44 NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2011


Danielle and Matt set the benchmark


SNOW and icy road conditions prevented the 2010 Navy Squash Championships taking place on the original dates in December and the revised dates in the new year provided a bumper number of entrants.


The competition attracted 48 squash players, helped somewhat by lowering the veterans’ qualifying age to 35 and also lowering the vintage qualifying age to 45 and re-naming that section ‘masters’, writes Lt Cdr David Cooke.


● RN men’s team captain – and highest-placed RN skier overall at Meribel – on his way to a top-fi ve fi nish in the Alpine downhill event


Pictures: LA(Phots) Aaron Hoare and Ben Sutton


Oxford and Coventry too strong


THE RN rugby union squad has now been picked ahead of this year’s defence of the Inter-Service trophy.


The team will once again be captained by Dave Pascoe (771 NAS) with Greg Barden as vice captain (Mark Owen is still recovering from the injury he suffered in last season’s win). In preparation for that crucial


Although a number of Navy standard players were unavailable, others of lesser ability enjoyed two days of squash, playing for a variety of trophies. Forty two matches were played


on Friday and as a result there were many tired legs on Saturday morning when most competitions were at the semi-fi nal stage. Familiar faces were engaged in renewing acquaintances with old adversaries as the morning progressed, and by the time the fi nals were being played, most players had played each other in the past.


The ladies competition was contained to the fi rst day and was contested by nine individuals, a record turnout in recent years. There were some very good matches with Lt Danielle Hancock (RAF Linton on Ouse) coming out tops, beating Sarah Vincent (Collingwood) in the fi nal to retain the title she won last year.


pairing of Lt Matt Ellicott RN (Liverpool) and PO(AEA) Dave Armstrong (Culdrose) beat off all opponents, young and not so young, to take that trophy, one that Armstrong had won for the past two years with different partners. In the veterans’ and masters’


In the men’s doubles a new


series, the Senior XV has enjoyed runs out against Oxford University and Coventry Night Hawks. Unfortunately the match at Oxford will be remembered for the broken leg suffered by the Oxford right wing, Luke Fenwick. Before his injury the Navy


Giant leap for skiers


events, Lt Cdr Robin Young (Temeraire) once again retained his titles against Dave Milford. The men’s plate was won by PO(AEM) ‘Smudge’ Smith (Sultan) and in the classic plate (losing quarter fi nalists) WO ‘Westy’ West (40 Cdo) overcame Armstrong whose legs were beginning to give at that stage! S/Lt Barry Crosswood (Collingwood) won an U25 competition that produced a disappointing number of entries but in the veterans’ plate competition (a necessity as a result of the record number of players in that category) WO Neil Mansey (Cdo Logs Regt) was triumphant. The men’s fi nal was destined to produce a different winner from last year’s men’s and Under 25 champion, Mne Nick Jezeph, was unavailable.


captain, Lt Ellicott eased into the fi nal. His opponent was ‘new kid on the block’ Musn Mark Hambly (RM Band Portsmouth) who had played extremely well in the early rounds but found Ellicott to hot to handle. Both contributed to some very good rallies, but it was Ellicott’s experience that got it in three straight games. Temeraire also hosted the Inter-Services over three days last month.


5-0, but the RAF veterans avenged that whitewash, despatching the Navy veterans by the same scoreline.


The U25s trounced the RAF  Continued on page 42


The RN ladies suffered a similar fate to a very strong Army outfi t as did the Seniors against the RAF, who had former Navy champion Flt Lt Damien May (ex Captain RM) in the ranks. On day two the Army U25’s made short work of a depleted


Predictably current Navy


won the Inter-Services. 2011. The moon landings are a dim memory consigned to the history books and Concorde is a museum piece but the Royal Navy Men’s Alpine Ski Team won the Inter-Service Snow Sports Championships, writes Lt Cdr Debs Bhattacharya. The 42 years between victories


1969. Man set foot on the moon, Concorde took to the skies and the Royal Navy Alpine Ski Team


Service event behind the Army but ahead of the RAF, the team faced a close competition in the Super-G.


were not years spent in a white, barren wilderness but they were peppered with individual successes for generations of team members across the four disciplines: downhill, super-giant slalom, giant slalom and slalom. However, the team has lacked the strength in depth required to perform consistently well across all disciplines in order to win the overall championship. It has always been a challenge to get the best skiers from the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines together for the two weeks of training and then the two weeks of competition that lead up to the fi nal week at Inter-Service level. A solution to this was to grow a large pool of competitive skiers from which to draw on and this has been the team’s aim over the last fi ve or six years. To grow that pool of athletes from the recreational skiers who gain a taste for racing at the Royal Navy Alpine Ski and Snowboarding Championships requires an instructor who is able to deal with the broad range of abilities and who is committed to the team in the long term. That man is Arthur Steiner, an Austrian race trainer – and without him the RN team would not have tasted success this year.


Skiing hard on Super-G day, fi ve of the RN team broke into the top ten splitting apart the three Army and two RAF skiers. Moreover, the Army men faced the dilemma of failing to get a minimum of four of their nominated team of six men down the course which meant that they could no longer qualify for an overall team event. da


With two days and fourays and four races to go,o,


threw the RN and RAF into direct competition for the overall championship. The RAF fought hard but,


on all


in mind that the four fastest times from a six- strong team are all important – and despite their two fastest men squeezing ahead of their respectiv e numbers in the RN – the reverse was true for the number three and four positions.


bearing a


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As a result, they could not generate sufficient points in the remaining events to break the RN’s lead. In all it was


Success in the men’s team competition was rooted in the performance of the team in the speed events of downhill and super-giant slalom (‘Super G’). Carrying the most race points, the team has built upon its experience in these events over the past three years by participating in the Army downhill and the Royal Navy’s Super-G during the respective single-Service competitions.


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Placing second in the Inter-


Rob Corcoran and Lt Cdr Debs Bhattacharya in fi fth and sixth respectively. However, all six men achieved top ten positions with Lt Thomas Hetherington in eighth and Capt Stu Hamilton RM placed ninth. The challenge in growing a pool of racers for selection to the ladies alpine team has always been greater than that faced by the men and the ladies were only able to front fi ve skiers this year. Of thes Lt HllyHolly CPO


O S


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The 2011 season was by no means the end of a development programme and we certainly cannot rest on our laurels. However, it did mark the


most of the events.


Lt Katie Steele chased the other ladies hard proving that we have the elements required for success in the future.


most of the events Although in her


ladies hard proving the elements requir in the future.


Although in her fi rst tie Steele cha


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a fantastic team effort from the RN but there were some stunning individual results. The RN Men’s captain,


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Chris Sharrott, was placed in the top fi ve in every race and gained a podium third in the Super-G. This consistency led to him coming second in the overall competition and he was closely followed by Lt Cdr Alex Johnson in fourth place followed by Lt


Lt


The ladies overall results left Lt Dennis in that most cruel of positions – fourth place. That result did not do justice to her podium fi nishes in giant slalom and slalom where she came 2nd nor did it refl ect her fourth place in the Super-G and sixth place in the downhill. This was undoubtedly the strongest RN Ladies individual result in years.


The ladies o era positions – fourth


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result did not do j podium fi nishes in and slalom where nor did it refl ect her the Super-G and sixt This was


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weeks, CPO Strong put in a fi ne performance,


Downhill, 8th in Super-G and Giant Slalom and 6th in Slalom. The fact that Helen Taylor placed 11th and 9th in the Downhill and Super-G respectively demonstrates that Ladies Team is growing in strength.


Missing the fi rst two training placing 10th in


hot on Lt


very nasty accident in week one. Cpl Hannah Trudgeon was also enjoying her second season after a break of three years and was hot on Lt Taylor’s heels in


of three y


enjoying season


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Of these only two – Lt Holly Dennis and CPO(PT) Carol Strong – have been in the team for more than two seasons. That did not prevent Lt Helen Taylor putting in a very gutsy performance in her secondiin season, following a


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beginning of a new impetus to generate winning teams in the future. Success breeds success and, although by this time next year three of this year’s winning men’s team will have left the Service, their places will be fi lled by keen young skiers who trained with the team this season. If you want to take your skiing


to that level, contact Lt Cdr Debs Bhattacharya,


discipline manager, at GANNET- CO@mod.uk or 93263 4370/ 01292 674370.


the Alpine


 More winter sports on page 43


had started well and were rightly rewarded with an early penalty converted by Pascoe. A period of sustained pressure forced the University side to concede a couple of penalties in their own 22. Electing not to kick for goal the Navy were rewarded from a fi ve-metre lineout when Ben Priddey (Culdrose) went over for the fi rst try of the game, following a catch and drive by Nial Copeland (Collingwood) the try went unconverted for an 8-0 lead at half time. The second period started with the Navy being forced to defend for long periods. Oxford’s pressure was deservedly rewarded by an unconverted try from their No 8 and captain Stu McKeen. That was followed by the


fi rst of two tries from Oxford replacement Luke Jones, sandwiching a score by fl y half Hugh Guinness to give the students a 22-8 lead. The Navy had the last


word and following a period of continuity which created the opening for Dale Sleeman (Cumberland) to cross for the RN’s second unconverted try to make the fi nal score 22-13. Against the Night Hawks, the 1st XV suffered their second defeat, not helped by the most lacklustre fi rst half of rugby seen from the Navy for some years. With the honourable exception of Ian Cooper (Ambush) no-one in a Navy shirt could honestly say they acquitted themselves well and the 27-0 half-time lead


 Continued on page 46


Published by Navy News, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth and printed by St Ives (Roche) plc.


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