48 NAVY NEWS, JULY 2010 Next month
Sean’s time has come
Chariot ’ere – Auriga task force gets down to business
WITH his eyes fixed on the road, CPO(PT) Sean Childs powers along the Cornish lanes. It’s this single-mindedness which has earned the 39-year- old senior clubz – and mainstay of RN cycling – the honour of Sportsman of the Year. Sean, serving at HMS Raleigh, decided to concentrate his energies on cycling in 2004 after many years of success at triathlon, duathlon and running. It’s seven years since any fellow member of the Senior Service has beaten him on a time trial, and six since a soldier or airman posted better results. Last year he was part of a three-man RN/RM team which became UK 24-hour team time trial champions. In their first appearance at the
Prints of thieves – inside the Navy police’s crime house
● Mnes Robin Borum (No.13) and Karl Sullivan (No.4 – both UKLF CSG) help clear the net in front of Royal Marines keeper Tom Chamberlain (45 Cdo) during the commandos’ 2-1 victory over RAF Lossiemouth to lift the Tri-Service Command trophy Picture: Cpl Gareth Nutley, RAF Cosford
RM cream of the ice
MORE than 200 service ice hockey players converged on Ice Sheffi eld in South Yorkshire for the 2010 Combined Inter- Services and Tri-Service Command Ice Hockey
Championships. The tournament has grown from humble beginnings in 2005 into one of the largest ice hockey competitions in the UK, with over 60 hours of hockey spread over 3½ days of competition, writes Lt Cdr Alain Bernard, the out-going general secretary of the Royal Navy Ice Hockey Association. It’s also a competition in which the Senior Service has done well, returning with silverware every year since 2006.
Where’s the fi re? Portland ‘enjoys’ a visit from FOST in the Falklands
Plus
Wedding presence – a Royal occasion for HMS Kent
The Navy would enter four teams in the two divisions of the Tri-Service Command (TSC) element of the competition this year, a signifi cant increase over the two teams it has traditionally competed with in the past. Following the success of the fi rst RN Cup in February, teams from the Royal Marines, Navy General Service (GS) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) would compete in the Intermediate Division while the Navy Development team would battle for the Development Division Title. In addition to the Command Championships, the best players from each service would be selected from the various station, regimental and command teams to represent their parent service for the concurrent Inter-Services title during the evenings. The Navy General Service were the defending TSC champions while the Navy Inter-Services squad had secured back-to-back Forces titles in 2007 and 2008 before losing to the RAF in 2009. The TSC teams were separated into three pools for the group stage of the competition. The Royal Marines and GS teams would fi nd themselves drawn in what could arguably be described as the strongest group alongside the RAF Cup winners, RAF Benson, and runners-up, RAF Lossiemouth, in
Group A. Navy GS narrowly beat Lossiemouth to win the TSC title last year. The FAA faced the Army All-
Stars (the perennial favourites and two-time winners), RAF Leuchars and the Army Air Corps in Group B. The fi nal group contained the RLC, REME, RAF Cranwell/ Wittering and RAF Cosford. The Royal Marines fi nished second in Group A after losing a 2-1 nail-biter to RAF Lossiemouth. Their two wins and one defeat record coupled with their excellent goal difference merited a bye to the quarter fi nals as the highest- ranked second place team ahead of the Army RLC and Army Air Corps. Navy General Service fi nished
and the Navy GS side down 2-1, POET Kieran Wilson (MASF) scored to force overtime. The fi rst sudden death overtime period saw Wilson beat the REME keeper again, only to be denied by the crossbar. In the second overtime period, with legs getting tired, the Navy had to scramble to kill off a two-minute man disadvantage. With the teams at even-strength again, REME took advantage of the Navy’s short bench and scored on a fi ne individual effort with only seconds to go in the second overtime period for a 3-2 win. The Royal Marines edged
fourth in diffi cult Group A and ranked tenth overall and played seventh-place RAF Cosford in the play-offs. The FAA fi nished 12th and took on the fi fth-place Army RLC in their play-off. In the Developmental Division, despite two draws, the navy team came fourth and faced fi rst-place fi nishers RAF North in their semi- fi nal match-up. The FAA lost their play-off 6-0 against the Army RLC, despite out-shooting the opposition. The FAA’s inability to score would be their main downfall during the tournament. The RLC advanced to play the
Royal Marines in the fi rst quarter fi nal, where the marines had little diffi culty in sweeping aside their Army opponents 6-1. The Navy GS team caused
the Army All-Stars 2-1 in a tight checking game to advance to their fi rst fi nal while RAF Lossiemouth beat REME comfortably 3-0 for their third straight trip to the fi nal in as many years. In the Development Division,
defeated RAF South to face RAF North in the fi nal while the Navy beat RAF South 3-2 to take third place.
Division placement matches, the FAA lost to RAF Eastern Crusade to fi nish 12th while the Navy GS team defeated the Army Air Corps 2-1 in sudden death overtime to take seventh spot overall. The TSC Intermediate Division
In the Army TSC Intermediate
they beat the Army 3-2 in a close- fought fi nal. The top-fl ight Inter-Services
would be similar to the 2009 results with neither Navy nor Army able to signifi cantly challenge the RAF’s deep and balanced squad. Despite scoring fi rst, the Senior
Service lost to the RAF 5-3 in a lacklustre performance on opening night, when the scoreline could have been a lot worse if it were not for the efforts of Navy keeper Tom Chamberlain. The Navy regrouped and
dominated the Army en route to a convincing 6-0 win the following evening in a game covered by BFBS. Mne Adam Hankins (FSRT)
played another strong game in his fi nal appearance in a Navy shirt before leaving the Service in July. Hankins was voted the 2010
tournament’s most valuable player having dominated Forces hockey for the past three years; he was one of the main reasons that the Navy won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. The Navy’s one win and one
defeat record meant they needed the Army to defeat the RAF by more than three goals (but less than seven) to deliver a 2010
the fi rst upset, eliminating RAF Cosford (who had fi nished three places ahead of them) 6-0 for a quarter-fi nal clash with REME. In the Development Division, the Navy lost an overtime heartbreaker 1-0 to RAF North. A scoreless draw after regulation time led to sudden death overtime when a fl uke long distance shot would catch the Navy keeper off- guard to give the RAF team a place in the fi nal. The Navy GS and REME
quarter-fi nal provided one of the most thrilling games of the tournament. With less than two minutes to go in regulation time
fi nal between the Royal Marines and RAF Lossiemouth proved to be another very close game, similar to that between the two teams in the group stages. The match saw excellent end- to-end action with plenty of action for both keepers. After the teams exchanged goals in the fi rst and second periods, the score remained tied 1-1 until mid-way through the third period when the commandos slipped another one past the RAF Lossiemouth keeper. The RAF were unable to beat Mne Tom Chamberlain (45 Cdo) again, the marine being solid throughout the tournament.
Royal Marines lifted the TSC trophy in their fi rst participation, ensuring the TSC Intermediate Division title remained within the Naval Service for the second year running. The Development Division went to RAF North after
The 2-1 result meant the Call today
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Continued on page 47
event, CPO Childs and his fellow cyclists achieved a combined total of 1,386 miles, the best combined distance for nearly 18 years. The 39-year-old clocked up a total of 492.41 miles in the race, setting a new Combined Service record and maintaining an average speed of 20 miles per hour throughout. He missed out on the individual honours by just five miles. He also went on to win the
Welsh 12-hour title with a distance of 277.4 miles (his fourth Welsh title) and was ranked Britain’s No.1 long- distance all-rounder. The senior rating was presented with the NATO Cup by Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir Alan Massey aboard HMS Victory.
“It is a massive achievement to be recognised in such a manner and it is the result of years of hard work, commitment and sacrifice,” said Sean. “Mixing a 50-60 hour working
week along with raising a young family, whilst trying to train and compete at the highest possible standard is a challenge in itself. I am lucky that my wife is so understanding.”
Most recently CPO Childs competed in the Inter-Service ten and 25-mile time trial and achieved the fastest times in both events to take the individual and team titles with two other members of the RNRMCA. It was Sean’s eighth ten-mile title and his sixth consecutive 25-mile title. The RNRMCA were the winners of the team event for the sixth consecutive year.
From there the senior rating Continued on page 47
The Royal Navy, Army
and Royal Air Force compete at Lord’s for the
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