in Scotland. There were 64 Alpine skiers and 17 snowboarding competitors from Army units across Scotland, this also included two guest team’s from 19 RA and one form the Navy HMS Sea Hawk in Portsmouth. 51 Infantry Brigade G7PD were the main organisers of the competition with admin support provided by 7 SCOTS. The competition was broken down into two main parts: giant slalom (individual and team)

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The competition was well contested with University OTC Aberdeen winning most events.

and slalom (individual and team). The snowboarding event was delivered with a slightly different approach this year, introducing the launch of the Freestyle and Boarder Cross discipline events. The weather surprisingly was perfect especially for the Highlands not that the teams were complaining. Only the first day was interrupted due to poor weather conditions as high winds made the funicular railway which accessed the mountain too unstable to use. The competition was well contested with UOTC Aberdeen

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winning most events. The prize giving celebrations took place in the MacDonald Highland Hotel and the Commander presented and addressed the audience to express his thoughts and appreciation on the success of the event. Ex SNOW LION is growing from strength to strength and the G7PD Team look forward to delivering a further Ex SNOW CUB package over the period January to February 2017 including Skiing (SF1/SF2) and a new initiative to introduce instruction into Snowboarding - in preparation for Ex SNOW LION 2017.