Snow and Ice 2013 by Catharine Moss

ARMY WINTER SPORTS ASSOCIATION

and

ICE

Army Winter Sports Association

In this issue 2013 4

Events 2013-2014

AWSA News

Alpine

Bobsleigh

CSDST

Cresta

Luge

Nordic

Deputy Presidents Maj Gen RBS Nitsch OBE (Ice Sports) Maj Gen RR Davis CBE (Nordic) Maj Gen PW Jaques CBE (Snowboard) Maj Gen GPR Norton CBE (Telemark) Maj Gen RPM Weighill CBE (Alpine)

Skeleton

Snowboard

Telemark

Chairman Lt Gen JG Lorimer DSO MBE chairman@awsa.org.uk

Sponsorship

How time flies!

Skiing with Heroes

Ex SPARTAN HIKE

Ex PIPEDOWN

AWSA membership

a: c/o MOD ASCB, MacKenzie Block Fox Lines, Queen’s 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 KSGC ADC (P) President Gen Sir Peter Wall GCB CBE ADC Gen

Vice Chairman Brig R Haldenby vice-chairman@awsa.org.uk Secretary Lt Col (Retd) MK Allen secretary@awsa.org.uk Sponsorship Secretary Lt Col JA Scott MBE SCOTS sponsorship@awsa.org.uk Public Fund Manager Lt Col SAJ Davis RAPTC 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:

Brig Karl Ford MBE, CRA 3 UK DIv inspecting 1 RIFLES on Ex SPARTAN HIKE before the start of the military patrol race

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 or complete the application form on page 58. © 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 2013 - 2014 AWSA Discipline Secretaries Meeting AWSA Management Meeting 2013 AWSA AGM and Cocktail Party 2013

ASCB - Aldershot Cavalry & Guards Club, London Cavalry & Guards Club, London

5 September 2013 29 October 2013 29 October 2013

Alpine

UK Regional & TA Championship EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers - France 12/01/14 - 22/01/14 BFG & North Region Championship EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines - France 11/01/14 - 21/01/14 Army Championship EX LIONS CHALLENGE Serre Chevalier - France 22/01/14 - 31/01/14 Inter Service Championships (ISSSC) Meribel - France 01/02/14 - 08/02/14 Royal Navy Championship Tignes - France 11/01/14 - 25/01/14 Royal Air Force Championship Saalbach Hinterglemm - Austria 11/01/14 - 25/01/14

Bobsleigh

Cresta Army Junction Championship 17th / 21st Lancers Cup St Moritz - Switzerland 24/01/14 Army Top Championship Scots Guards Cup St Moritz - Switzerland 28/01/14 Inter Service Cresta Championship Prince Phillip Trophy St Moritz - Switzerland 30/01/14 Luge Army Ice Camp - Weeks 1 & 2 EX RACING ICE I Igls - Austria 08/12/13 - 19/12/13 Army Championship (Novice, Junior, Intermediate & Senior) EX RACING ICE II Igls - Austria 22/02/14 - 01/03/14 Inter Service Ice Sports Championships Igls - Austria 02/03/14 - 09/03/14 Nordic UK Regional & TA Championship EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers - France 12/01/14 - 22/01/14 BFG & North Region Championship EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines 11/01/14 - 21/01/14 Army, Inter Service and British Championships EX RUCKSACK Ruhpolding - Germany 22/01/14 - 06/02/14

Skeleton Bobsleigh

Army Ice Camp - Weeks 1 & 2 EX RACING ICE I Igls - Austria 08/12/13 - 19/12/13 Army Championship (Novice, Junior, Intermediate & Senior) EX RACING ICE II Igls - Austria 22/02/14 - 01/03/14 Inter Service Ice Sports Championships Igls - Austria 02/03/14 - 09/03/14 Snowboard Army Pre-Season Event Ex SNOW SUMMER Snowdome, Hemel Hempstead, UK 19 September 2013 Army Freestyle Championship EX SNOW METHOD Stubai - Austria 17/10/13 - 27/10/13 Army Championship EX SNOW JACK Stubai - Austria 29/03/14 - 12/04/14 Inter Service Championships (ISSSC) Meribel - France 01/02/14 - 08/02/14

Telemark Army and British Championships EX TELEMARK TITAN Inter Service Championships (ISSSC)

Rauris - Austria 04/01/14 - 16/01/14 Meribel - France 01/02/14 - 08/02/14

Olympic Winter Games Paralympic Winter Games

Sochi - Russia Sochi - Russia

International

07/02/14 - 24/02/14 07/03/14 - 10/03/14

AWSA NEWS

AWSA PRESIDENT General Sir Peter Wall GCB CBE ADC Gen - Chief of the General Staff

As the President of the Army Winter Sports Association it has been a pleasure for me to see so many officers and soldiers taking part in our eight disciplines this season. The racing has been immensely exciting and we have had real successes: the Alpine team beat off some ferocious competition to take the Championship for both men and ladies; this result was followed by an Army win in Nordic, Telemark, Cresta and the ladies taking the Championship in Snowboard. We have not had it all our own way with the RAF dominating Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton despite some excellent individual performances. The Committee is grappling with how we might provide greater depth in these disciplines and across all our Ice Sports in future years.

I detect two principal challenges for winter sports over the coming seasons. First is the switch in operational focus from a campaign in Afghanistan to contingency in UK and Germany. This is an opportunity for us. I encourage an ethos of ‘making the time for’ rather than ‘taking the time off’ for sport. Sport and, in particular, winter sport, develops exactly the sort of leadership, fitness, teamwork, courage, good administration and an ability to deal with uncertainty which are essential to operational success. In sport, just like operations, there may be opportunities for practice but there are few second chances. The second challenge is the financial squeeze on everything we do. There is sufficient funding to support our sport for those who are prepared to take the time to organize it.

Supporting sport with resource is essential to the Army for exactly the operational reasons I describe above. My direction to the chain of command, and particularly unit COs and RSMs, is to do whatever you can to get your people involved and support your teams by investing in them and visiting if you can. The Army winter activities review should lead to better clarity in the various policies and rules surrounding winter sport and consistency in their application. I congratulate all our athletes for their efforts this past season and offer my best wishes for success in 2014. I would like to thank the large number of officials who give up their time throughout the year to make these events happen; and to our donors and sponsors without whom the events would not happen.

Alpine racers talking to Lt Gen Lorimer (AWSA Chairman) and Gen Sir Peter Wall (AWSA President)

Do you use Facebook? If you are a facebook user, the AWSA now has its own page where all the latest news and updates will be posted. During the season there will be daily 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.

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

Princess Marina Cup The Princess Marina Duchess of Kent Cup (usually known as ‘The Marina’) is undoubtedly the ‘Holy Grail’ of Army skiing and one of the most fiercely contested sporting trophies in the British Army. The Marina, which is awarded to the overall Champion Army Alpine and Nordic Unit, has been won by 22 different units since 1948 when it was first awarded to 1 West Yorkshire Regiment. The cup is presented annually and is decided by calculating which unit has the most wins in both Alpine (Giant Slalom, Slalom, Super G and Downhill) and Nordic (15Km Cross Country, 10Km Biathlon, 4 x 7.5Km Biathlon and the Military Patrol Race). In the event of a tie the 30Km Military Patrol Race is used as the decider. 2013 Champions - 1 LSR RLC

2013 Runners-up - 27 TLR RLC

Annual General Meeting 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 29th October 2013 at 1730 hrs.

AWSA NEWS

AWSA Chairman Lt Gen John Lorimer DSO MBE

As my first season as Chairman of the Army Winter Sports Association draws to a close, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to visit a number of our disciplines over the year, including Telemark and Snowboard, as well as re-acquainting myself with Nordic and being lucky enough to attend the Alpine championships at Serre Chevalier. There is no doubt that each discipline has its own character and it is clear to me that there is no ‘one size fits all’ in the way our events are run. This makes the role of our discipline committees all the more important. To keep them running smoothly, I would encourage any of our athletes who are about to hang up the various tools of their trade to put their experience to good use as an official or coach during future seasons. The current incumbents need to pay close attention to this too, as realistic succession plans are essential to ensure the longevity and sustainability of Army winter sports.

We have had some excellent racing in all areas this year and I have been hugely impressed by the fitness, skill, dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship of our athletes and I commend them all. Although there will be plenty in the following pages about individual performances, I would just like to single out one for particular mention: Capt Matt Shepherd is to retire as Army Alpine captain, having once more led the team to inter-Service success this year, after a racing career that has seen him dominate men’s Army skiing over much of the last decade. I wholeheartedly congratulate him for his achievements and I wish him all the best for the future. I am very much looking forward to visiting those disciplines I have yet to see, especially Cresta and the Ice Sports. However, it will have to wait until the 2014/15 season, as an operational tour will preclude me from taking part this coming year. Nevertheless, I will follow events closely from Afghanistan and I am confident that I am leaving the AWSA in the

very safe hands of the Deputy Presidents and the Committee. Finally, I would like to wish all of our potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes the very best of luck in their campaigns to get to the Sochi Olympics and Paralympics in 2014. These include: LSgt Lamin Deen and Cpl Paula Walker in Bobsleigh; Cpl Amanda Lightfoot, Bdr Kevin Kane and LBdr Lee-Steve Jackson in Nordic; and CSDST skiers Sgt (Retd) Mick Brennan (GB) and Pte Kingsley Ward (South Africa).’ I know that many of us in the AWSA will follow their progress with great interest. Have a great 2013/14 season.

Farewell Spud - Maj (Retd) JMC Leaning In November 2012, after five decades of dedicated service to Army winter sports, Maj (Retd) Spud Leaning retired from the AWSA Management Committee. Spud served in the Royal Artillery and his history reads something of a Who’s Who of Winter Sports (see ‘How Time Flies’ on page 46). As well as being a member of the Management Committee he has also been a star on the slopes. He took part in the 1963 and 1964 Alpine Championships as well as the Cross Country and Biathlon Championships from 1962 to 1969 and in 1972 and 1975; at the latter event he was the 15km veterans Champion. He was in the Princess Marina winning team in 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1969. He also took part in numerous Scottish Alpine Championships. Not just content with taking part as an athlete, he also put a lot back in

to the sports as Course setter, Team Captain, Chef Du Mission and other such roles. Most noticeably he was team Manager and Captain of the British Olympic Team that went to the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, Team Manager for the British ladies team for the 1984 Games in Srajevo and was the Assistant Chef Du Mission for the whole British Olympic team at Calgary in 1988, covering all winter sports but with a special responsibility for Nordic. Finally he was Head of delegation for the 1992 Games and Nordic Programme Director for the 1994 Games. There is no doubt that Spud’s career with the AWSA will be unmatched - 53 years of unrivalled support. The AWSA would therefore like to offer a heartfelt thank you for all that he has done for the organisation and for the many soldiers he has helped and inspired to try winter

sports. The very best of wishes in your final retirement.

Did you know? Olympic Winter Games - At the first ever Winter Games at Chamonix in 1924 the GBR 4-man Bob team consisted of one Colonel, two Majors and a Captain; they won the silver medal! In St Moritz in 1928 the Army made up one fifth of the only ever 5-man bob. In 1964 Captain Robin Dixon (now Lord Glentoran) Grenadier Guards won the Gold Medal with

Tony Nash in the 2-man bob. They were nearly emulated in 1998 when Corporals Dean Ward and Sean Olsson of the Parachute Regiment were members of the bronze medal 4-man bob. The Sochi Winter Olympics will be held from 7 to 23 February 2014. Approximately 2,800 athletes from 80 countries will be competing in 98 events.

Paralympic Winter Games - The first Paralympic Winter Games took place in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will be held from 7 to 16 March 2014 with athletes competing in five winter sports: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Curling.

ALPINE

ALPINE Lt Col Hugh Campbell-Smith MBE

Army Championship This year saw the welcome return to a healthy competition as 114 skiers qualified for the Army Championship; a huge improvement on 85 this time last year. Many factors contributed to the low turnout in 2012, not least a heavy commitment to Operations. That said, Afghanistan still plays a huge part in all our lives, so a relatively small reduction in those deploying was only one part of the upside in this year’s figures. By far the main reason for the substantial increase – and one which is rightly applauded here – has been the energetic support from all parts of the chain of command, which has been outstanding and very well received. Increased numbers meant that all parts of the Army were represented and it was a real pleasure to be able to present the Infantry Trophy once again. This year also saw many more Reserve Teams coming through to the Army Championship; a fantastic achievement when one considers the huge commitment involved in securing time away and the difficulties in training for such events.

2013 saw outstanding snow conditions; in fact, there was almost too much snow and the ‘piste–bashers’ had to work extremely hard over several nights to prepare the steep section of the Piste Luc Alphand for the Downhill. Needless to say, the French Hill Team was brilliant (as per usual) and, come the day, the Downhill Course was at its finest. In fact, all courses were quite excellent; overseen by the TD, Dr Julian Adams and aided by bitterly cold temperatures at night and clear skies during the day. Congratulations go to Cpl Chalky White (27 TLR) and Capt Lizzie Cranfield (1 AAC) on being crowned 2013 Men’s and Ladies’ Champions. Overall, it was a close competition which served us well at the Combined Services and made the racing very exciting. The great thing about Alpine Skiing is that no matter where one places on the seed list there is always plenty of rivalry and the competition between the lowest seeds is as intense as the top ones. With Novice, Junior and Veteran prizes awarded for each race, there is always a chance for a ‘surprise’; and nowhere is this more evident than in the Downhill, where individuals can leap (or drop) tens of places in the rankings. The Downhill course was appreciably faster this year and the jumps a little higher! In such conditions,

skiers willing to ‘park’ concerns about personal safety in favour of going all out to tame the hill - aided by a smattering of good luck, but then, in this business, one really does make one’s own - can reap huge rewards and no small amount of alpine legendary status! This was ably demonstrated by two cavalrymen awarded the ‘Chairman’s Bottle for Bottle’ prize, for jumping the most seed points: huge congratulations to Lt Mawby KRH who started 77th and finished 23rd and LCpl Oldham LD who started 97th and finished 43rd (a full list of results can be found on the AWSA Alpine web page at www.AWSA. org.uk/Alpine). Alpine Skiing asks much of our soldiers, especially novices. The level of this commitment is etched on their faces at the start of the Army Downhill; a mixture of concentration, as they desperately try to remember where the jumps are, and a rising fear at possibly making a mistake and crashing out. The Start Hut is always shrouded in an intense silence, countered by sheer jubilation at the bottom; once racers have completed the run of their life, with legs feeling like jelly and a sense of amazement that they have survived breaking the UK Motorway speed limit on a set of planks with no more than a plastic helmet for safety! Alpine skiing

Alpine Results 2012-2013

Army Championship Male Champion Male Runner-up Female Champion Female Runner-up Team Champions Team Runners-up

Cpl White 27 TLR RLC SSgt MacPherson 1 LSR RLC Capt Cranfield 1 AAC Capt Eckersley HQ AGC 27 TLR RLC 7 AA Bn REME

Inter Service Championship Male Champion Female Champion Best Male Newcomer Best Female Newcomer Male Team Champions Female Team Champions

Fg Offr Munro RAF Valley Capt Cranfield 1 AAC Fg Offr Munro RAF Valley Capt Eckersley HQ AGC Army Army

is too often misinterpreted as an ‘easy ride’ by the uninitiated, yet this simple fact is that more and more novices are benefitting from the confidence that such demanding sports inculcate in participants. It is hugely rewarding that so many VIPs, Commanding Officers and Corps Skiing representatives were there to support them.

Sponsors The flip-side of Alpine racing is that, whilst hugely exciting, it is not cheap! Exercise LIONS CHALLENGE is only made possible by the very generous sponsorship that it receives. The discipline of Army Alpine remains incredibly grateful for the financial support it receives and it was fantastic to see so many of our sponsors at the Championship this year. Once again, expertly corralled by the AWSA Protocol Team, we were able to take sponsors onto the race slopes and give them first-hand experience of what their money buys, as well as introduce them to the racers - many of whom had been deployed to Afghanistan in the last year; giving everyone plenty to discuss.

Alpine Directive Exercise LIONS CHALLENGE is the culmination of huge amounts of work throughout the year by dedicated committees who volunteer their precious free time in order that the sport of Alpine Skiing can continue. This year was particularly busy as it saw the publication of the first ‘Alpine Directive’ which sets the safety standards for racing across all Alpine Competitions and an agreed Army qualification for race officials. This represents a huge step forward in the governance of Army Alpine Skiing and ensures that we mitigate

as much risk as possible in what clearly (and rightly) remains a dangerous sport. The Directive would not have been possible without the drive of the Chairman and the long hours of work by Maj Ross Anderson. Thanks must also go to all Alpine Committees from the many Regimental, Corps and Divisional Championships which not only embraced the Directive, but contributed to its development. As such, all these governing bodies are now much more integrated and, critically, qualifying officials to an agreed standard which can only be good news for the safety of racers and the development of the sport we all love.

Au revoirs This year, the Alpine Chairman, Maj Gen Rob Weighill will hand over the reins to Brig Jim Richardson. Despite a misguided youth spent cross-country skiing (for which he now professes true repentance), Gen Rob has been a huge inspiration on the Committee and has really developed the sport of Army Alpine Racing, especially in terms of its organisation. Throughout his four year tenure there have been many threats to the sport. However, as a result of his guidance and calm logical argument, the sport is not only as healthy as it has been for years, but enjoys renewed levels of support throughout the Army. Gen Rob will be sorely missed. We wish him and Liney (one half of the Score-Board Dollies...) all the best, and would like to take this opportunity to thank them publically for all they have done for Army Alpine Skiing. The good news is that we are very fortunate to be welcoming, as our new Chairman, Brig Jim Richardson, who is just as passionate about the future of Army Alpine Skiing and we very much look forward to the next few years with him at the helm.

Contact Alpine Chairman Alpine Brig Jim Richardson Secretary Alpine Lt Col Hugh Campbell-Smith MBE t: 07887821509 e: alpine@awsa.org.uk

ALPINE

Capt James Davis 9/12L

On the subject of personalities, 2013 was Capt Matt Shepherd’s last racing season. Matt has enjoyed success at the very top of Army and Combined Service racing for the last seven years. A few of his highlights include winning the Army Downhill seven times, the Combined Services downhill three times and being crowned Combined Services Champion twice. What is not so well known, however, is the huge part that Matt has played in developing and mentoring the Army Team, as well as organising every aspect of their participation in the Combined Service Race meetings. Away from Army level sport, he has also found time to be a huge influence in the development of RLC skiing over a number of years. Without doubt, the Army Team will be the poorer for his absence. However, on a positive note, Matt will now be able to dedicate even more time as an organiser, coach and official! In recognition of Matt’s hard work and dedication to the sport of Alpine Skiing, he was officially recognised at the Combined Services this year; richly deserved. Combined Services Championship At the end of the Army Championship, the Men’s and Ladies Teams are selected to represent the Army at the Combined Services in Meribel. The Army ladies (captained by Lizzie Cranfield (1 AAC)) dominated throughout, winning every race and were duly crowned

SSgt J Bennett 7AA Bn REME

Combined Services Champions. The Men (captained by Matt Shepherd (27 TLR)) had a bit more of a rollercoaster ride, dominating in the speed events, but not doing so well in the technical ones. First place came down to the final race with a nail biting wait to see who had won. However, by one of the closest margins in years, the Army beat the RAF to continue their success at the top. It is worth saying how great it was to see so many new faces in the Army Team, demonstrating amply the depth of ability and the fantastic level competition we have in the Army. Finally, if having read this, you would like your Battalion or Regiment to take part next year, then please speak to your Regimental 2IC now about organising a team! If you want more information, then e-mail the Army Alpine Secretary on alpine@awsa.org.uk. Aside from competing, it must also be said that the sport survives on dedicated volunteers and we are always looking out for more help at Corps right through to Army Competitions. A little previous experience helps, but is not essential. So, if you still reminisce fondly about your days of racing for your Regt or Bn, but have since developed a healthy sense of self preservation, here’s your chance to get back into the racing scene! Those wishing to get involved should contact the Alpine Secretary.

Alpine Events 2013 - 2014 UK Regional and TA Championship EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers, France 12-22 January 2014 BFG & North Region Championship EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines, France 11-21 January 2014 Army Championship EX LIONS CHALLENGE Serre Chevalier, France 22-31 January 2014 Inter Service Championships (ISSSC) Meribel, France 1-8 February 2014

EX LIONS CHALLENGE - Royal Artillery Officials and competitors pictured with Maj Gen Rob Weighill CBE (on far left) departing Alpine Chairman

ALPINE

British Alpine Championship Capt Matt Shepherd RLC 2013 saw the Combined Services Ski Team represent the military for the sixth year in a row at the Delancey British National Ski Championship in Meribel from 23-30 Mar 13. The British Championship has a long and prestigious history and is the highlight of the British ski racing calendar. It brings together GBR’s top ski racing talent and provides the opportunity to compete for national titles as well as FIS world ranking points. It is open to all FIS registered national and international athletes and this season had a field of over 100 men and 50 women. The Championship is very high profile with royalty, national media and World Cup winning athletes in attendance. The team is primarily funded by the CSWSA and the CSSB on an annual basis. However this season the team also received a generous grant from the Skiers Trust of Great Britain that allowed an extra week of training on the Stade in Meribel prior to the races. This training on the race hill proved invaluable; particularly for the speed events. Of note this year was the participation of the men’s French and Italian World Cup teams in the speed events. It’s not often the military’s top racers get to race against the likes of Adrian Theaux (FRA) winner of the Kvitfjell World Cup Downhill two weeks prior, or Matteo Marsaglia (ITA) winner of the Birds of Prey World Cup Super G in Beaver Creek earlier in the season and the number two ranked SG skier in the world. That’s not to forget our own top racers such as Dave Ryding, this seasons Europa Cup Slalom Champion, TJ Baldwin the defending national Downhill Champion and Dougie Crawford this seasons national Downhill Champion. The 2013 CS Team was the strongest that’s been fielded by the Combined Services for a number of years with the fastest six men from

2013 CS Alpine Ski Team; Capt Matt Shepherd (Army), Capt Lizzie Cranfield (Army), Col Calder-Smith, (Chairman CS Alpine) Lt Chris Sharrott (RN), Lt Duncan White (Army), Fg Offr Jo Munro (RAF), SSgt Dougie MacPherson (Army) and SAC Gary Smith (RAF)

the ISSSC as well as the ISSSC Ladies Champion in the team ranks. Strong performances were produced by all with a stunning haul of Top 10 GBR results achieved and importantly, valuable experience was gained by the new team members at the highest level of British ski racing.

Race Name Placed SUPER G - NC Capt Shepherd 10th First place timings: SSgt MacPherson 15th Male 1:25.33 SAC Smith RAF 16th Female 1:31.48 Lt Sharrott 18th Fg Offr Munro RAF 19th Capt Cranfield 7th DOWNHILL - NC Capt Shepherd 11th First place timings: Lt White 13th Male 1:15.88 SSgt MacPherson 17th Female 1:22.07 SAC Smith RAF 20th Fg Offr Munro RAF 21st Capt Cranfield 6th DOWNHILL - NJC Lt White 13th First place timings: SSgt MacPherson 16th Male 1:17.44 SAC Smith RAF 20th Female 1:23.35 Fg Offr Munro RAF 21st Capt Cranfield 6th SUPER G - NJC Fg Offr Munro RAF 17th First place timings: SSgt MacPherson 20th Male 1:25.08 SAC Smith RAF 22nd Female 1:27.50 Capt Cranfield 11th SUPER COMB. NC First place timings: Male 2:17.36 Female 2:18.96

SSgt MacPherson Fg Offr Munro RAF SAC Smith RAF Capt Cranfield

7th 9th 11th 7th

Time 1:31.70 1:37.79 1:37.86 1:38.45 1:39.16 1:47.62 1:22.00 1:22.33 1:24.33 1:27.05 1:27.91 1:29.98 1:23.60 1:25.46 1:28.14 1:28.40 1:30.05 1:36.56 1:37.56 1:39.57 1:44.97 2:36.36 2:39.02 2:40.73 2:52.52

BOBSLEIGH

ARMY CHAMPIO The Army Bobsleigh Championships were held in Igls, Austria from 24th February to 2nd March 2013. They were held in the week prior to the Inter Service Championships so as well as all the teams competing for the title of Army Bobsleigh Champion 2013 they were also setting their sights on a place in the Army Bobsleigh Team. The Army Novice Championships would also take place alongside the Army Championships as we had pulled through eight male teams (from the Ice Camp) who were only introduced to the ice in January 2013. We were fortunate to be able to introduce a female skeleton athlete (Sgt Smith 4 Regt RA) to bobsleigh driving during the week and whilst she would only race in the Army Skeleton Championship, her impressive bobsleigh driving earnt her a place on the Army Team for the Inter Services as our sole female driver.

This was the best turnout for an Army Championships that Army Bobsleigh has experienced for a number of years. A number of teams came from 3 PARA who have been training hard off the ice since autumn 2012. They have been coached by Sgt â&#x20AC;&#x153;Smudgeâ&#x20AC;? Smith of 3 PARA who is an ex International brakeman and he brought out a strong team to the Ice Camp and to the Army Championships. Training commenced on 25th February after track walks and bobsleigh allocation the evening before. The sleds were moved from Germany to Igls by truck and thanks must go to the ABA Equipment Manager and Sig Anderson and Sig Wilkinson of 16 Signal Regiment who drove the trucks down to Austria. The teams very quickly progressed from the Damen Start up to the Bob Start where they could start to put their starting techniques to the test to get the best time down the track. The top of the

track was ably run by LCpl Richard Sharman (REME) who is one of the GB athletes (sadly injured this season but putting all his efforts into Army Bobsleigh whilst he gets himself back to full fitness). WO2 Kenney Pereira was in the final corner of the track along with the medic, ready to pull out any unlucky sliders who crashed and the coaches on the track were WO2 Pete Gunn and Sean Olsson. We were very fortunate to be able to recruit Sean as a coach as he left the Army some years ago; he has been our most successful male bobsleigh athlete so far winning an Olympic Bronze medal in Nagano in 1998. The weather held out for the sliders with clear blue skies every day and for once the temperature was bearable. All the bobsleighers took the Championships extremely seriously with trips to the gym and many hours spent polishing runners in order to knock off vital 100th of seconds from their time. The final day of training took place on 28th February when we also welcomed AWSA Deputy President, Maj Gen Colin Boag to the track to see the sliding. Maj Gen Boag very kindly attended the Race Draw that evening and drew the start list for the Army Championships. The race was scheduled to take place at 1630 on 1st March with the winner having the fastest combined time over two laufs. The race would follow FIBT rules as much as possible and all the bobsleighs had to be at the top of the track by 1515 hrs. WO2 Gunn and LCpl Sharman were jury members at the top of the track and WO2 Pereira and Sean Olsson were jury members responsible for weighing the bobsleighs in-between laufs. The maximum all up weight for

the male 2-man sled and crew was 390 kg. The race took place alongside the Army Skeleton and Luge Championships and the first bobsleigh down the track (known as a spur bob) to test the timing equipment was Sean Olsson and WO2 Pereira. This was an impressive sight as Sean Olsson has not been on the ice for five years and the crew in the sled had a combined age of 92! The race then got underway with all teams raring to go on the block. There were four teams from 3 PARA, one from 1 RTR, a HAC team, a 3 Royal Anglian team plus a combined QDG/3 PARA sled. These teams were all novice sliders and together with a 1 Gren Gds/3 PARA sled made up the nine competing teams. The first run commenced with LSgt Lamin Deen/Sgt Smudge Smith achieving a down time of 54.41 seconds. The standard had been set and each bobsleigh tried desperately to beat their time. Impressively there were no crashes and all bobs reached the bottom of the track with both crew and equipment intact. At the end of the first run, the leaders were LSgt Lamin Deen/Sgt Smudge Smith followed by Pte James Steel/Pte Ricky Wilde (3 PARA) who were 1.43 seconds behind. Third place was tied with both Pte Ivan Londal/ Pte Jamie Beale (3 PARA) and LCpl Mark Murphie/Pte Daryl Smith (3 PARA) some 1.82 seconds behind the leader. All the other bobsleighs were very close together which would make for an exciting second run. For the second race the sleds went in reverse order on time. Some of the teams moved up the positions due to a strong second run but ultimately the top two

Bobsleigh Results 2012- 2013 Army Championships 2-Man Male Champions 2-Man Male Runners-up Fastest Brakeman 2-Man Novice Champions 2-Man Novice Runners-up Fastest Novice Brakeman Novice Champions 2013 Pte James Steel & Pte Ricky Wilde

LSgt Lamin Deen 1 Gren Gds & Sgt Smudge Smith 3 PARA Pte James Steel & Pte Ricky Wilde 3 PARA Sgt Smudge Smith 3 PARA (start time of 5.48 seconds) Pte James Steel & Pte Ricky Wilde 3 PARA Pte Ivan Londal & Pte Jamie Beale 3 PARA Pte Ricky Wilde 3 PARA (start time of 5.63 seconds)

BOBSLEIGH

ONSHIP

Maj Helen Smyth RAMC

positions were retained with the battle being fought for third place between Pte Londal and LCpl Murphie. It was an excellent Army and Novice Championships with good sportsmanship being displayed throughout. The prizes were handed out that evening by Maj Gen Boag at the Prize Giving ceremony held in the Walzl Hotel, Lans when the Army Team would also be announced; they would remain in Igls to train and then race against the RN/RM and the RAF at the Inter Service Championships on 7/8 March. The Army Team 2013 was announced as follows:

‘This was an impressive sight as … the crew in the sled had a combined age of 92!

Army Team Manager WO2 Kenney Pereira RAMC Army Drivers LSgt Lamin Deen 1 Gren Gds Pte James Steel 3 PARA Pte Ivan Londal 3 PARA LCpl Mark Murphie 3 PARA Cpl Nepton Dacres 3 PARA Sgt Sarah Smith 4 Regt RA (female)

Contact Bobsleigh Chairman Bobsleigh Maj HS Smyth RAMC

Army Brakemen Sgt Smudge Smith 3 PARA Pte Ricky Wilde 3 PARA Pte Jamie Beale 3 PARA Pte Daryl Smith 3 PARA Pte Devin D’Hotman 3 PARA Gnr Robyn Anderson 4 Regt RA (female)

Bobsleigh Events 2012 - 2013 Army Ice Camp (weeks 1 and 2) EX RACING ICE I Igls, Austria 8 - 19 December 2013 Army Championship EX RACING ICE II (Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) Igls, Austria 22 February - 1 March 2014 Inter Services Ice Sports Championships Igls, Austria 2 - 9 March 2014

Secretary Bobsleigh Capt WGA Holden LANCS m: 07842 590363 e: bobsleigh@awsa.org.uk

Inter Service Championships On Race day, it was the best three sleds in each Service to count towards the Team Event. The RN fielded three teams whilst the ARMY and RAF each had four teams. After four runs over two days the final results for the Army were as follows:

Individual Event: 2nd - LSgt Lamin Deen/Sgt Steve Smith 6th - Pte Ivan Londal/Pte Ricky Wilde (Novices) 9th - Pte James Steel/Pte Daryl Smith (Novices) 11th - Cpl Nepton Dacres/Pte Devin D’Hotman (Novices)

For the first time in living memory the RAF won the Team Event. The Army were second and the RN/RM took home the wooden spoon for coming third.

In the female event, the Army was only able to field one female sled and it was driven by Sgt Sarah Smith (a novice driver). The RN only had one sled whilst the RAF had two. In the individual event the RN came first and in the team event, where two sleds were needed to count, the RAF took the top slot. Considering that the majority of the Army team for the 2013 Inter Service Championships were novices, it was an impressive result. The male team had strength and depth which supported the experienced Deen and Smith. This was also the first Inter Services for Sgt Sarah Smith as a driver and she performed really well; so well in fact that she remained in Igls to take part in the British Championships where she produced an excellent days sliding. The Army Bobsleigh is a young team to build upon for the future.

BOBSLEIGH

Sochi on my mind

LSgt Lamin Deen Grenadier Guards (2011 Army and Inter Service Champion) reports on his 2013 International race season My pre-season training and preparation did not get off to a great start, mainly due to the fact that during the summer I picked up a hamstring injury. This was a significant setback for me and made it very difficult to hit my performance targets during the first part of the season. Leaving the UK in October 2012 we started with three weeks pre-season training on two different bobsleigh tracks (Königssee and Winterberg). This proved to be a great foundation to build upon during the season and was a huge help to my overall performance. Throughout the season the performance standard was very high and fellow GB driver, Will

Golder, and I would be racing head to head at six Europa Cup races. The overall winner, on points, would then be promoted to the World Cup for the second half of the Season. This was my goal but I knew that it wouldn’t be easy. I started the Europa Cup in Igls, Austria and my aim was to make the top 10 and to not focus too much on my rival. The races had been doubled as a result of a race weekend being cancelled and subsequently being removed from the race planner. This meant that we had four races rather than the standard two during this first week. I ended the week with my first ever International podium place, finishing 5th in race one of the 2-man event and just outside of the medals in race two where I finished 7th. The 4-man event was also a success and I finished 5th in race one and 8th in race two. This was a huge improvement on the previous year where I struggled to make the top 15 in both disciplines. By week two of the season, I already had four races under

my belt and we had moved to Winterberg, Germany to prepare for a triple race in the 2-man and a triple 4-man race. Unfortunately I finished in a disappointing 11th, 11th and then 13th place in both events and unfortunately that was just outside of my top ten target. The only good news was that at this stage I had gained more points than my rival and was on course to step up to the World Cup. Week three and the Europa Cup race was held in La Plagne, France. This was a new track for me and another double race in the 2-man but we were back to only one race in the 4-man. I feel that I took to the track well, finishing 11th and 16th in the 2-man and joint 4th place in the 4-man event. After this race it was officially announced that I would move up to the World Cup for the second part of the season. It was also announced that I had qualified for the 2013 World Championships, which would be held in St Moritz, as well as the Olympic test event in Sochi, Russia, where I hoped to gain some

valuable experience for the future. The next four (2-man and 4-man) World Cup and World Championship results were as follows: La Plagne - 27th and 17th Königssee - 29th and 23rd Igls - 23rd and 19th Sochi - 28th and 24th St Moritz - 24th and 23rd On my return from the test event in Russia I only had a few days rest before it was time to return to Igls in Austria to take on the rest of the competitors in the Army Championship; I missed out on the Championships last year due to my International commitments as part of the GB Team. As a result of this I was very keen to regain the title of Army Champion and with the help of my good friend, and former GB team mate, Sgt Steve Smith (3 Para) I won the race and was crowned Army Champion 2012/13. The following week was the Inter-Service Championships. The Army Team (for the first time in many years) had three novice sleds as part of the team. It was very much a development team and we all worked hard in training. Between us we hoped to give the RAF a good race and to keep the RN/RM at bay which we did; RAF placed first, Army second and the RM/RN got the wooden spoon! Although it was a team race, there was an individual prize too and in the individual race I placed a close second to fellow GB teammate John Jackson. I am now looking forward to this summer’s training and also to next season (the Olympic Season) where I hope to; improve on this season’s results, achieve a top 10 result on the World Cup, Qualify for the 2014 Olympic Games and retain my Army Championship title. I would like to end by thanking the Army, AWSA, Grenadier Guards and all the Army Bobsleigh staff for their continued support in helping me develop as a bobsleigh driver and as a solider. To follow Lamin’s progress find him on Facebook by searching for ‘British Bobsleigh Team DEEN’

Army Championships 2013 Sgt Smudge Smith and LSgt Lamin Deen

BOBSLEIGH

World Cup highs and lows! Cpl Paula Walker R SIGNALS GB1 Women’s Bobsleigh Team Driver reports on her 2012-2013 World Cup season LAKE PLACID - USA The opening event of the World Cup tour was held at Lake Placid where the track is very technical and has a reputation of being quite rough. My brakewomen Gillian Cooke and Kelly Denyer (both civilians) had a race off to determine who was the fastest and therefore who would push me. Gillian Cooke, who won the World Championships as a brakewoman in 2009 at the same track, won the push off and was therefore paired with me in the race. After the first heat we were lying in 5th place but unfortunately dropped to 6th after the second heat due to a storming USA run. We happily walked away with a 6th place medal, well prepared for the next race. PARK CITY - USA Park City was where I had previously won my Junior World Champion title. However, luck was against me this time as we took a huge hit on the luge start in the second heat which resulted in all our momentum and speed being killed and we sadly dropped to 9th place. WHISTLER - CANADA Whistler hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010 and it has the fastest track in the world; very difficult to drive and incredibly unforgiving. The training week was both mentally and physically challenging; crashing twice in one day was a particular low point. Gillian, who was in both crashes, was a little hurt but was still willing to face her Olympic demons and race with me (Gillian was the GB1 brakewoman in the 2010 Olympics where they unfortunately crashed on the 3rd run). After our first race we were out of the medal positions and battling against the snowy elements but a great second run saw us rise from 8th to 6th place - another medal to take home after a very challenging week. WINTERBERG – GERMANY Not one of my favourite tracks but we tried our best during training and on race day we achieved another top 10 finish! LA PLAGNE - FRANCE La Plagne is relatively new to the World Cup scene, as it was out of action for many years, and not having had much experience on this track we were happy to finish the race in 10th place! At this point it was time for the Christmas break and it couldn’t have come at a better time as we had been on the go for many months and our bodies and minds needed a few days off.

ALTENBERG – GERMANY We were travelling back to Europe for the second half of the season on 30 December so there would be no New Year’s celebrations. Unfortunately during the Christmas break I had picked up an injury (a little niggle in my knee). That aside, I had to press on with our World Cup campaign at the next event. The Altenberg track is arguably the most difficult track to drive and is commonly known as ‘’Altensmash’’ because of its roughness. I have always loved this track and although I was injured I knew we had a good chance of doing well. After the first run we were sat in bronze medal position. The second run was going really well until we hit corner 12 and crashed; at that point we were 0.24 seconds in front of Sandra Kiriasis (2006 Olympic Gold Medallist). KÖNIGSSEE – GERMANY We took our battered bodies to Königssee; Gillian suffered an injury in the crash at Altenberg so needed some downtime which meant that Kelly stepped up to race. The Konigssee track is very short and is regarded as a ‘starters’ track so a fast start would be essential! Kelly and I were only ranked 9th in the world for the quickest start but amazingly we were in 6th place after the first run - joint 6th with Sandra Kiriasis! Unfortunately after the second we dropped to 7th place but we were overjoyed with this as my injury from the crash in Altenberg had gradually been worsening. IGLS - AUSTRIA The World Cup 8 race, which was also the European Championship, was held in Igls and with Gillian back on the sled we were ready to race. With both of us not being 100% our start times suffered; however we managed a very good 7th place in the World Cup and walked away with a 4th place medal in the European Championships – only being beaten by the three German teams. ST MORITZ - SWITZERLAND The World Championships were held in St Moritz, Switzerland. By this time both myself and Gillian were feeling very tired and we were both constantly trying to keep injuries at bay. Unfortunately the two day event went from bad to worse for us and we finished in 14th place. Understandably the whole team was disappointed, but the show had to go on and we still had to go to the Olympic test event in Sochi, no matter how injured we were.

©Giancarlo Pradelli/twenty twenty

SOCHI - RUSSIA Training was going relatively well and although we were nervous that our bodies wouldn’t last we were confident that we could get a credible result. The race was held at 2000 hrs - unknown territory for our equipment but we went with what we thought was the best set-up for our sled. Sadly it didn’t pay off and although the driving was reasonable, the times did not reflect our performance and we finished in 16th place. We were again disappointed with our results but also relieved that we could finally rest! HOME - UK Gillian finished the season with a chipped spine that she acquired courtesy of Altenberg and after two MRI scans and an injection into my knee cap it was time to see the knee specialist. He confirmed that I would need an operation to make the correct gains this summer. It was therefore with great regret that for the first time in my career I had to pull out of the Inter Service Championships and the British Championships. I am now concentrating on my rehabilitation with the aim of starting the Olympic season fighting fit. If you would like to follow Paula on her Olympic quest visit www.teamwalker.co.uk

Did you know? World Ranking is used to determine start positions for all major events, including the Olympic Winter Games and World Cup events. Since the ice becomes rougher as the competition progresses, it is an advantage to be among the first on the track. The World Ranking system rewards the top crews (based on previous results) with the best start positions. For further information visit www.fibt.com

CSDST

RACING TOWARDS

SOCHI 2014 Lt Col M H K Quaile RA Combined Services Disabled Ski Team

The Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST) has had another great season. Life is certainly far from dull in the team, and we have had periods of both highs and lows for our amazing athletes. The team has capitalized on the experience of previous seasons and reorganised into Foundation and Performance squads. Our members are representing their countries and acting as fine ambassadors across the world for the British Armed forces and for South Africa. With the Winter Paralympics in Sochi Russia less than 12 months away we remain focussed on providing the platform to support athletes to that ultimate goal. We could do none of this without the great support we receive from our donors. The athletes are only able to deliver the results they do due to the generosity of time, money and spirit that supports us. We have completed our first year as a Charitable Company and continue to explore ways to keep the funding that is used to support our athletes as full and unrestricted as we can.

Season Roundup The season started in May with our annual newcomers event and we ran day sessions at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead and a number of four day training camps throughout the summer at the indoor ski facility in Landgraaf, Holland to work on the fundamentals. Hemel is convenient for basic skills but the Landgraaf 550m slope provides the perfect environment for the Performance Team (PT) and Foundation Team (FT) to revisit the basics and build them up again with plenty of emphasis on perfect practice and repetition. During this I hope someone knows how to put this period they developed their confidence in the back together!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; poles and created a better awareness of timing and coordination. At the start of October the PT attended the pursuit of excellence that we strive for to Landgraaf once again, supported by a team of support the athletes and to give to them those suspension engineers from Supacat. They carried extra few seconds. out fitting and testing of a state of-the-art With the onset of winter both teams bespoke suspension system to our sit-skis. This returned to our training base in Stubaital, was followed by a short period of electronic Austria and committed themselves to a twodata logging and testing with in-situ telemetry week block of Giant Slalom training for the equipment. This world leading work is part of PT and fundamental skills training for the FT.

John Kirk, Kingsley Ward, Pete Dunning, Mick Brennan and Anna Poole â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stubai

CSDST

CSDST and supporters at the Remembrance Day Ceremony in Austria

Frustratingly, one of our most experienced athletes, Pete Dunning picked up another shoulder injury which kept him off snow until the Inter Services Championships. The slope used for the PT was an undulating red run giving them the opportunity to develop their ability to read variable terrain combined with changes in course rhythm. The PT were now trying to put into practice the good skiing, that they had produced on the flatter easier terrain, in a much more challenging environment thus giving them some much needed practice for the upcoming NORAM races in the USA. In late November Kingsley Ward, John Kirk and Anna Poole returned to Landgraaf for three days of slalom training prior to the first IPCAS races of the 2012/13 season. It was a harsh place to have your opening races but good lessons were learnt giving us some very positive feedback for future training. The results were not the most promising but the actual performances were. All in all it was a solid start to their international skiing career and a real motivator for the guys.

The decision was made to travel to America in December to compete in the North American (NORAM) races. The PT flew out to Winter Park to join up with New Zealand, Australia and some of the US team for a week-long training block. This gave them the chance to train Super G for three days and a little GS and SL before going into the NORAM races at Copper Mountain. Their results were good and the final day of racing saw Kingsley score his first points below that required for World Championships and European Cup qualification. Straight after New Year the PT attended a small race in Rinn on the outskirts of Innsbruck, Austria for two slaloms. This event was attended by some of the world’s best skiers (from 19 nations) in a bid to lower their points before the World Championships. Kingsley Ward managed to score his second result under that required for World Championships qualification placing 5th in a very impressive field. From Rinn the teams joined together to forerun the Army Alpine Championship. This gave the athletes the opportunity to run higher

John Kirk (Photographer Buzz Covington)

level courses without the added stress of actual competition. The exception to this was Fusilier Andy Barlow who was invited through from the Divisional Championships to compete. He became our first athlete to compete in the Army Champs DH against his able bodied counterparts. The Inter Services proved to be a great event for us this year. John Kirk was our first RAF athlete racing this year and with Pete Dunning from the Royal Marines in attendance alongside our Army members we were able to truly demonstrate our Tri-Service commitment. Unfortunately this was to be Pete Dunning’s last event as a full-time athlete as he is stepping down from international competition to concentrate on family life. We also saw Anna Poole make the decision to retire from the team. She had been struggling with the prosthetic limb that she was skiing on and made the choice to get rid of it and continue on one leg. This was a brave move and one that would prove absolutely necessary if she intended to compete at higher levels. Understandably she just could

‘We rounded this season up with a mad dash around Europe to gain valuable experience of National Championships racing and in an attempt to lower IPCAS points.’

Andy Barlow (Photographer Dave Scammel)

CSDST

The Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST) is a charitable organisation which helps to rehabilitate those serving and retired service personnel who have been injured during their military

Mick Brennan

not commit the time required to develop her skiing skills from the very beginning again after so much time spent on two legs. We rounded this season up with a mad dash around Europe to gain valuable experience of National Championships racing and in an attempt to lower IPCAS points. After a week of training in Austria we made our way to Chamrousse in France to compete in two GS and two SL races. John Kirk raced in every event on offer; battling his way through the challenging courses in an attempt to lower his points. We moved on to the Swiss Championships in the picturesque, but lesser known, resort of Veyssonaz. All-in-all John Kirk competed in seven races in seven days - something that we wouldn’t normally recommend. However, the IPC calendar favoured the old and established skiers this season

service, through the medium which left the developing athletes scrabbling around for points wherever they could get them.

International Round Up Mick Brennan competed on the Europa Cup circuit this season and managed to produce his (and CSDST’s) highest position yet. He placed second in the EC Super G in Tignes securing his first silver medal on the B tour. This was further bolstered when he placed an impressive 9th place in the World Championships Super Combined event - one of the most challenging events in the world! Kingsley Ward managed to secure a World Championships, and potentially a Paralympics start in Slalom after just six races. John Kirk has started his international career in what is widely accepted as the most challenging category in which to start from scratch. It has

been an uphill battle this first year with a rollercoaster of emotions being experienced throughout the training and competitions that he has attended. However he has emerged a stronger and better skier. Next season has already been planned in outline and we look forward to the PT qualifying for the Paralympics which will be held in Sochi, Russia in March 2014. CSDST will support them through the next 12 months wherever they need to go to chase the snow and the points required for qualification. Finally CSDST are looking for a new Treasurer so if you know of anyone who might be interested in helping this distinguished bunch of talented athletes please ask them to contact Maj Ian Large (email: LF-Cap-Info-FD-CapPlansRP SO2, tel: +44 (0) 1264 886722).

of Alpine Skiing. The team was started in early 2008 by Maj Ian Large, an ex-Combined Services Alpine Team Captain, who saw the potential for otherwise fit young men and women to enter the realm of adaptive skiing and ultimately for some of them to represent their country in the Winter Paralympics. Shortly thereafter he was joined by SSgt Mark Scorgie, another Combined Services Team skier, who became the team coach. CSDST’s aim is to improve the individual skill of every disabled skier through high quality coaching. This process encourages and promotes the raw talent of near beginners, introduces those who show promise to the world of ski racing and provides high level performance coaching up to International level for the more advanced skiers. To follow the team’s progress or to put more serving or retired potential racers in touch with CSDST please visit www. csdst.co.uk (Photographer Buzz Covington)

Kingsley Ward

CRESTA

Capt PJR Chishick LG Army Cresta has had a very successful 2013 season. We had 25 officers and soldiers out for the Inter-Regimental week with eight different regiments represented. This year saw one of the closest battles for the 17th/21st Lancers Cup, the Army’s Inter-Regimental competition, in recent years and a brace of brothers in the Army team for the first time in over 30 years. The format of Army week remained the same as last year; the Inter-Regimental pairs competition, the 17th/ 21st Lancers’ Cup, remains the main prize, testing regimental pairs in their ability to ride as a team. There are also prizes for the fastest novice and a handicap race enabling less experienced riders to compete for some silverware. The Army Junction Championships are normally characterised by numerous falls as the beginners of three days ago become more confident and push themselves in order to keep

their team in the race. This year, however, there were few fallers. The Inter-Regimentals were led by the two favourite teams, the Queen’s Royal Lancers with Colonel Rupert Wieloch and Lieutenant Sam Seccombe against Captain Paul Chishick and Second Lieutenant Tom Seccombe of The Life Guards defending their title from last year. With a brother in each team the competition was tense but the Queen’s Royal Lancers were victorious in the end. Following on was the Rifles team led by returning Army rider Sarjeant Tim Armon-Jones, who had been away from the Cresta for a few years, and novice Rifleman Nicholas Olivier. The following week the InterServices week started with the Army Top Championship on Tuesday which selected the Army team and also showed that all six army riders could reach the “charming village of Celerina” three times under race conditions - something that was put to the test again on Thursday at the InterServices. Lieutenant Sam Seccombe won the Army Top Championship,

putting in some good times and ramping up the pressure on the other two services. The competition for the InterServices Championship was wide open this year, with all service teams having only four seasoned Top Riders. Each Service team consists of six riders, with the top four to count; should one of the best four fall, therefore, the competition would change dramatically. Despite not looking the strongest on paper, the Army team rode consistently in the face of pressure, losing only one rider at Shuttlecock - Colonel Wieloch - in the first course. The Navy and the Royal Air Force lost two of their fastest riders by the end of the first course and both the other service captains fell. They then lost further riders, meaning that they did not even qualify, leaving the Army team with a comfortable win for the first time in seven years. The Lord Trenchard Trophy (for the fastest individual Rider over the course of the race) and the Auty Speed Cup (the fastest time of the race) both went to Lt Sam

Seccombe who rode extremely well throughout and will be a key member of the team in future years. Two of the previous week’s beginners, Trooper Williams and Lieutenant Harbord both rode very well considering how little time they had been out, and even as “scratchmen” (with no handicap) came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Services Silver Spoon, the Junction Handicap race, with Captain (retd) Victor Law LG in first place. The age gap between Tpr Williams and Capt (retd) Law was exactly fifty years, and serving and retired members of The Life Guards took all of the top three places. The Harland Trophy, the Top Handicapped Race, was won by OCdt (Retd) Thorpe. We were fortunate to have Lt Gen Sir James

‘The competition for the Inter-Services Championship was wide open this year, with all service teams having only four seasoned Top Riders’

CRESTA

The Cresta Run Bucknall KCB, CBE, the president of Army Cresta, out in St Moritz this year. The General rode in the Services Silver Spoon and also presented the prizes. Despite a number of our stronger riders not being present this year, with the notable absences of Major Nick Foulerton (the regular Team Captain) and our fastest rider, Lieutenant Archie Horne, the team is getting an influx of younger

riders. We have a trooper from the Life Guards mounted squadron qualified for a flat top and with hopes of Army team next year and a plethora of promising young soldiers and officers. Next year’s team could be highly competitive and hopefully we will be able to retain our title. Thanks must also go

to previous team Captain, Major James Kettler, who in spite of his not being able to ride due to an injury, valiantly filmed all the Team’s rides and coached us to victory. Hopefully we will see all of these riders back next year and provide some tough competition for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Cresta Results 2013

Cresta Events 2014

Army Championship

Army Junction Championship 17th 21st Lancers Cup St Moritz, Switzerland 24 January 2014

Army Top Champion Lt SO Seccombe QRL Army Top Runner-up Capt PJR Chishick LG Army Junction Novice Champion Tpr RSC Williams LG Army Junction Handicapped Race Rfn Olivier RIFLES Open Pairs Champions Queen’s Royal Lancers 17th/21st Lancers Cup

Inter Service Championships

Prince Philip Trophy Inter Services Top Open Team Race Harland Trophy

Reserve and Retired Top Handicapped Race

Lord Trenchard Trophy Fastest Combined Time Silver Spoon Reserve and Retired Junction Handicapped Race

Auty Speed Cup

Fastest time of the race

Contact Cresta Chairman Cresta Lt Gen JR Everard CBE Secretary Cresta Capt PJR Chishick LG e: cresta@awsa.org.uk

Army OCdt (Retd) JP Thorp Lt SO Seccombe QRL Capt (Retd) VR Law LG Lt SO Seccombe QRL

Army Top Championship Scots Guards Cup St Moritz, Switzerland 28 January 2014 Inter Service Championship Prince Phillip Trophy St Moritz, Switzerland 30 January 2014

Situated in the village of St Moritz, in Switzerland’s Engadine Valley, the Cresta Run is a 3/4 mile toboggan course which riders descend lying face down on heavy metal ‘skeletons’ just inches from the ice. There are two starting points - Top for the experienced rider and Junction which is about a third of the way down the course. Speeds can easily reach 80 mph and the accomplished rider will complete the course in under a minute. The first Run was completed in January 1885 and took nearly nine weeks to build; it is still built from scratch every year using the natural contours of the valley and earth banks to provide a framework on which to pile the snow. The Run has ten corners, the most infamous being Shuttlecock. This long, low, raking, left-hand bank, about half-way down is designed as a safety valve for the course. Outof-control riders tend to be ejected at this point into a bed of snow and straw to break their fall. Riders have metal rakes attached to their boots to help influence speed and direction but on average one ride out of every 1,000 lands in hospital (there are around 12,000 rides per year). It is dangerous sport and definitely not for the faint hearted; since 1885 four people have died on the course - the last in 1974. The Cresta Run usually opens two or three days before Christmas and continues for nine weeks until the end of February - it is a private club but non-members are welcome to ride for a fee. For safety reasons women have not been allowed to ride competitively on the Cresta since 1925, however they traditionally take to the track on the last day of the season. If you would like further information on the Cresta run visit www.crestarun.com

LUGE

Last year’s huge ice-track triumphs for Luge proved a hard act to follow. However, although we ended this season with fewer podium places than last year we had huge success in recruiting new talent to the sport, which will no doubt pay dividends next season.

NOVICE CAMP

The season started in Igls, Austria in late February with Ex Racing Ice One which is the two week novice training camp for all three ice sport disciplines: Luge, Bobsleigh and Skeleton Bobsleigh. This year’s novice camp was a mixture of experienced Army sliders and novices from both the Army and the Royal Navy, this combination worked well as the novices were able to see what could be achieved with a lot of hard work - not to mention some nerves of steel - should they wish to progress with their sliding. Both weeks went extremely well with some of the new sliders progressing very quickly up the track to the Damen start. With eight sliders on week one and ten on week two the coaching staff had a very busy two weeks. Experienced slider Cpl Keri Howard joined us for a week’s training and, taking a break from his full-time International training, Tpr Harry Foulkes spent both weeks with the team training under the watchful eye of Mr Mike Howard. We also had experienced sliders, Cpl Dani Scott and GDSM Ray Thompson training with us for the first week, they had just returned from representing Great Britain as the Luge World/Nations cup at Winterberg where they both qualified for the Nations cup race - a huge achievement for their first International event. Next year we hope that all three of our International Luge athletes will be able to regularly take part in World Cup races. This year’s Novice camp proved to be one of the best training exercises that we have run in the last five years and was fully subscribed. Next year’s event should be even busier so if you’re brave enough to try sliding down a mountain on a tea-tray at over 80mph, visit www.awsa.org.uk/ luge for details of how to apply for a place.

ARMY CHAMPIONSHIP This season we had to compress the Army ice sports championship and the Inter services Championships into a two week period, again at Igls Austria. We had another great turnout for this event with a total of eight participants. Setting a new record, and gaining his fourth title, Tpr Harry Foulkes won the Army championship and

SSgt (Retd) G Holmes RLC

‘This year’s Novice camp proved to be one of the best training exercises that we have run in the last five years and was fully subscribed’

Inter Services Luge Team

British Luge Championship

newcomer, and now Novice Champion, Dmr Harry Wakeden from the Coldstream guards took the runner up trophy. Cpl Dani Scott finally got her hands on the women’s title after narrowly missing out for the last two years.

LUGE

INTER SERVICES CHAMPIONSHIP Two days after the Army Championship it was straight into the Inter Services training week with the biggest field of sliders that has ever attended the event in twenty two years. The training week went really well with at least six sliders going from the top of the track for three days of the week; this is the first time for years that so many sliders have been able to progress this far up the track and bodes well for the future. For the last three days before the race all participants moved back down to the Damen start to practice. All the sliders timings had been extremely close for the whole week and as we went into the last training day there were only hundredths of seconds between the individuals, both male and female. It would be anybody’s race and the winning team title was also too hard to call! Race day proved to be a day of very mixed emotions. On the team side, the Army had the advantage after the first of the two runs, Gavin Arnold (RAF) was a very close second to Harry Foulkes (Army). With the second run Gavin overhauled the time gap to take the individual men’s title and also helped the RAF to their first Inter Services team title for two years. The runner up trophy went to the Army and third place to the up and coming Navy team; the top three men were very close as you can see from the results table. The women’s individual title went to Cpl Dani Scott (Army) whose consistent performance during the training week had been outstanding. This is Dani’s third Inter Services title in a row and she is now one of Britain’s top female sliders.

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP 9th March 2013 Igls, Austria Sponsored by Sodexo Defence

Contact Luge Chairman Luge Maj TP Gullan RE t: 96770 1917(military) (03067) 701917 m: 07801 240742 e: chair-luge@awsa.org.uk Secretary Luge SSgt (Retd) G Holmes RLC m: 07957 564677 e: luge@awsa.org.uk

This year’s Great Britain Luge Championship was the best attended since we re-established the championship three years ago. This year the race was broken down into three categories, senior men’s, women’s and junior championships. The intention was to run the race from men’s start, however due to the changing temperatures the Ice Master would only let us run from Damen for everyone’s safety. After an outstanding race Harry Foulkes took the senior men’s title, with Gavin Arnold a very close second. The Women’s title went to Dani Scott, Amy Smith came very close to Dani’s time after her first run - a remarkable achievement in her first season on ice. It all went down to the last run where Dani’s experience ensured her first British title. The junior title went to Murray Pickering with Al Luckins coming home in the runner up spot. We would like to give a big thank you to Sodexo for their continued support and help in bringing Great Britain and The sport of luge forward.

LUGE WORLD CUP Winterberg World Cup 18 - 20 January 2013 Luge Events 2013 - 2014 Army Ice Camp (weeks 1 & 2) EX RACING ICE I Igls, Austria 8 - 19 December 2013 Army Championship EX RACING ICE II (Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) Igls, Austria 22 February - 1 March 2014 Inter Service Ice Sports Championships Igls, Austria 2 - 9 March 2014

Tpr Harry Foulkes QRL, Gdsm Ray Thompson, Flt Lt Gavin Arnold RAF and Cpl Danielle Scott QARANC arrived in Winterberg, Germany four days before the start of the competition and met up with Coach Mike Howard for some pre-race training. Tuesday started with three laufs each; Flt Lt Arnold made two runs from Damen start and one from Herren, Gdsm Thompson had three runs from Damen and Cpl Scott had two from Doubles start and one from Damen. Sadly Tpr Foulkes was advised not to slide by the physiotherapist as he had a neck injury and due to him missing the training sessions he was also unable to attend the ‘official’ training/qualification sessions. The GB team had been selected to train in group D which included teams from Canada, Italy and France; a tough group to be in with many top athletes to compete against. Wednesday saw the start of official training and possible qualification for the Nations Cup; to qualify, athletes

had to finish a lauf within 7% of the fastest slider’s time. All three GB sliders were on top form and after only their first lauf they all managed to qualify - a fantastic achievement. On Thursday, with the pressure of qualifying removed, all three GB lugers slid extremely well and managed to achieve Personal Best timings; Flt Lt Arnold 54.633, Gdsm Thompson 55.578 and Cpl Scott 1:00.433. Race day saw the athletes arriving early at the track early in order to prepare and so that their sleds would be outside long enough to ensure the steels were the correct temperature. The Mens race was first, with Flt Lt Arnold (55.212) and Gdsm Thompson (56.237) placing 34th and 39th respectively. A great result considering they were only a few seconds off the winning time of 52.763. The ladies race followed with Cpl Scott (1:01.125) finishing in 27th place only four seconds off the winning time, a huge achievement for her first foray on the international circuit. The future looks bright for GB Luge. The International Luge Federation www.fil-luge.org

LUGE RESULTS 2012 - 2013 Army Championship Male Champion Male Runner up Female Champion Novice Champion Novice Runner up

Tpr Harry Foulkes QRL Dmr Harry Walkeden COLDM GDS Cpl Danielle Scott QARANC Dmr Harry Walkeden COLDM GDS LCpl Ryan Dicks 1 RTR

Inter Service Championship Team Champion Male Champion Male – 2nd place Male – 3rd place Fastest Start - Male Female Champion Female – 2nd place Female – 3rd place Fastest Start - Female

RAF Flt Lt Gavin Arnold 1.25.3 - RAF Gdsm Ray Thompson 1.25.7 - Army SAC DJ Jones 1.25.8 - RAF SAC DJ Jones 2.19 - RAF Cpl Danielle Scott 1.26.0 - Army Cpl Amy Smith 1.28.2 - RAF Cpl Keri Howard 1.30.8 - Army Cpl Danielle Scott 2.28 - Army

Great Britain Championship Male Winner Male Runner up Female Winner Female Runner up

Tpr Harry Foulkes - 41.531. 41.863. 1:23.395 Flt Lt Gavin Arnold RAF - 41.817. 41.953. 1:23.770 Cpl Danielle Scott - 42.758. 42.826. 1:25.586 Cpl Amy Smith RAF - 42.799. 45.660. 1:28.459

Erratum - 2012 Inter Services Ladies Luge Champion was Cpl Danielle Scott QARANC

Army Ladies Champion Cpl Dani Scott, Army Men’s Champion Tpr Harry Foulkes and Army Novice Champion Dmr Harry Wakeden

LUGE

FIL TRAINING Cpl Danielle Scott QARANC, three time Inter Service Female Luge Champion, reports on her International Luge Federation Training 22 Oct - 7 Nov 2012 My 2012/13 Luge season started in October 2012 when I was lucky enough to be invited to slide at the International Luge Federation (FIL) training in Königssee and Winterberg. We arrived in Königssee on the Sunday morning and met the Coaches, Ioan Apostol and Robert Taleanu. Training began on the Monday when we had a track walk with Ioan before I started sliding from S3. After two days I progressed to S1 and after some consistent sliding I moved up to Damen start on the Friday. I had a few problems from Damen start, particularly with S4 and the straight, this frustrated me as was sliding the rest of the track well. My times were consistently slow due to hitting the wall many times on the straight, however the one time I did manage to nail the exit of S4, I was rewarded by a time of less than a minute! We also had two days training on the start-track at Königssee, this was invaluable in developing my technique for a good start. Although I didn’t have spikes I was able to learn how to do a good start and understand the (very) basics of paddling. Training with the FIL at Königssee was a big learning curve and I definitely developed as a ‘luger’ not only on the track but also off it - I now have basic sled work

Cpl Dani Scott - Army, Inter Services & British Ladies Luge Champion talking tactics with Coach Mike Howard

skills and I’m even able to put my own visor on and start myself! Königssee, Damen Start - my fastest time 0.59,577. After a week in Königssee the FIL group travelled to Winterberg which is a track I haven’t been on before. At the beginning of the week

the Ladies start seemed like a distant hope but after five days of sliding, and moving up the track, I finally reached Damen and consistently slid clean runs. I started at exit of krisel, progressed to junior start (Curve4/5), then to Double prior to moving to Damen. However, even though I had clean runs, the track was very ‘slow’ and ‘frosty’ due to the weather and I don’t feel that my timings truly reflected my performance. I concentrated on my start and form and Coach Mike Howard’s’ feedback was positive. He reported that my form was good and that my starts improved throughout the week; Wednesday’s starts were over half a second quicker than at the beginning of the week. Winterberg, Damen Start - my fastest time 1.03,330. Based on my performance on the FIL training camp I was selected to represent Great Britain at the Winterberg World Cup in January; my debut International race (see below article for details). To continue to develop and progress as a slider I am now working on my core and upper body strength along with my flexibility. That, alongside more time on ice and experience on new tracks, will hopefully help me to achieve my goals of representing my country on the International circuit and to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Ice Track Facts Königssee Herren/Men Damen/Women Winterberg Herren/Men Damen/Women

Length 1263 m 1242 m Length 1324 m 1293 m

Curves Track record 16 47.049 14 45.7 Curves Track record 15 52.083 15 56.192

Max Speed 128.0 km/h 117.0 km/h Max Speed 139.8 km/h 136.4 km/h

NORDIC By the end of January 2013, the journey through training and competing for most Nordic Ski Teams had started nine months previously. Through the rigours of planning for the season, assembling a team, on-snow Training Camps, Corps and Regimental Competition and finally Divisional Championships, the skiers’ resolve had been thoroughly tested, and the Team Captains’ powers of administration, leadership and patience were proved beyond doubt. Yet having come through all of this, they were faced with the prospect of National-level competition on International courses. And so the trek was made from Serre Chevalier and Les Contamines to the small Bavarian town of Ruhpolding. Fresh from an overhaul for the 2012 Biathlon World Championships, everything was in place to host Exercise RUCKSACK 13, the 66th Army, Inter-Service and National Nordic Ski Championships. During the course of the two weeks, a total of 232 skiers from 31 different unit teams and individuals from five nations (including one former Olympic Gold Medallist) competed in a series of gruelling biathlon and cross country skiing races.

Maj RJS Hay of Laxfirth RHA Contact Nordic

Chairman Nordic Brig N Marshall OBE

Secretary Nordic Major RJS Hay of Laxfirth RHA e: nordic@awsa.org.uk

In a change to the normal order, the biathlon races were held before the cross country races in order to allow the Army’s GB skiers to depart for this year’s World Championships in the Czech Republic. The competition kicked off with the ironically named 10km Biathlon Sprint. On completion of the race, officials hurriedly chatted, results were checked and checked again but it could not be avoided, the GB coach had beaten all of his athletes! SSgt Marc Walker of 1 LSR skied quickly, but managed to keep his composure to shoot expertly and

NORDIC

came in 30 seconds ahead of the Olympian and the RA’s newest gunner, LBdr Lee Steve Jackson of 16 Regt RA. In the Womens’ 7.5km Biathlon Sprint, SSgt Adele Walker of the RLC Ladies Team matched her husband’s shooting exactly and beat her GB teammate, Cpl Amanda Lightfoot, AGC Ladies to first place. And so started the Walkers’ Championships. Throughout the remaining seven races the skiers showed extraordinary grit, throwing their all into skiing hard on World Cup tracks combined with maintaining control and a cool head on the range, all the time with the compulsion of unit pride to push them along. The weather cycled between heavy rain and dumping snow, adding its own difficulty to

the savage courses set by the Chief of Race, WO2 Mark Crisp RAPTC; the exercise doctor and physio were nearly as tired at the end of each day as the skiers! A heartening aspect of the Exercise was how, at all levels, there were individual battles, successes and acts of outstanding character. The team captain who kicked on after dislocating his shoulder part way through a Biathlon and completed his race using only one arm, or the countless young soldiers bearing the fortunes of their regiments on their shoulders during their leg of a relay race are examples of the individual and team efforts that make up the spirit of Nordic skiing. The Men’s 15km and Ladies’ 10km Classic races in particular demanded the very most

of the athletes. The course set was widely recognised by the veteran skiers as the toughest they had ever seen. With ski times of around an hour, deep reserves of determination were called upon to overcome exhaustion in the final kms. In the ladies race, Cpl Nerys Jones, AGC and GB, fresh from winning the 12.5km Biathlon Individual race, proved her mastery of all techniques with a win on classic skis. A convincing win saw SSgt Marc Walker again add to his now overfull silver vault (having won every single individual and team race, Chateau Walker by this point was recognised was one of the region’s most abundant silver reserves). In the ladies competition, it was not just the big names that secured the wins. In the 10km Biathlon Mass Start, Capt Sarah Burke was neck and neck with SSgt Kelley Haniver until the final shoot where her coolness under pressure gave her the edge and the final victory.

‘A heartening aspect of the Exercise was how, at all levels, there were individual battles, successes and acts of outstanding character’ The final race, the Military Patrol Race was the toughest test of them all. This epic race is conducted over 30km of varied terrain in teams of four, each carrying a pack of at least 10kg. Navigation was tested by almost whiteout conditions, reliance on sketch maps and (very) infrequent markers. The winners of this race can proudly call themselves the toughest of the winter sportsmen. Going into the competition 1 LSR had a commanding lead over 1 RTR for the Champion Unit trophy. Recognising that inevitability is never exciting, 1 LSR sportingly awarded themselves 20 minutes of penalties at the first range after misunderstanding the practice. A dedicated effort to make up this time couldn’t quite prevent 29 Regt RLC seizing the opportunity who displayed near faultless shooting and good skiing speed to win the event. Particular mention should go to the 2 CS Bn REME team which broke a binding 7km into the race. Unwilling to withdraw, the Team Captain stood up and ran alongside his skiers

for the remaining 23km whilst his youngest soldier carried two daysacks. A fantastic effort, but of all the teams, the REME should have had a screwdriver with them! The ladies raced the same distance under the same rules as the men. A spirited effort and excellent shooting (missing only 3 out of 40 targets) by the novice RLC Ladies team came very close to upsetting the experienced AGC Ladies, however in the end, the faster skiing and better administration of the AGC shone through with a win. The end of the exercise saw 1 LSR awarded the SAS Cup for the Champion Nordic Unit and the Princess Marina Cup for the Champion Skiing (Nordic and Alpine combined) Unit. The AGC Ladies completed a clean sweep of the team races and were awarded the Ladies Trophy. The British Biathlon Union Club Awards are given to the top non-GB Team skiers. For the men, LCpl Alex Gleave, 2 CS Bn REME came above the veteran Hldr Scotty Banes, 4 SCOTS and Capt Karen Baker AGC pipped her teammate Capt Nordic Events 2013 - 2014 UK Regional and TA Championship EX SPARTAN HIKE Monetiers, France 12-22 January 2014 BFG & North Region Championship EX PIPEDOWN Les Contamines, France 11-21 January 2014 Army, Inter Service & British Championships EX RUCKSACK Ruhpolding, Germany 22 January - 6 February 2014

Sarah Burke AGC by the narrowest of margins to the top spot. The Champion Junior skier was Cfn Brett Yarrow, 2 CS Bn REME and the top Youth was SAC Grant Wilson of the RAF. The future of biathlon and cross country skiing in the Army and the GB Team is in good health. The novice, junior and youth skiers proved to be more than equal to their older and more advanced skiers. By the end of the season a number had been identified for development at camps during the summer and will be selected for participation in international competitions in the coming years. As well as the talent, Nordic Skiing continues to be supported at the highest levels. Thanks must go to those who have put so much effort into putting biathlon and cross country skiing onto a sustainable footing and ensuring the provision of the sport for many years to come. All results can be found at www.britishbiathlon.com

Nordic Results 2012 - 2013 Army Championship Male Champion

SSgt Marc Walker 1 LSR RLC

Female Champion

Capt Karen BAKER AGC

Male Team Champions

1 LSR RLC

Female Team Champions AGC Inter Service Championship Male Champion

SSgt Marc Walker 1 LSR RLC

Female Champion

SSgt Adele Walker RLC

Male Team Champions

1 LSR RLC

Service Champions

Army

SKELETON

SKELETON BOBSLEIGH

‘A lot of faith is placed on the instructors for the first run, the fear of the unknown creeps in and there are not many volunteers to be first’ 32

LCpl Sarah Raby 32 Signal Regt

Major Belinda Robson R SIGNALS It was a very promising season for the Army Skeleton team this year; we definitely laid the foundations for success. The season started with Ex RACING ICE I, the Army Ice camp. The exercise is designed to teach novices to learn to drive a Bobsleigh, Skeleton or Luge. We were inundated with applications this year and the majority wanted to attempt Skeleton. The exercise was held in Igls, Austria from 20th January to 2nd February 2013. The participants flew out to Innsbruck and were driven ten minutes up the mountain to the picturesque village of Lans. After a central briefing they were broken down into the three disciplines and issued with equipment. The potential skeleton athletes produced a vast amount of motorcross padding, rugby padding, snow boarding padding… and wanted to cover their entire body. It took some persuasion that they really only needed a few strategically Cfn Jago Allen 13 Air Asslt Bde LAD placed pieces of roll mat! A lot of faith is placed on the instructors for the first run, the fear of the unknown creeps in and there are not many Contact Skeleton Bobsleigh volunteers to be first. The sliders are pushed off from three quarters of the way up the track Chairman Skeleton Bobsleigh but still reach speeds of 40mph. However, the Maj BKN Robson R SIGNALS huge grins are very telling at the bottom of the hill and the rush to get back to the Secretary Skeleton Bobsleigh start. Skeleton athletes are very fortunate Sgt Nicky Moxon R SIGNALS that their progression to the top of the track is much faster than for Bobsleigh or Luge. On the second e: skeleton@awsa.org.uk

SKELETON BOBSLEIGH day they find themselves at the top of the tack on the promise that it is easier if they go faster! We had some very talented novices this year on the Ice camp who were achieving times that would compete with most of our senior athletes. We were lucky with the weather for both weeks with only a little bit of snow at the beginning of each week. The rest of the time we had blue skies, which equals fast ice. Not only was Ex RACING ICE I run to its full capacity: Ex RACING ICE II was also very well attended. Seventeen Skeleton athletes returned to Igls to compete for the title of Army Champion over the week 3rd to 9th March. A healthy mixture of novices and seniors attended, expertly coached by Donna Leslie and Michael Robson. The men’s race was close but there was a clear leader all week, novice Cfn Jago Allen 13

Skeleton Bobsleigh Events 2013 - 2014 Army Ice Camp (weeks 1 and 2) EX RACING ICE I Igls, Austria 8 - 19 December 2013 Army Championships EX RACING ICE II (Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior) Igls, Austria 22 February - 1 March 2014

Air Asslt Bde LAD took to skeleton like a duck to water. He maintained his performance during the race to take home the Novice Champion, Army Champion and fastest start titles. We had five women racing this year, all of a very similar standard. However, race experience paid dividends for Sgt Nicky Moxon 30 Sig Regt who comfortably won the Army title. Novice, Cpl Hayley Larcombe, had a very promising start to her skeleton sliding career and will be one to watch for the future! The Inter Services Championship was held the week following the Army Championship. We were fortunate this year to have a pool of athletes to choose from when selecting the team! The men’s team had a genuine chance of placing this year but unfortunately race day nerves resulted in a few minor mistakes

and after two days of racing they placed third. However, they are now in a fantastic position to come back next year and fight for the title. The men’s results were: 1st Royal Air Force, 2nd Royal Navy and 3rd Army. The women’s team had a great championship, improving with every training run during the week. As a team they just missed out on first placed: individually Cpl Hayley Larcombe placed second and Sgt Nicki Moxon placed third. The women’s results were: 1st Royal Air Force, 2nd Army and 3rd Royal Navy.

Ex RACING ICE I, the Novice Ice Sports camp, will be held from 8 - 19 December 2013. Interested participants should email skeleton@awsa.org.uk

Skeleton Bobsleigh Results 2012-2013 Army Male Champion Army Male Runner-up Army Female Champion Army Female Runner-up Army Novice Champion Army Novice Runner-up Fastest Start

Cfn Jago Allen 13 Air Asslt Bde LAD Capt Howard Chaganis 4 RIFLES Sgt Nicki Moxon 30 Signal Regt Cpl Hayley Larcombe IBS Brecon Cfn Jago Allen 13 Air Asslt Bde LAD Capt Steven Bee 1 RTR Cfn Jago Allen 13 Air Asslt Bde LAD

Inter Services Ice Sports Championships EX RACING ICE III Igls, Austria 2- 9 March 2014

SNOWBOARD

SNOWBOAR Maj Dennis Ledger AGC (SPS)

In the last three competitive seasons, 13 days of snowboarding championship have been lost to inclement weather, often with extreme risk of contact cold injury and/ or frostbite. Or put another way: a whole Army competition was lost. After much consideration it was therefore decided to hold the Army Championship (Ex SNOW JACK) in March 2013. The order of the season would be Ex SNOW METHOD (Army Freestyle Championship), Inter Service Championship and finally Ex SNOW JACK (Army Championship). The Freestyle champs were a huge success and fully subscribed and for the first time the Army held an event for freestyle skiers - who are unable to compete in Service Alpine events. The pictures speak for themselves!

Inter Services Snow Sports Championship 2013 A newly structured season meant that instead of using the Army Championship as the selection for the Army Team, the team were chosen on last year’s results. The upside of this was the ability to provide training all through the year for the team. All these months of work formed the foundation of an effective training week in Meribel prior to the competition. Boardercross - Both the Men’s and Women’s Teams qualified well; this has always been one of the Army’s stronger events and

Contact Snowboard Chairman Snowboard Col RNH Bennett MVO Secretary Snowboard Lt Col MD Lewis RE e: snowboard@awsa.org.uk

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Army Snowboarding Championship 13

it was good to see the teams excelling once again. The highest placed male individual was Capt James Scott KRH in fourth place; however, the Army’s overall depth carried us through and we were able to win the team event. The Army Women performed equally well and took the team title and Sgt Sarah Marriott won the Individual title. Parallel slalom - Whilst it is not an event that draws the crowds on the world cup circuit, it is the most watched Inter Services event due to its visual impact and also being held under floodlights. A strong points haul in this event would mitigate any disasters in the final event (Slopestyle), which the Royal Navy were known to be strong. The qualifiers went well with nine out of ten of the Men making the finals and four out of the eight women. As the event progressed the temperature dropped and conditions progressively deteriorated, as did the course, particularly on the blue course. This quickly meant the formbook was thrown out of the window and the slowest riders were outperforming the fastest. The Men’s final was between seeds 9 and 10, and the Women’s final was seeds 5 and 7. Congratulations go to LCpl Anthony Romans RE and LCpl Karl Pittams who came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Men’s finals; and Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC and Cpl Denise Swift R Signals who came 3rd and 4th respectively. The Army Men won the event, but the Army Women had to settle for second behind the Royal Navy.

Slopestyle - As the week progressed towards the Slopestyle competition the weather closed in and threatened to cancel the event. Fortunately the sun shone on the day and the event was set to be a good one. The Army were looking strong and there was hope of upsetting the Royal Navy Men’s Team: Sgt Philip Lewis managed a double front flip to roars from the crowd and LCpl Anthony Romans styled out a corked 5, which was equally as technical and looked awesome! SSgt J Craig RAPC was able to secure an overall 3rd, but alas it wasn’t enough. The Royal Navy Men won the event handsomely. The Women’s Team were also locked in a battle with the Royal Navy. Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC performed exceptionally well and came first, which combined with the strong efforts of the rest of the team meant that the Army Women’s Team were able to win the event by the slimmest of margins. Sgt Sarah Marriott was consistently the strongest competitor in the Women’s competition and her two first places and a third meant she was crowned as the Individual Women’s Overall Combined Services Champion. In the end the Royal Navy Men’s Team outscored everyone so comprehensively in the Slopestyle event that they were able to push the Army into second place and win the overall Men’s Team competition; a first for the Royal Navy. However, the Army Women’s Team restored pride and despite being pushed hard to the end by the Royal Navy, held onto

SNOWBOARD

their slim lead and regained the overall Team Championship.

Army Snowboarding Championship “I’d rather go out on patrol in Helmand…” was the remark made by a particularly hesitant soldier as he was about to launch himself down what was clearly the most challenging Snowboarder Cross course that the Army Snowboarding Championship has produced. This year’s contracted solution delivered the highest quality and most demanding courses across all of the three events: Slopestyle (SS), Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS) and Snowboarder Cross (SBX). They tested the competitor’s technical skills but were measurably safer than events delivered over previous years. The military hill team, now reduced by nearly 80% as a result of the contract, still had the time to think, manipulate results data and plan the forthcoming days in detail. Ex SNOWBOARD JACK (the Army Snowboarding Championship) has now moved from its usual December footing to the significantly better conditions of March. Although this was out of sync with ISSSC 13 it now means that the Army squad for ISSSC 14 has been selected and training programmes are already underway; the squad will conduct gymnastic, foam pool, indoor and outdoor snow training prior to January 14. The competition has also rightly shifted its emphasis to an open competition, focusing on those riders who already have some snowboarding experience and leaving the development of Army novice

Army Team at ISSSC 13

riders to the Corps and Unit training camps. This year’s Championship results were well distributed with first places going to the RE for best SS team, REME for PGS and SBX teams and R Signals as best overall Corps. Capt Simon Nicholson REME won best overall male and Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC best overall female. The final and most poignant award of the competition was the Nelson Pratt Memorial Trophy. Nelson’s parents, Nigel and Edie, and his brother Chris visited during the final 24 hours of the competition and proudly presented the award to the best overall newcomer to the exercise, Gnr Rob Collier of 5 Regt RA. Interest in Army Snowboarding continues to grow each year and the hugely successful Corps/Unit camps have broadened the base to well over 500 riders. The season opening oneday indoor event, Ex SNOWBOARD SUMMER, in September 13 will feed the Army Freestyle Championships, Ex SNOWBOARD METHOD, taking place on the Stubai Glacier in October 13. During the latter the intent is to also provide the opportunity for individuals to gain instructor and Technical Delegate qualifications. A final word of appreciation goes to WO2 Andy Moore RAMC who conducted his final

Chief of Race duty as a Regular soldier. WO2 Moore has been involved with, and competed in, Army Snowboarding since its inception over 13 years ago.

Snowboarding Events 2013 - 2014 Ex SNOW SUMMER Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead 19 September 2013 Army Freestyle Championship EX SNOW METHOD 19 - 26 October 2013 Army Snowboarding Championship EX SNOW JACK Stubai, Austria 29 March - 12 April 2014 Inter Services Championship ISSSC 1-8 February 2014

ISSSC 13 © Images www.AndrewMoorePhotography.co.uk

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SNOWBOARD

EX SNOWM

Exercise SNOW METHOD has broken new ground in the Army Winter Sports calendar: it is the first combined Army Snowboarding and Skiing event and the first Freestyle Skiing event. SNOWMETHOD has become increasingly popular since its inception in 2010 when the exercise attracted only eight riders; in 2011 we had 45 and in 2012 over 130! This year the Novice competition attracted over 40 riders, but exponential growth brings its own problems for a competition that is designed to challenge and progress Novice, Intermediate and Advanced riders; all in a late summer seven-day package. This is a tall order! This year EX SNOWMETHOD coincided with the MOREBOARDS SESSIONs weekend, a huge board testing and competition weekend event that brought together the brightest and best of Europe’s Pro Riders and manufacturers. This provided an excellent opportunity to see where European Boarding was going and how the technology was changing to meet the increasing demands of Intermediate and Advanced riders. Certainly, the weekend left attendees ‘Amped’

for the forthcoming training and competition packages implicit to SNOWMETHODs main aim; to ramp up the Army’s Slopestyle individual competence.

Slopestyle SNOWMETHOD used both sides of the Park which allowed for an Intermediate and Open Slopestyle competition, this really opened up the competition allowing more experienced riders to throw down their biggest and best on the pro-line, whilst still keeping the competition inclusive and safe. Developing the skills and finding the courage to ride the Pro-kicker (an angled ramp) line in the park - the average run-in speed to a black kicker is around 78 km/ hour - is daunting enough, but consider the 15m Gap that has to be cleared as well! This is an individual event designed to push personal boundaries, dispel personal demons and to “dial in” the delivery of your signature run through the park. The overall winner of the Open Slopestyle Snowboarding event was SSgt Jon Craig, followed closely by Capt Joe Kay - both competitors fought off stiff competition from

some of the sporty young guns. The winner of the Intermediate event was Cfn Fairlie with second place going to Spr Hazelman. Novice champion was Pte Dobson and the most improved rider (from all three categories: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) and winner of this year’s GOLDEN MISSION binding (donated by Captain Taylor) was awarded to Cfn Farlie. Worthy of note were Cpl Gavin Phillips - who nailed the sweetest front-flip on the ProLine in ASBA history, and Cpl Chris Gregory with his chilled-out fearless approach to the sport.

Freestyle Skiing A first in 2012 was the addition of Army freestyle skiing to the training and competition element of SNOWMETHOD. With the AWSA Chairman’s pre-season directive ringing in our ears, ‘deliver the first Army Freestyle Skiing Championship’, this was achieved with huge success. The ski freestyle competition consisted the box, rail and obstacle line - a throw back from urban riding that challenges not just balance, poise and dexterity on skis, but also ‘bottle’. Hitting a metal rail at 30 km/h and delivering rotations (onto, during and off the

METHOD

SNOWBOARD

19-26 October 2012 - Lt Col John Connelly RLC

‘If freestyle skiing mirrors the exponential growth of snowboarding and SNOWMETHOD, it is going to become the next big thing!

Snowboarding Results 2012 - 2013 Army Championship Male Champion Female Champion Team Champions Corps Champions Freestyle Corps Champions Freestyle Team Champions Freestyle Champion Male Freestyle Champion Female PGS Corps Champions PGS Team Champions PGS Champion Male PGS Champion Female SBX Corps Champions SBX Team Champions SBX Champion Male SBX Champion Female Nelson Pratt Memorial Trophy

Capt Simon Nicholson REME Sgt Sarah Marriot RAMC 1 RSME Royal Signals Royal Engineers 1 RSME Gnr Rob Collier RA Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC Royal Signals 3 AAC Capt Simon Nicholson REME Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC Royal Signals 1 RSME Capt Simon Nicholson REME Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC Gnr Rob Collier RA

obstacle) isn’t to be dismissed! Once you start the drop into a kicker, there is no turning back and no point scrubbing off speed - total commitment and speed being the antidote to injury on most occasions. Amazingly, the standard was exceptional throughout. Novices to the sport progressed rapidly, with most jumping from Switch by the end of the week and there was a real sense of ‘why have we waited so long’! The competitors had varying degrees of Alpine experience but the bar was set by Capt Al Reith who became the first ever Army Freestyle Champion, second place went to Capt Hewson. In the intermediate competition LCpl Orton took the honours closely followed by LCpl Rallies. The winter sports scene is now as much about Park life as it is about being fast between the gates. If freestyle skiing mirrors the exponential growth of snowboarding and SNOWMETHOD, it is going to become the next big thing!

Army Technical Delegates During EX SNOWMETHOD the ABSA ran its first Technical Delegates course, using the FiS instructor Marco Malsiner. Whilst this wasn’t a

Inter Services Championship SBX Male Team SBX Female Team Male Parallel Slalom Team Female Parallel Slalom Team Male Slopestyle Team Female Slopestyle Team Female Champion Male Team Champions Female Team Champions

Army Army Army Royal Navy Royal Navy Army Sgt Sarah Marriott RAMC Royal Navy Army

fast-paced course and we could see the glacier in all its splendour from the Lecture Room, we did cram a lot in to the two-day program. The TD training was perfectly timed as the training, competition and safety instructions had just been issued for the season; this directive sets out the minimum standard required to run Corps and Army level competitions. The Royal Signal, AMS, RLC, REME, RE and RA all had students on the course, this will inject much needed technical qualification and experience into Army level competitions. The aim is to run a TD and Slopestyle Judging course at every SNOWMETHOD to increase our ability to self-govern and administer our competitions. This level of technical self-awareness is long overdue and will cascade to the Corps and Regimental level. With a greater understanding of what defines the parameter of the safe delivery of our sport, Army level committees will be able to push the boundaries of the competition performance envelope. Alongside EX SNOWMETHOD - with its aim of raising the sporting performance of individuals -

Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Glossary of Terms - If you would like to know your D Spin 720 from an Alley Oop or a Backscratcher from a Kosak visit www.awsa.org. uk/snowboard/what-issnowboarding to find out.

technical self-governance will help to push the performance bar ever higher enabling even more Army riders to compete at the British Championships alongside some of the best UK professional riders!

The BRITS

SNOWBOARD

Maj Chrissie Elesmore Int Corps

The Combined Services Winter Sports Association has supported the fielding of a team to the British Snowboarding Championships (the Brits) for a number of years now. Composed of a mixture of riders from across the three Services, the team aims to be as competitive at a national level as possible, whilst also raising the profile of snowboarding in the Services and promoting Armed Forces sport more widely. In order to achieve this, the Combined Services (CS) Team is composed of a mixture of male, female, open and masters category riders. Competition is particularly fierce in the open category due to the outstanding talent that is showcased at the Championships by riders of a scarily junior age - the winner of the open ladies Snowboardcross was aged just 15, and qualified in a time that put her in 6th place in the open men’s competition! Four Army riders were lucky enough to be selected for the CS Team to compete at the 2013 Brits which was held in Tignes from 23 30 March: Maj Chrissie Elesmore, Capt James Scott, LCpl Karl Pittam and LCpl Kris Looker. Whilst snowboarding has generally managed to establish itself as a credible sport in the Services, there continues to be (and probably always will be) a slight stigma attached to it, with jokes of baggy trousers, beanies and ‘tea trays’ continuing to be irresistible for some. However, anyone who does indulge in such quips clearly doesn’t get it. Snowboarding is a sport where the learning and progression curve never eases off. There is always someone who can do harder tricks, is more stylish in their riding or who can take a faster line than you; you never reach the top of your game. There is an infinite amount to learn and an infinite amount of progression that can be made. To be a competitive snowboarder there has to be a drive and determination in a rider to put themselves repeatedly out of their comfort zone, to deal with (if not to overcome) fear, to doggedly seek to make tricks better and to take real risks of serious injury, all in the hope of moving to the next level of achievement. With the European X-Games (a competition that is taken as seriously amongst snowboarders as the Olympics) taking place in Tignes the week before the Brits, there was plenty of inspiration (as well as expectation management!) to be had for CS Team members. Snowboarding in a CS environment is probably one of the most intense and beneficial; training with some of the best snowboarders from across the three Services, who are as passionate and driven about a sport as you are, and are also your future competitors, pushes your riding and accelerates your development immeasurably. This is exactly what happened at this years’ Brits with the training week before the competition providing a great opportunity for further training ahead of the competition, under the expert guidance of the

team’s coach Dave Seeley from Grounded Freestyle Coaching. The challenges of heavy snowfalls and poor visibility were overcome as best as possible. Powder riding is a form of snowboarding rarely available to Service riders, however, given the fact that at one point even the pistes were covered with a metre of the stuff, it was impossible to avoid it! When the sun and powder coincided, the days were fantastic! It also provided an excellent opportunity to train for the Boardercross 2013 CS Tea competition that took place on the first day m with the GB Juniors of the Brits. After inspecting the course, all Team team members undertook between three and terrible visibility, and so the planned course was four training runs, followed by just one timed shortened considerably. Once riders had helped run, in order to qualify for the knockout phase to clear the snow that had fallen overnight, the of the competition. It was a fast course, not competition got underway. The ladies went first too technical in nature but with a number of and had opportunity to do two training runs; jumps, rollers and banks, all of which could unfortunately during this time one member of be taken at full speed if you had the courage; the CS Team, Flt Lt Collis (RAF), took a nasty but it was a course that generally played to fall breaking her wrist and was evacuated the strengths of the speed-loving CS Team. from the mountain. However, the competition Maj Elesmore, Capt Scott and LCpl Pittam all continued and team members did two runs qualified for the knockout, however due to of the course to decide the top six women to an unlucky fall, LCpl Looker missed out and go through to the final. Unfortunately no CS finished 22nd. Capt Scott and LCpl Pittam did riders made the final, but Maj Elesmore finished incredibly well, both fighting their way through joint 11th overall and placed 2nd in the Ladies quarter finals and then semifinals, and riding in Masters competition. Next it was the turn of the Open Men’s small final, finishing 7th and the men, who after a training period, did their 9th respectively. Maj Elesmore got through to two qualifying runs. Again, no team members the Ladies Masters final, and after having led qualified for the final, but LCpl Looker finished from the very beginning, took a fall after the a very credible 27th, LCpl Pittam finished 36th last jump and finished in 4th place. The rest and Capt Scott finished 39th, unfortunately of the CS Team also did incredibly well, with not quite finding the landings on his trademark Flt Lt Collis (RAF) finishing 3rd in the Ladies ‘Slinky Flips’ this time. A successful day was Masters final, Lt Hawkes (RN) finishing 3rd in topped off by Lt Hawkes (RN) who also claimed the hotly-contested Men’s Masters race, and an a podium position for the CS Team by finishing outstanding performance from AET Taylor (RN) 25th overall and 3rd in the Men’s Masters who beat all but the British Snowboardcross competition; a fantastic effort in his final Team coach to finish 2nd in the Open Men’s appearance representing the CS. final. This was a very successful year for the CS The vast quantities of powder present in Snowboarding Team. The competitive spirit, Tignes at the start of the training week also drive and commitment that is fostered through enabled team members to try inverted and military service translates extremely well to the more ambitious tricks in relative comfort, laying sport of snowboarding, and means that in a very the foundations for some successful practice short time considerable progress can be made; sessions in the park a few days later. However, the spirit and gusto of the CS Team riders was where members of the team had themselves most definitely noted by other competitors and been learning single inverted tricks, they were the competition organisers alike, and means fortunate enough to witness the top British that we continue to be made very welcome. female rider perform - and land - a double The Brits is an exceptionally beneficial week back flip for the first time in worldwide female snowboarding in the Army and also an excellent competition history during the X-Games. This opportunity to raise public awareness of the certainly had an inspirational effect on LCpl opportunities that exist in the Armed Services. Pittam who decided to attempt a double back All team members emerged from the experience flip on one of the larger jumps in the park a having learnt a number of new tricks and skills few days later. Unfortunately it was executed and having forged a variety of new friendships; with less than perfect precision, leading, after and no less significant, Capt Scott had invented one and half rotations, to an unfortunate, a new dish, the Sausage Tikka Masala. Long may albeit impressive, landing! It did however lay it continue. the foundations for a successful single back The Army members of the Combined flip that he landed cleanly in the Slopestyle Services Snowboard Team would like to thank competition, to vast quantities of whooping the CSWSA, AWSA and Army Sports Lottery for from those watching. The day of the Slopestyle their fantastic support. unfortunately started with bad weather and

TELEMARK

TELEMARK Maj Adrian Pery LD

Telemark skiing in 2012/2013 has had a successful year both on and off the piste. The highlight of the year, was, as always, the Open Championships in Rauris, Austria. Once again comprising the Army, RN/RM and British Open Championships the standard continues to rise with Chris Stewart proving why he is the British Champion by making a clean sweep of the races. Exercise TELEMARK TITAN (ExTT) is not just about the top level racers but caters to skiers of varying standards. It was very heartening to see so many entries this year, with overall numbers up from the previous 80-90 to over 130 skiers. We were most delighted to welcome a team from the Royal Oman Army, who having never skied, nor indeed seen snow before, put on a tremendous show of courage and determination. Their fortune and effort was never more obvious than in the volume of support they received in the final development races. Truly a tremendous show of spirit from all involved, and a tribute to their coaches! Overall the format for ExTT remains the same, with an initial five days of coaching before a single qualifying race. The aim of the qualifier is to select those capable of racing the more demanding championship races, set for abilities up to British National Team level, whilst ensuring that those who need further development continue with coaching and race in slightly less demanding conditions. The early warm and wet conditions this year meant that a change of race piste was required, with the decision to run the Championship races on the Steinkar at the top of the mountain as opposed to the normal race pistes lower down. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, reducing the organising committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workload (no multiple moving of race pistes) but also meant the cut off for selection could be made more inclusive, thus increasing the full racing opportunities and especially increasing the number of female

Mountain Race Winner - Mr Mark Ryder

racers in the main championships - something long overdue! Selection is based upon speed and skill levels, the latter to ensure those at the lower end are not over faced by the steeper Championship race terrain and thus put off. For those not selected for the main Championships, two Development races were run, the first of these in the usual balmy sunshine on the Teller lift, giving the less competent skiers a chance to race Giant Slalom (GS) gates and complete a jump. Always well supported by the senior skiers this is perhaps the most encouraging and satisfying race to organise and support; the standard of skiing in no way lessens the determination of the skiers to succeed. The second development race was run through the bottom gates of the Championship Classic, giving the skiers the chance to see a full course set up and proper loom before a shortened skating section. The standard of the development races was high and honours fairly spread across the field between Spr Alex Clipstone and Sgt Steve Farrant for the men and LCpl Becky Haggerty and OCdt Hannah Waldegrave for the ladies. For those who successfully qualified, a full series of GS, Sprint and Classic races were run

Maj Mel Hilton RLC

for the Championships, with some very testing wind and visibility conditions challenging racers throughout. The Steinkar piste, although not normally used, allowed for some long races, and because of the more gentle gradient saw the introduction of Super-tele gates at the start of the Classic; allowing for greater speed elements before the challenges of the remainder of the course. For those chasing Chris Stewart there was good competition, Jack Harvard-Taylor losing his overall crown but having a battle royal with James French to eventually claim second place in the Open Category. For the Army skiers, Majors Chippy White, Andrew Clarke and Phil Grove shared the Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual race honours, with Major White knocking Major Clarke off the Combination podium by a matter of three seconds over a total time of just over six minutes of racing. Maj Rob Thorpe RM was the

Mountain Race Start

‘For those new to Telemark there is much to look forward to’

fastest of the Servicemen and dominated the RN individual results by some 30 seconds across the Combination, with Cpl Gordon McCrae chasing valiantly. On the ladies front OCdt Anna Morrissey was the best of the Army ladies beating Maj Mel Hilton a strong (nearly) exalpine skier. Anna also won the GB Ladies Open title against a larger than normal field which included her mother! For those new to Telemark there is much to look forward to. The Novices fielded competitors from both the men and ladies in the Championship races, which was very satisfying, with Cpl Stu Frew and OCdt Dominique Symons taking the honours. There were some excellent efforts by the youngsters in the open category, with Ed Lees leading the way ahead of Oli Wotton and achieving sixth place overall; definitely ones to watch for the future. On the team front no one team dominated the races and although the Hors Concours teams did well in the individual races, 24 Cdo Engr Regt took home the Combination honours ahead of Exeter UOTC and a London District team. The end of the Championship FIS races saw one race left to run, the increasingly popular Mountain race, organised in a similar format to previous years, with a repeat of the 2012 course, notwithstanding a few challenging enhancements by the organisers both on and near(ish) the pistes. The lack of skins for some meant a slight change to the rules, but once again all skiers had to commit to some uphill Main photograph: Lt Charlie Nunn RE

and every service person was ‘encouraged’ to participate. Run as a both a team and individual race (a good headache for the results team) there were some valiant efforts and congratulations must go to Mr Mark Ryder for winning the individual honours in 56 minutes (after final ratification of the results) ahead of Capt Ben Sawyer and Maj Rob Thorpe for the men. On the ladies side Alison Morrissey showed her daughter that youth is not everything, beating Cpl Becky Haggerty home to claim the Ladies Open prize. 30 Cdo RM were the strongest team.

Inter Service Championship Following a slick awards ceremony in Rauris the majority of the skiers dispersed, except those remaining to race or help run the GB Telemark World Cup event. However, the season did not finish in Rauris and those selected for the Inter Services made their way to Meribel for some excellent racing in a variety of conditions; the weather causing havoc with the race programme. The Army team, consisting of Maj Andrew Clarke RA, Maj Chippy White RE, Maj Ben Sawyer RLC, Capt Daz Howells RE and Cpl Dan Johnson, took on the RN team in a two-way battle with the Army completing a clean sweep. Maj Chippy White was able to reverse the results of Rauris and beat Maj Rob Thorpe RM overall to take the Inter Services Combination

Champion title. With Chris Stewart looking at a Service commitment it is hoped that the RAF can join the fun next year. Beyond the Services, the Army continues to provide skiers for the GB Telemark Team, with Maj Andrew Clarke racing this season, and Maj Chippy White, OCdts Rob Houston and Ben Atkinson invited to attend GB team training with an eye to the future. A successful race programme is down to the hard work of the organising committee and for Telemark it is no different. The challenge remains growing our own suitably qualified officials, and this is a work in progress that has taken much effort and focus this season. With the turmoil of recent service commitments it is always difficult to find people both willing and able to commit their time for what is very hard work and Army Telemark remain very grateful to all those who have provided support and are willingly to step up and be counted. For the 2014 season Col Suzanne Anderson takes on the Chairman’s role and Majors Mike James and Kathryn Heppenstall will help share the executive burden, for which we are very grateful. On the slope it is fantastic to see Lt Jamie Davies RN starting up the ladder to qualify as a Chief of Race and hopefully go further in the future. With our own assurance aspects in place, with a qualified FIS Techinical Director (TD), the governance of Telemark is looking stronger for the future. Come and free the heel in 2014!

WORLD CUP Maj Adrian Pery LD

Once the prizes are distributed and the last ‘hussah!’ shouted at the end of the combined Army/RN and British Championships you may think the committee retire for a quick drink and some relaxation for a job well done. However despite the challenges of running seven races in five and half days there is no time to pause and it is time to step up a gear, for the Army Telemark Ski Association also run a FIS Telemark World Cup (WC) event. The arrival of competitors from over 13 nations, usually as the Army Championship is still running, provides an excellent ‘character building opportunity’ (Ed - do you mean flogging?) for the admin team; not least the additional challenges of language and cross border money transfers - and not all teams are as well organised as the British Army! With three years of experience running both Giant Slalom (GS) and Sprint (SP) races, the FIS Telemark Committee requested that we run a Classic (CL) race in 2013. This posed

Philippe Lau - France - Winner

WC - Collberg Olle - Sweden

a few challenges in that with considerably more turns than usual, our equipment and experience was going to be stretched like never before. The inclement weather during the Army Championship exacerbated the challenges, forcing the Committee to move races up the mountain and avoid the wash out on the lower race pistes. Such last minute changes to the plans had a knock on effect for the WC, denying the normal high levels of preparation - leaving the hill crew to build two looms and two jumps in under 36 hours, no mean feat. Fortunately the weather smiled upon us just in time and at the last minute there was sufficient snow, with the aid of much machine work, to build a loom and jump on the Kreuzboden for the SP, which passed very successfully. The hard work then continued with the need to move everything up the mountain for a WC CL on the Waldalm piste where, with the support of Urban Simcic, ˇ ˇ the Slovenian TD who has done so much for Service and British Telemark, a long course and skating section had been chosen. The result was a course of over 60 turns, so that every pole and gate flag that ATSA and the visiting teams possessed was pressed into service. The length of the course made it a tight timeline to be ready for the start, but ready we were, and under excellent conditions the first ladies descended. The challenges of a long race quickly became clear, with a running time of approximately three minutes it was necessary to have more than one racer on the course, which called for slick radio drills to ensure the results team received the correct penalty points as the race progressed. Voice procedure was particularly interesting with a mixture of Brits, Austrians, Croatians and Slovenians on the net! Furthermore the length of the course meant a high degree of anticipation was required for course maintenance. Despite this the Rauris CL was deemed a great success, and one that the WC competitors and coaches wish to see repeated. There is no doubt that running such an event is exceptionally hard work and a huge step up from an Army Championship, but the reward for Service and British Telemark makes it all worthwhile (after a few beers and several months distance). We are enormously grateful to the support we receive from the village of Rauris, who provide so much help, both financial as well as practical, to run the event. Comm Spec provide us with radios, without which we could not operate and Paramo supply a generous offering of prizes. However, the greatest thanks go to the Committee and the volunteers who stay on to make this event

happen. It could not happen without their hard work and enthusiasm and ATSA are very grateful to the 15 or so volunteers who remain behind after the Army and British Championships to help the committee of twelve as course workers and gate judges. It is also clear that the AWSA and ATSA organised Telemark WC is a successful and essential part of the FIS Telemark Circuit, it keeps British Winter sports firmly on the map. Footnote: In what was my first season as a FIS TD I also had the privilege of supporting both the French WC in Chamonix and the German National Cup. I saw many differences of set up and practice but am happy to say that the effort and organisation of Rauris easily stands up in comparison. My personal thanks go to all those who work so hard to make the events the success they are - you know who you are!

Main Photograph: World Cup - Master Ollie Wooton - Opening Course (GB)

TELEMARK

‘There is no doubt that running such an event is exceptionally hard work and a huge step up from an Army Championship’

Contact Telemark Chairman Telemark Col S Anderson Secretary Telemark Maj JEM Carey-Hughes KRH e: telemark@awsa.org.uk

Telemark Events 2014

Telemark Results 2013

Army Championship EX TELEMARK TITAN Rauris, Austria 4-16 January 2014

Army Championship Male Champion Male Runner-up Female Champion Team Champions Team Runners-up

Inter Service Championship (ISSSC) Meribel, France 1-8 February 2014

Maj Chippy White RE Maj Andrew Clarke RA OCdt Anna Morrissey 24 Cdo Engr Regt Exeter UOTC

Inter Service Championship Male Champion Maj Chippy White RE Service Champions Army Best Newcomer Capt Daz Howells RE

Serre Che hits the high notes!

SPONSORSHIP

‘Can you make it to Aldershot by 1400 hrs?’ Normally not such a tough ask but if you are asking the Red Coat team, scattered across the UK, to deploy 24 hours early, you really find out who has their administration in one ski sock! Thus started this season’s Alpine Sponsorship Event, driven by the threat of massive snowfall ... across the UK. Remarkably it all worked and we beat the maelstrom to paradise! Our arrival in resort was a blur of fresh powder, a bewildering list of piste and lift names, route recces and goodie-bag packing. Mini-guides, piste maps, lift passes and room keys were sorted with supreme efficiency that can only be found in a team motivated by a desire to be elsewhere! The reward came from magnificent conditions on the slopes. Serre Chevalier was at its absolute best, with fresh powder compressed into sumptuous runs that took ski edges like swallows to flight. Conditions were set once again as a test for the best on Exercise LIONS CHALLENGE, the Army Alpine Championship, and a delight for those who came to support and witness it. The championship is also used to select the Army’s men’s and ladies alpine teams - who went on to dominate all comers at the Combined Service championships at Meribel. The sponsorship event this year was bigger than ever. Trusty loyal friends, including headline sponsors from HP, Selex, Lockheed Martin, GD Force Protection, NP Aerospace, Supacat and Thales were joined by an array of new blood, including fresh faces brought in through the nascent but thriving Team Army and hosting military VIPs. What was also not lost on participants was the chain of command’s support for Winter Sports. From CGS down, valuable time was given to secure valuable sponsorship resources in troubled economic times to ensure the widest possible Winter Sports participation. The event provided both hosts and sponsors with opportunity to meet the very best of the young Army of today, many freshly returned

Rivalry between Illingworth and from operations, and to witness Orr clans tested to the metal on their awe-inspiring competition. the border-cross. Discipline was It also allows attendees to meet swiftly restored by the nightly up with potential partners both review from the all seeing and civilian and military, all in a venue judicious eye of the telemarking and atmosphere that remains Brigadier. Realisation that loyalty to unequalled by any other Army ‘Kermit’ came above that of rank or sport. The significance of the friendship was as a surprise to some mental and physical challenge that recipients of Muppet of the Day lies at the heart of all the Army’s Award. Attention seekers faced stiff Winter sports was clear to all. Just daily competition from the plainly as Montgomery identified at the inept and few blushes were spared! end of the Second World War, it is If the challenges of the slopes challenging opportunities such as were not enough, handicaps were these that will be crucial to sate on offer in the form of the Pooh future Army generations of thrill Trap of being ‘Jamie’d’. Hospitality seekers, once the dust in Helmand was certainly on song and many has settled. fell foul of the rocking-horse riding Also hugely appreciated is Supacat regular! attendance by members of the Regrettably such Winter Sports is Combined Services Disabled Ski not without risk. This year the price Team (CSDST). Not only did this was paid by Brig Richard Parkinson give the team the opportunity who broke his lower leg very badly. to get some race practice, it also An injury he bore with remarkable allowed our sponsors and the fortitude both during evacuation chain of command to get the full measure of the challenges they face and then his prolonged stay in and the amazing talent they imbue. Briançon hospital. The brilliance of the surgeons saving him from Even for those who have mastered further complications. As I write this able bodied skiing, the test of having a go at blind skiing, skiing on he is back hard at work in Army HQ, full of beans, after what must have one leg or in a sit ski is not quickly been a very frustrating recovery. forgotten. For the Redcoat team, a year’s Inevitably day one breakfast is worth of fun was condensed into always a challenge. Dilemmas such two short weeks, however all as what to wear, where to go and good things do come to an end. what to do, all ably cast aside by Most departed with a satisfying the Red Coat team, most of whom exhaustion and a strong desire to were in exactly the same boat only return in the year ahead. Feedback a couple of days earlier. With the was very gracious and we look spell-binding conditions trailed forward to hosting an equally by the breakfast headcam video, successful event next year. Planning boot-fitting and ‘lone tree’ were has already started, including soon well behind as newcomers went off find their mojos. For some, expanding the opportunity for our fantastic sponsors to get a flavour it is all about grace on the slopes, of all the winter disciplines on offer. for others can be found more often In the interim, thank you so much than not taking in the view, vinfor your support, have a great BBQ chauds in hand. However one and Summer and we look forward to all enjoy the buzz of watching a wetting your appetites at the AWSA superb Army generation facing the season launching Cocktail Party in challenges of the racing with such dazzling passion and determination. October 2013. The boy racers amongst the men Contact Sponsorship were barely kept in check. Early Sponsorship Secretary attempts to impress the Chairman were indelibly made, with bruised Lt Col James Scott MBE SCOTS ribs and dented pride resulting. sponsorship@awsa.org.uk

Thank you to all our sponsors!

How Time Flies!

JMC (Spud) Leaning - AWSA member for 54 Years and part of the Management Committee for 45 Years tells us how he started on the white stuff and reports on the changes in Army Winter Sports he has witnessed over the last half century! In September 1959 I was having tea at the house of a friend when my friend, John WysockCrundall, suddenly said, “I know just the sport for you, Spud”. He charged out to the garage and reappeared with a pair of ancient wooden skis, a pair of ski sticks with enormous baskets, and a pair of boots which he proceeded to attach to the skis by a cable binding. So this is how it all started. In those days the Army Ski Association (ASA) and the Royal Navy and RAF equivalents, ran holiday schemes, which took groups of servicemen and families to various venues in the Alps to ski. John suggested that I should join the ASA and book a holiday over the coming Christmas and New Year to learn to ski. Well, that is exactly what I did. I joined for the princely sum of 10 shillings (50p in today’s currency). I booked a holiday to Hocholden, had a wonderful time, and was bitten by the ski bug. In 1965 when I was serving with the Junior Tradesmen’s Regiment, Troon the ASA were looking for an Enlisted Boys’ Representative. As I was the skiing officer at the time our adjutant put my name forward and before I knew it, I was going to my first ASA Council meeting on 1 July 1965 at Lansdowne House, London. This was a new experience for me, and I was by far the most junior person present. I was asked about the state of junior skiing in the Army, and was able to make some comments, having taken a team to the Scottish Championships earlier that year. However, in winter that year I went to Norway and the Alps with the British Biathlon Team and the Enlisted Boys’ Representative position was passed to somebody else. I thought little enough of being a part of the committee at the time, but the experience proved invaluable when in 1967 I was invited back to Council as Captain of the Biathlon Team.

What has changed? So what have been the most outstanding changes in my 53 years as a member and 47 years (with the exception of two years) on the ASA Council/AWSA Management Committee? Competition. On the competitive side, it is gratifying to see that, in spite of the huge development of all our sports, in professionalism, technical excellence, advanced/ elite preparation, we have continued to develop and improve in parallel with world standards, with some of our members/athletes achieving high distinction at Olympic Winter Games (OWG), World Championships, Inter-services, Inter corps and Inter-unit levels. The standard of athletic performance at our divisional and Army level events continues to improve relentlessly. The Association’s national competitors continue to perform with credit and just occasionally, they pull off exceptional coups of winning medals at the highest level. This is all done in

spite of the many operational commitments that the Army has had to deal with over the last 50 years. Competitors. Our competitors perform at greater speeds than former generations, brought about by the march of technology and equipment development. This also applies to Cross-country and Biathlon, where again, modern equipment has shaved minutes of race times and the speeds these guys reach on wellprepared cross-country tracks on the downhills is considerable. Thus, the demands on all athletes, physically and mentally at all levels has increased for each generation. Their preparation for competition at unit level upwards needs to be more thorough than in the past. This, in turn means our team captains and coaches need enhanced education for their roles. Championships. Progressively over the years the Association has striven and succeeded in improving the standard of management of our championships at all levels. The standards of the courses demanded by our race staff has changed the face of Army racing, particularly in the last 15 years or so, as we have drawn on the experience of our internationals ,our internationally qualified TDs and coaches. Electronic timing and other technology has been harnessed to improve our events. We have gained much by seeking out high class venues for our championships, which has benefitted our athlete competitors and will continue to do so. The progress has been vast and the expertise acquired by our officials is impressive. Equipment. Development of equipment and clothing over the years has seen a kaleidoscope of advances, in all disciplines. The Association has managed to keep abreast of these developments, in spite of cost, and our competitors have advanced in performance and skills as a result. Management. Management styles in the Association have evolved and changed to keep abreast of the Charity Commission rules, the demands of military management, modern management styles ,financial propriety, the introduction and development of sponsorship into the equation, equality of the sexes and finally, political correctness. All these factors have produced a quite complicated soup of activities, which all need to be managed with a considerable level of adeptness. I think the present Management Committee is more like a company Board than the old Council. It is less inward looking than it was 20 years ago. We have, indeed, been fortunate to have people available at the right time and in the right place in the chain of command, to take us through the difficult periods of financial scrutiny, the turmoil of operational requirements, and reduction in the size of the Army. Fortunately there has been

out of 1960 Spud Cairngorm n o l contro

2010 Ski Touring, Jotenheim en (Nor)

a pool of senior officer talent intensely interested in Winter Sports right from the start. They have protected and served us well. Communications. The electronic explosion has changed the mind-set of the Association when it comes to promotion of our activities and events. Our publicity mediums have been developed with the help of MOD systems to a degree, but a huge amount of it has been self-help, and we have had people within the Association who have been able to generate progress in this field. The professional support we have sought from MOD PR sources has not always been of the best, as some of the old pros have retired. We should look for improvements here. The annual magazine must compliment a professional website. Membership. Unsurprisingly membership has always been a thorny problem. It was fine in the 60s, when we had all those National Service skiers, and the Holiday Scheme generating family membership. Indeed, the income from membership was vital for survival of the Association. The fortunes of membership, and the problems have waxed and waned over the years. With the shrinking size of the Army, it was hardly surprising that there was a reciprocal decline in membership. With grants coming in from the ACF, ASCB, ASL and sponsorship, the money generated by membership has become less crucial than it was in 1960. At about £30K in a turnover of over £270K, it could be argued that it is not that important. There should, however, still be a connection between the Association and performers. Surely this is by membership! Had the membership fee kept pace with even half that of inflation, its level would be much more significant in the income column. The Association might need it one day. Sponsorship. There was no sponsorship as we know it when I started out. The development of techniques and management of sponsorship has changed within the Association, beyond all recognition and has become extremely sophisticated and professional. The Association has learned quickly in the last ten years and is well skilled in required techniques. We move into a new era with Team Army, which is already providing a huge amount of support for all Army sports.

s e d a c e d e th h g ou r th AWSA 1960’s

International Representation - the Army had produced most of the cross-country team and all the biathlon teams since WW II; Biathlon came into the frame bit later (late ‘50s/early ‘60s). Brig Vincent Budge took over masterminding Biathlon almost from the start and prepared the training and logistics team for the 1964 Olympic Winter Games (OWG). There were several Army internationals in the national Alpine Ski, Luge and Bobsleigh Teams. In 1962 a full-time ASA secretary, Major JF Stephen, was appointed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). By 1970 85% of ASA income was from membership fees. Historical Note: The President remarked at the 1970 AGM that the currency restrictions (£50 per annum at one stage) for overseas travel through seasons 68 to 71 had made life difficult for UK performers. The Ski Club of Great Britain (SCGB) acted as the governing body (GB) for skiing until 1964, when the National

Ski Federation of Great Britain (NSFGB) was instituted. Maj Gen Sir Roderick McLeod became the first Chairman and Maj Gen Ian Graeme the first Secretary. The ASA was becoming more proactive and influential in the skiing world and in Army sport.

1969-94 L oc Relay Team & Army C hampions

1970’s

1972 saw the first British Alpine Ski Traverse from Kaprun to Gap, with the ASA represented by Patrick Fagan; the support Team was led by Gerry Finch and David Gore, both ASA. Also an Olympic year, the strong ASA representation of Keith Oliver, Terry Palliser, Peter Strong, Jeff Stevens, Mal Hirst, Alan Notley and Harry Tobin, produced our best ever Biathlon result of Oliver’s 11th in the 20km Individual event. The Cross-country Committee, was subsequently renamed the ‘Nordic Committee’ to acknowledge the huge status acquired by Biathlon.

1966 VM Biathlon 4x7.5km Relay Handover Andrew to Tancock

On the Alpine side, St Moritz had become too expensive for the ASA and the championships moved to Alpbach in 1972, then to Livigno in 1973 before moving to Ischgl in 1974 - where it stayed for ten years (bar one year in Alpbach). In 1973 an Extraordinary General Meeting was held to discuss the pressure that VAT would impose upon the annual subscription fee and it was decided that the ASA fee would be raised to £2 per annum. A new discipline, Ski Bobbing, developed, mentored by Zach Freeth, a wellknown Alpine Army and international skier. Ski

mas 1975,Tim Du enne rs Pa Skis the Fantastique

1962 Fred Andrew in his first British 15km Winterberg

1975 - 29 Cdo Al pine Team in Actio n

Bobbing was to develop quickly and blossomed for some years, some of our members representing the nation. The Scottish Ski Meeting was held in the Cairngorms, it was a mixture of Regular and Territorial Army (TA) competitors. A new Nordic discipline appeared, Ski Orienteering, and was introduced to the Army Nordic Championships programme at Oberjoch. In 1976 the Union International for Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon (UIPMB) changed the format of the shooting in biathlon events from full bore to small bore. Our national team and the Army embraced the changes with a lot of hard work and not inconsiderable expense. We also had a new discipline Freestyle Skiing. Cresta and Bob became ex-officio Members of the ASA Council and then full members of the newly formed Army Winter Sports Association (AWSA) Management Committee in 1998. In May 1979, the administration of the ASA was seen to be going well with increased membership and a satisfactory balance of income over expenditure. The Yeoman plan to rationalise Army sport had gone ahead and in May 1979, the ASA moved into the offices of the Army Sport Control Board (ASCB), in Clayton Bks, Aldershot.

1980’s

The Army Nordic Championships moved to Zwiesel in 1980, where it would stay until 1992. In 1981 in addition to the British and Army Championships, it was Great Britain’s turn to host the Lowlanders Annual Championships. We hosted five nations and some of the races were four hatted - Lowlander, National, Army and BAOR Championships! On the Alpine front, the Championships were firmly established in Ischgl until 1985 when it moved to Fulpmes. Zac Freeth and other ex-racers, had become involved in course setting and acting as TDs; Alpine had some qualified FIS TDs. There were no Cross-country TDs until the FIS held their first official crosscountry TDs course at Davos in 1983, which I attended and passed to become our first official cross-country FIS TD. 1984. The BSF had created a Women’s Nordic Team, we had two Army members, Maggie Smith, (nee Allerton), and Lauren Jeffrey. I acted as Team Manager and a Norwegian, Vivi Nyberg (later Norwegian national team coach), was our coach. Lauren Jeffrey competed for us at the 1984 OWG. The Biathlon Team and the Men’s Nordic Team were mostly ASA members. There was a large military contingent in the Bobsleigh Team, too. In 1985 at the World Nordic Championships in Seefeld, during the 15km, there was a most extraordinary phenomenon when skating or Free technique burst on to the scene. There was something of a ski anarchy at large. Biathletes soon followed, nearly all converting to the faster skating technique by the 1985 World Championships at Ruhpolding which was only a couple of weeks later. By the start of the 1985/86 WC season, FIS had sorted out a division of competitions at all of their levels with 50% of each style of races, making up the World Cup and other programmes. 1987. Our first major sponsorship, Clerical Medical and General, with the Save and Prosper Group getting behind the Bob Team.

1988 the OWG at Calgary were upon us. I bringing the ice sports and Ski Bob to the table had left the Army and was the Nordic Director in Council. The AWSA declared itself to have a for the BSF. I had ceased to be a full member of ‘Management Committee’ instead of ‘Council’. the ASA Council, but had been made a co-opted Sadly, as mentioned earlier, the Holiday member. The 1988 OWG, were arguably the Scheme came to an end. best ever, in that Calgary was an oil-rich city, and no resources were spared to make the Games a roaring success! The ASA had huge representation at these Games, several Bobbers, seven Biathletes, a cross-country skier, five managers, two coaches and finally myself, as the British Olympic Team’s The Lecht Ski Instrs Course Assistant Chef de Mission. 1980 - Run by Army We had our best results ever in cross-country and Michael Dixon achieved 13th in the 20km Individual Biathlon race. 1989. There were momentous events happening in the management of the ASA. Our name was changed to 1988 - OWG Marty Watkins ‘the Army Winter Sports Association’ (AWSA)

ntry Ski Team 1981 - British Ladies Cross-cou

1990’s

A new discipline of Skeleton appeared, and Luge was going from strength to strength, with the Army Team representing Great Britain. Women’s Alpine and Nordic skiing was thriving. The standard of the

xie hlon W Ch, Di 1990 Minsk Biat d In km 20 12th in the

courses in all disciplines was improving, especially in Nordic, because of mechanisation. We were qualifying ski instructors in the various disciplines, and qualifying national TDs. Our competitions and preparation for them were becoming far more professional. The 1992 OWG took place in Albertville, the ASA was again well represented. We had one freestyler, Hugh Hutchison, three cross-country skiers, Ian Whitehead-Luge, four Bobbers, five biathletes and several officials. Our results were variable, but Michael Dixon’s 12th place in the 20 km Individual Biathlon, (he shot clear), was an outstanding result. Ski Bob now describes itself ‘Ski Bike’, logical, I suppose, when you look at the equipment. Why didn’t somebody think of this before? Of huge excitement and significance was our new major sponsorship, that of Christchurch Insurance Brokers - £75K over three years. 1995, the Scottish Alpine Ski Championships

celebrated their 30th anniversary. We were also approaching the 50th anniversary of the formation of the ASA/AWSA. The BSF (not considered podium potential by the Sports Council) had its grant cut by 50K. This led a very largely Alpine orientated board, deciding to discontinue all support to Nordic/ Biathlon. All members of staff were made redundant, including yours truly, in June 1995. It was suggested that ‘the Army will take care of all that!’ British Biathlon Union (BBU) - a small band of devotees set up the BBU in March 1996. It came into being as a limited liability company and became the GB for the sport on 23 October 1996. The Army undertook to support Biathlon until the 1998 OWG.

AWSA 50th Anniversary The 1996/97 season focused on AWSA 50 with Mark Goodson (Goodie) as Secretary.

All disciplines were involved (less Luge) and had roles to play. At the final Management Committee meeting before the great event, Goodie introduced Snowboarding to the Committee and it was decided to include it at AWSA 50 as a demonstration sport, along with Telemark. Extraordinarily detailed planning and coordination had enabled AWSA 50 to start assembling in St Moritz and the neighbouring areas on 25 January. It was a complicated program of the various disciplines, which was to continue until 8 February. As well as all the individual discipline events, which were looked after by their respective chairman, there was a program for sponsors, a social program and an extraneous events programme - such as ‘cricket on the lake’, firework displays, Bandstand concerts, cocktail parties, church services et al. One of the most complicated programs was for the VIPs, and I was one of the VIP escort team, under the auspices of Tim Dumas. We dealt with the CDS, CGS, 22 Generals, HRH the Duke of Kent, and HRH Princess Alexandra. The atmosphere was one of excitement, positive vibes, enjoyment and a degree of awe that it had all been pulled off! Many of the early members of the ASA were present such as Jimmy Spencer (OWG 56), Lord Glentoran (formerly Robin Dixon) 64 Olympic gold medallist in Bobsleigh, and Pamela Budge, widow of Vincent Budge, Father of British

2000’s

The Nordic and Alpine disciplines retained their venues in 2000. Ski Bike, was in trouble, struggling to survive now that it didn’t command any funding; it was subsequently removed from the AWSA official list in 2002. Snowboard, meanwhile was expanding with great enthusiasm and not a little success. The Alpine discipline had acquired sponsorship with Norwich Union for the Championships at Serre Chevalier. 2002. It was decided to hold a post Olympics cocktail party. This took place in the state apartments of the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Monday, 15 April in the evening. It was a success and our Olympiads, were present and were duly congratulated on their performances at the Games by all present. Michael Dixon fell short of his expectations in the 20 km individual biathlon (his 6th OWG), whilst Jason Sklenar and Mark Gee each improved on their personal best. These three plus Hugh Pritchard made up the 4x7.5 km relay team.

Biathlon, 22 former Olympians and Gen David Horsfield, an 80-year-old Vice President of the AWSA. The British Ambassador in Berne and the Swiss Defence Minister also joined us for the President’s dinner. The Nordic events were centred at neighbouring Pontresina. It was the most incredible celebration of what had been a tremendous 50 years of achievement. The 1998 OWG took place in Nagano, the AWSA participation was somewhat less than previous years, we had only two biathletes (Dixon and Gee), Paul, Olsen and Dean in Bobsleigh, and the usual sprinkling of servicemen amongst the officials. There was one Paralympian Biathlete, Terry Ahrens. The outstanding result from these Games for us, was the bronze medal won by Lenny Paul and Sean Olsen in the four-man Bob. During this season, the Army Nordic Championships moved to Ruhpolding and Wilson Hogg Robinson, came on board as a major sponsor. It was also at this time that the AWSA was kind enough to make me an Honorary Member, a great honour and much appreciated. Luge and Ski Bike were officially downgraded from ‘recognised’ to ‘approved’ status. However, it was heartening to see that, despite the numerous operational commitments at this time, attendance at all 1999 meetings remained high.

1992 Olympic Racing

1999 Brit & Army Champs Zweisel

Dean Ward, Neal Scarisbrick, and Jackie Davies were our Bobsleighs representatives. Jackie Davies, competing in the first ever Women’s Bobsleigh event at the OWG, finished 11th in the two-man bob. 2002/03. Our Army events were staged in their usual locations with success. There were the inevitable reductions in the numbers taking part as 25% of the Army found itself heading to Iraq. Some competitions had to be cancelled, including most notably the 1(UK) Armd Div Ski Meeting. Our 2004 competitions were very successful. The Alpine Championship having reasonable weather with good snow and the Nordic Championship, with its diverse programme, now embracing new events from both the FIS and IBU, were able to operate at Ruhpolding. NAAFI sponsorship (£25K) was secured for the next few years. At the 2006 OWG in Turin, we were represented by Tom Clemens and Emma Fowler in Biathlon and Jacqueline Davies in Bobsleigh.

Emma Fowler became the first woman biathlete to represent Great Britain at an OWG. Army Telemark started its activities in earnest that September and in 2007 the AWSA agreed to support the case for Telemark to become an ‘approved sport’, with the aim of holding the first Army Telemark Championships in January 2008. Paula Walker, our women’s Bobsleigh international competitor, spent her first season as driver and competed in the Europa Cup successfully The Combined Services Disabled Ski Team which included several AWSA members, held its first skills camp on the Stubai glacier in March. Adaptive skiers learned to ski for the very first time. The ultimate goal of qualifying for the British Disabled Ski Team was achieved in due course. 2009 turned out to be a bumper year for snow. We had a new Chairman, Lamont Kirkland, a huge supporter of Army sport in general. Telemark continued to thrive, with 75 racers taking part in the Army Championships in Rauris. The Nordic Championships went back to Obertilliach, but would return and remain in Rhupolding from 2010. Author’s Note: Much of this is personal reminiscence and one man’s view point and may have some inaccuracies. If I have appeared to neglect your particular discipline, I apologise, but I have competed in only four of them and cannot claim to be an expert in most of them.

2006 - Last Hurrah Anderrmatt

Heroes

SKIING WITH HEROES

Skiing with

Maj (Retd) Dave Scott MSc IT - ASCB Lottery Manager This story begins in October 2012 when I was given the opportunity to apply for a skiing trip to Klosters in Switzerland during March 2013 through the Charity “Skiing with Heroes”. Never had it crossed my mind that I would be chosen to attend and when the email arrived I was filled with trepidation as to how I would cope with being on snow for the first time since losing my right leg above the knee in December 2009. We were all met at Heathrow Airport by the ever enthusiastic Desmond and George who were both absolutely wonderful and ensured that we all checked in and managed to get to Zurich as planned without losing anyone. We then boarded the transport to Klosters which was approximately two hours away, we did wonder if Jenson Button was driving the bus, enough said there I think! I could not believe we were in Klosters, the Royals’ favourite ski resort, we even had a surprise visit by His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Tara Palmer Tomkinson. “Skiing with Heroes” was set up in November 2012. It’s a charity that sends out wounded ex-soldiers for a week to learn adaptive skiing. The charity’s founder, Gilly Norton, is such an inspirational character and is the heart and soul of this initiative. The week in Klosters saw twelve ex-

servicemen and women who were selected from hundreds of applicants, learning to ski for the first time or trying the sport adaptively. I was the only amputee taking part and had the enviable task of trying to master “Three Track Skiing” - stand up skiing using one full size ski and two hand-held outriggers for balance/ support, giving the skier three points of contact with the snow. Three track skiers have one sound leg and two sound arms. Individuals with above knee amputations and single lower limb weakness typically use this method of skiing. Three track skiing requires a certain level of leg and arm strength and may not be for those who are in poor physical condition, luckily I trained before this event so that I would get maximum benefit throughout the week, strongly recommended! Skiing is not only used as a physically challenging and rehabilitative exercise. Every effort was made to ensure this is a mentally stimulating week too, with just as much emphasis on the après ski aspect of being in the mountains. Many veterans I met suffered from post-traumatic stress and had enjoyed their first good night’s sleep in years since being in the resort. I seemed to find some renewed energy throughout the week. Each veteran was allocated ‘ski buddies’ (volunteers assigned to support us) throughout

‘I was the only amputee taking part and had the enviable task of trying to master “Three Track Skiing”’

the week. I must say that Charlie, Clare and Catharine as well as my Swiss coach Manuela were absolutely fantastic, they will remain friends for life. I attempted Nordic skiing which unfortunately, was unsuccessful due to the limitations of my prosthetic limb. Nordic skiing is possible, but you need the right prosthetic limb…..this will be my next “Bucket List” activity with an aim of competing in the 46th Engadin Ski Marathon in Switzerland on the 9th March 2014. I will be completing this event for the charity “Skiing with Hero’s” and trying to raise some funds for the next trip in 2014. Skiing is a great rehabilitative tool that enables wounded veterans to regain their confidence and more importantly it improves their mental and physiological attitude. Physiology and anatomy are intrinsically linked and are such an important element in rehabilitation. The charity has raised over £150,000, and veteran and ski-buddy applications are already flooding in for next year. Finally, very many thanks to the entire “Skiing with Heroes” Team, committee, ski buddies and supporters of this unique and deserving charity. For further information visit www. skiingwithheroes.com or to make a donation go to www.justgiving.com/skiingwithHeroes

N A T R A P S X E

E K HI s

en Jame

Col Steph

ston hael Hou OCdt Mic

successes of past TA competitors, including individual and divisional team champions and many podium finishes, it was decided that the top prizes would remain open to both regular and TA solders. Therefore there were additional prizes for the TA, but no prizes restricted to the Regular Army only, partly because the greater majority of medals are won by Regular soldiers but also because this would be a very odd change to make only months after the announcement of Army 2020. So with plenty of snow and fine but cold weather that promised excellent conditions, we were ready to race. The Seeding GS confirmed the pre-season expectations, with the two Previously Spartan Hike’s Alpine competition very strong teams of 27 Regt RLC and 7 AA has been run on a “one Army” basis, with no Bn REME looking likely to divide the honours special prizes for TA unit or individuals, as these between them. 4 PARA(V) and the Scottish were awarded at the TA Championships in Scotland. For 2013 the exercise was re-designated Transport Regiment were contenders for both the Northern Region and TA championships. the UK Regional and TA Championships, and However with Capt Matt Shepherd of 27 Regt there were separate prizes for TA soldiers. There electing to compete only in team races due to had been much discussion about this, and the a back injury, the individual competition was Committee were keen to maintain the “one harder to predict. Army” atmosphere on the hill. Mindful of the By the time Exercise Spartan Hike 2013 started in January one of the best seasons for many years was well under way. The Alps had enjoyed plentiful snowfalls since the beginning of December and conditions had been excellent at training camps prior to the exercise. Entries had been over-subscribed since November, with 26 teams and some determined individuals making it to the championships. Seven of these were TA teams. We were also pleased to welcome back the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team development squad.

The Team GS was won convincingly by 27 Regt RLC, some 18 seconds ahead of 7 AA Bn REME. Some consolation was the strength in depth shown by 7 Bn’s hors concours B Team finishing third, ahead of 4 PARA(V). Cpl Chalky White of 27 Regt won the individual race, on a bitterly cold day, with SSgt Mike Atkinson of 7 Bn second and Cpl Danny Rix of RSME third. Temperatures were even lower for the Super G, with -21°C recorded at the start, so it was tremendous to see such a hot competition being maintained! Capt Matt Shepherd finished well clear of Sgt Roberts (27 Regt) and SSgt Mike Atkinson. Further down the field Capt Jen Kehoe of RSME narrowly beat Capt Angie Fewster of 19 Regt RA, while LBdr Duane Marriner also of 19 Regt RA was the fastest novice, beating Tpr Gerard Johnson of 1RTR by three tenths of a second. 27 Regt beat 7 Bn for the Team race by seven seconds. By the end of the Super G it was clear that more snow was coming, and we would not have the three days of good weather needed for the Downhill, particularly on the planned race

Contact Ex Spartan Hike Secretary Ex Spartan Hike Maj J Smith (V) RAPTC e: ex-spartanhike@awsa.org.uk 52

m iant Slalo - Ind G

ALPINE

SDST Barlow C Pte Andy

day. Since bad weather is slalom weather, the slalom races were brought forward. Once again 27 Regt and 7 Bn dominated the team race in snowy conditions, with Cfn Craig Kear keeping a cool head to give 7 Bn victory by a margin of over three seconds. A creditable third place went to RSME, with 4 PARA(V) not far behind. In the individual race SSgt Mike Atkinson beat Cpl Chalky White by exactly one second, and his brother Stuart took third place. Having lost a day to the weather, Downhill training began badly with the lift to the start opening late, and the course requiring a lot of work after the heavy snow. In spite of great efforts by the Chief of Course and his team, and competitors side-slipping, it was only possible to complete one training run before race day. However with good conditions on the day and wishing to make the most of the training opportunity, a second training run was completed prior to the race. This year the course took a different line to avoid a wind-blown ridge at the bottom of the first wall, and with three potential jumps provided a demanding test for all competitors. OCdt Michael Houston of Exeter UOTC set the early pace, and the team result built to a thrilling conclusion with the

third men of 7 Bn and 27 Regt starting 10th and 11th. Capt Matt Shepherd first place, Cpl Chalky White’s second and Sgt Roberts’ 7th gave a total over four seconds ahead of SSgt Mike Atkinson, Cfn Craig Kear and LCpl Stuart Atkinson, who were 4th, 5th and 6th. This left OCdt Michael Houston in third place, coincidentally the third year running an OTC competitor has finished on the Downhill podium. Capt Sarah Eckersley showed great courage in her first competitive ski race since breaking her leg in the Army Downhill, finishing just ahead of Capt Angie Fewster. The strength of both 27 Regt and 7 Bn teams stood out in the individual combination results, accounting for the first six places between them. Cpl Chalky White was overall champion, narrowly beating SSgt Mike Atkinson, who was somewhat consoled by picking up the Veteran’s prize, in his first year as an “old man”. OCdt Michael Houston was TA Champion, and

Capt Angie Fewster the first lady. Tpr Johnston won the Novice class, having skied with great consistency in all the races. 27 Regt were the overall Champion Team and also won the Southern Region. 7 Bn was not far behind them, and won the Midland Region. A great result in the Team Slalom gave the overall third place, Northern Region and the TA Champion Team prizes to 4 PARA(V), ahead of the Scottish Transport Regiment. Eight teams and a further 16 individuals qualified and went forward to the Army Championships, and a further seven teams would have qualified had they been able to go. To have 52 athletes go forward to the Army Championship is more than usual, and reflects some great skiing in the middle of the field, where performances were stronger than they have been recently. Even at the tail of the field there was strong competition, both between teams and individuals, and there were many examples of character-building courage and determination. Spartan Hike looks forward to next season with the possibility of running two Alpine hills, with the capacity for over 250 competitors, so get your entries in early, and take advantage of one of the best opportunities in the Army!

‘Spartan H

ike looks fo rward to ne xt season w of running ith the poss two Alpine ibility hills, with th competitors e c a p a city for ove , so get you r 250 r entries in early, and ta k e advantage one of the of best opport unities in th e Army!’

NORDIC

EX SPARTAN

HIKE

Lt Col Charles Bromley Gardner MBE QRH – Chief of Nordic 29 regiments from across the UK South and Midlands regions, plus 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment based in Cyprus, sent 210 soldiers to benefit from competitive Nordic skiing in the testing Serre Chevalier valley in the southern French Alps. The development of all units and individuals over the ten days was plain to see, as the intensity of the races and the demands of the courses grew throughout, culminating in the Military Patrol Race across unseen and, to be honest, novel terrain. The plain race results never tell the whole story: the representatives from 12 Logistic Support Regiment RLC may have trailed in behind all the other teams, but considering that: (1) they were from a HERRICK Rear Ops Group; (2) their only soldier with Nordic skiing or biathlon weapon handling had to withdraw the week before; (3) they had never been on Nordic skis prior to arriving at the championships (NOT to be recommended); and (4) were led by a LCpl, what a tremendous performance of determination and resilience was demonstrated by all of them, supported throughout by various Race Officials. Nordic skiing is absolutely not just for ‘professional’ skiing regiments, but provides the environment to test leadership, organisation, team spirit and management, resilience and fitness, conforming in all ways to the Army Core Values. The Cross Country Relay, our first event, had been changed this season to a 4x5km Classic only race. The change met with universal approval: it was more exhilarating (for both competitors and officials, particularly at the first changeover - eg six teams finishing within 20 seconds of each other); it forced all teams to place more focus on the classic technique; and it was a true ‘sprint’, thus taking less time (still just over two hours) to complete. In half that time 1 RTR won the race, 1:53 ahead of as close to a

Mil patrol race

photo-finish as I ever want to get without that equipment: LCpl Kelly (27 TLR RLC) pipping the fast-finishing LCpl Woolley (17 P&M Regt RLC) by less than boot length, both teams being given the same time. The Women took 33% longer over the same course, 29 Regt RLC finishing five minutes ahead of 16 Regt RA. The Individual Cross Country Classic race was not as close as in previous years: LCpl Woolley was again the fastest Classic skier, nearly 54 seconds ahead of LCpl Birmingham (1 RTR). LCpl Kelly again had a close result go his way to take 3rd place - 0.1 seconds ahead of his team-mate LCpl Cassidy; the EMIT split times show that Cassidy skied the first half of the 7.5km loop about ten seconds faster, but Kelly was also 0.8 seconds up at the end of the first loop (ie at halfway). In the Women’s race, Capt Noakes (Oxford UOTC) emulated Woolley’s

LCpl Carrigan HCR Ind Biathlon

performance, ahead of another veteran skier SSgt Hanniver RAPTC, serving with 39 Regt RA, followed by a trio from 29 Regt RLC, who thus again took the team prize, like 1 RTR in the Men. The other change for this season, switching the order of the biathlon races, had a more mixed outcome. Competitors were more competent for the Relay, even over Maj Richard Barrett’s more testing course, but less prepared for the Individual with its four shoots, and the officials were still trying to catch up with producing the Individual results in the wee small hours AFTER the following day’s Relay. In the Individual event, the increased emphasis on shooting accuracy benefits all competitors, as they invariably learn much more about shooting whilst under psychological and physiological pressure. Even though 2,232 penalty loops were skied by all competitors (an average of 12 targets missed out of the 20 presented), some of this was due to competitors having to practice in the previous day’s bitterly biting wind across the range; thankfully that was the worst that the weather gods threw at us, and not on a race day. The best shooting was by the Men’s race winner, LCpl Fuller (1 RTR), with only three misses; a small handful missed five or six, and the majority of the top 50 missed 7-9 targets. Only one person (to be nameless!) missed all (his) targets. Whilst 1 RTR won both Men’s races, with 16 Regt RA and 17 P&M Regt RLC 2nd and 3rd in both, the women from 16 Med Regt just (by 38 seconds) got their noses in front of Oxford UOTC in the Individual, but Oxford swept ahead of 29 Regt RLC in the Relay. The snowfall before the Military Patrol Race thwarted the planner’s desire to provide a good proportion of off-piste skiing. As soon as one team decided to remove their skis to wade through the snow it made it so much harder than we expected for even the better skiers to keep their skis on. Skis, even ‘skinny’ ones, are designed to spread the wearer’s weight so that Ind biathlon

‘The development of all units and individuals over the ten days was plain to see, as the intensity of the races and the demands of the courses grew throughout’

Contact Ex Spartan Hike Secretary Ex Spartan Hike Maj J Smith (V) RAPTC e: ex-spartanhike@awsa.org.uk Military Patrol Race

they remain on top of the snow. So there is no denying that Lt Col Peter Riches RE, in his final SPARTAN HIKE act after such a valuable 20-year contribution as an official, provided a particularly physical challenge - one that was not appreciated (at least as we wished) by all! 27 TLR RLC, with a latish draw, went one better than their Cross Country results, winning in fine style and showing that it was their skating technique rather than shooting that held them back in the Biathlon races. The Scottish Transport Regiment RLC(V) won their first TA race, in 6th place overall, and Oxford UOTC led in the women. The best shooting performance was shared by 1 RTR, in third place, and Exeter UOTC (in 19th). By finishing second in both Individual races, LCpl Birmingham (1 RTR) retained the overall Individual Combination Championship; the two race winners were second and third: LCpl Woolley (17 P&M Regt RLC) and LCpl Fuller (1 RTR), last year’s runner-up slipping one place. Last year’s Novice/Junior Champion, Gnr

4x5Km Cross Country Relay start

Fountain (16 Regt RA) moved up to fourth, whilst the best of this year’s novices were officers: Lts Thomas (HCR) and Pickering (24 Cdo Engr Regt RA). The Junior Champion was Tpr Massey (HCR), whilst Pte Howes (29 Regt RLC) had to settle for second place for the second year. The TA Champion was again the veteran Chief of Course Maj Barrett (162 Regt RLC(V)), with the two pushing him closest being JUO Smith (Oxford UOTC) and the Novice Tpr Stradis (HAC). The women’s stand-out performer was Capt Noakes, Oxford UOTC’s TA coach, ahead of SSgt Hanniver RAPTC (39 Regt RA) and Capt Burke AGC(SPS) (4 Regt AAC). The leading Novice was Pte Price (29 Regt RLC) in fourth place. Overall, 1 RTR were the Champion unit, ahead of 17 P&M Regt RLC and 16 Regt RA. Oxford UOTC pipped HAC for the TA title on countback, after the latter discarded too much weight after the Weigh-out for the Military Patrol Race. 29 Regt RLC were the Ladies’ Champions, ahead of 16 Regt RA and 16 Med Regt, the latter again

on Patrol Race count-back; Oxford UOTC swept the Ladies’ TA Championship ahead of Exeter UOTC. Demonstrating the strength in depth at SPARTAN HIKE this year, 16 male teams (over half the field!) qualified for the Army Championships. Whilst it is difficult to directly compare with ease relative performances at two different championships (SPARTAN HIKE and PIPEDOWN), it was only on the margins that a PIPEDOWN team or two had any basis for protest; even then, a more statistical comparison of individual performances achieved the same qualification outcome. A lesson for all, whether at SPARTAN HIKE or PIPEDOWN: keep skiing hard all the way to the finish line, whatever the effect (or not) on placings, as qualification will be computed from race times. Finally, heartfelt gratitude is due to all the volunteer officials who make the championship possible. Some of us seem to be hard to usurp, but new blood is always required and warmly welcomed, TA or Regular; we all have to move on at some stage!

Ex PIPEDO Capt Dave Belam MBE RA

Whenever an organisation sets out to deliver an event which ‘creates the perfect environment for competitors to concentrate on racing and performing’, it will only ever mean one thing; the bar will need to be set very high. Blessed by perfect conditions, Ex PIPEDOWN 13 saw over 200 racers of various flavours (Alpine and Nordic) descend on the charming village of Les Contamines, for the 19th time, to conduct a festival of winter sport for all. With 7 (Armd) Bde committed to Op HERRICK 19, and 20 (Armd) Bde deep into Foundation Training, numbers this year were slightly down on previous years but this served to open the competition up and it was very much anyone’s game. Last year’s meagre conditions across the Alps were mitigated by almost too much snow this year. The valley was set to witness ‘fair play’ at its very best on the Nordic courses and the Alpine slopes were brimming with life, sunshine and nerve, or was it nerves? The whole event was cloaked in a feeling that was both spirited and thrilling. Perhaps we all had too much sun. In these times of austerity, there is an ubiquitous feeling of the need to justify every penny spent. On Ex PIPEDOWN 13, this feeling was never present, and anyone who has experienced this exercise, for regular units from British Forces Germany and North UK region, would certainly understand this phenomenon. The use of terms such as determination, courage, endeavour, leadership and condition all seem so cliché nowadays; they are used that often but, when all is said and done, they are the very elements that stand out. They are MUST HAVE qualities and were present in all of those that took part. Unlike last year, there was no bad location to train within Europe and teams came to the

exercise from Norway, Sweden, France and Austria. It is not through a lack of determination that only a few of these athletes will ever make the top echelons of sport and represent their country, after all, most don’t take up these sports until their late teens. But to challenge oneself is what British soldiers do best and, for at least a couple of months of the year, they take on the mantle of the professional athlete. Superb conditions, sheer dogged determination and pure talent from athletes meant those who were lucky enough to witness performances first hand were left in awe. It was remarked by more than one ‘old hand’ that, the standard of competitor and the continuous demonstration of sportsmanship and fair play were better this year than ever. A team of six young soldiers, led by a private, from 3 Med Regt entered the competition and were absolutely inspirational to all. In recognition of this, they were awarded, and richly deserved, the Director’s Trophy for their endeavour, sportsmanship and good humour. There were many comments about the Military Patrol Race, the principle Nordic event, which was won by 1 LSR in a storming time; all of the comments were complementary by the way! Run over a 20km course around the valley it was both challenging and satisfying; well, after a quick wipe of a snotty nose and a slurp of juice, all was forgotten and the course setters forgiven for the trauma caused. The downhill event was held on the Olympic course in Megeve for the first time and there was a nervous anticipation present for the entire event. Come the finish line, some of the usual suspects were piped at the post and Lt Duncan White, 2YORKS almost managed a clean sweep in the Alpine events, winning the Slalom, Super G and Downhill races, whilst SSgt Mark Walker, 1LSR topped the leader board in every Nordic

race. A very strong female field was led by Capt Karen Baker, 12 Regt RA who won the 10km Classic and the 7.5km Biathlon races. 1LSR were crowned the Ex PIPEDOWN 2013 Overall Champion Skiing Unit. If the HQ Offensive Support Group organising team raised the bar a few notches to deliver the perfect event, the competitors raised it further still in their endeavours. Next year will be the 20th Anniversary of the competition in Les Contamines and, although we may not be in a position to ask Her Majesty The Queen or James Bond to parachute from a helicopter; it is anticipated it will be a special event, although this year’s exercise will certainly be remembered by many for a long time to come.

Contact Ex PIPEDOWN Secretary EX PIPEDOWN Capt DMC Belam MBE RA e: ex-pipedown@awsa.org.uk

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EXERCISE PIPEDOWN

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Superb conditions, sheer dogged determination and pure talent from athletes meant those who were lucky enough to witness performances first hand were left in aweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Costs

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