BA (G) Climbing
Competition Despite heavy commitments in the lead-up to BATUS, 9 members of C Company were made available to represent the Battalion in the BA (G) Climbing Competition held in the Big Wall Klettercentrum in Ahlen near Sennelager. Over 100 entrants from 20 different units took part. As with most of the other competitors, this was the first such event for the majority of our team. This didn’t hold them back though and there were strong performances from Pte Harper and Pte Fletcher, still in their first month in the battalion. The competition format was simple: everyone had one attempt at each of the four qualifying routes. Each route was scored out of 100 giving a maximum possible score of 400. These scores were used to divide the competitors into Elite, Open and Novice categories. There was then a final route for each category to determine the overall placings. The results were:
Elite Category: Open Category:
Novice Category: Lt Coutts 1st
Pte Harper 23rd LCpl O’Brien 33rd LCpl Bridgart LCpl Knowles LCpl Gardner Pte Fletcher Cpl Brookes Pte Bulla
Team Placings:
3 MERCIAN A 3 MERCIAN C 3 MERCIAN B
5th 7th
12th 14th 16th 30th 10th 18th 20th
grow with WO2 (CSM) Thompson and SSgt Bone wanting a piece of the action.
Since the concept became reality, TEAM MERCIAN has competed in a number of events, the first being the Army Cycling Championships which were held at Upavon on Fri 2nd October 2009. Six members of the team competed in the novice race - Capt Harrington, WO2 (CSM) Thompson, SSgt Bone, SSgt Foley, Sgt Trelfa and LCpl Sutherland. This proved to be a good start for the team in which SSgt Foley finished 6th and Capt Harrington 26th.
Since then, the team has grown from strength to strength and now has 15 recognised cyclists at different standards. On Sun 18th October 2009, Capt Harrington decided to test the team’s abilities and organised a 60 km hill training session in the Hartz Mountains which was enjoyed by all who attended the event. Then, on Friday 23rd October 2009, two teams competed in the BAG (G) 60 km 5-man Team Time Trials around the Hohne range road and came a respectable 6th and 7th out of 16 teams.
Cpl Brookes at the BAG Climbing Championships
Cycling Club
by Capt Harrington Upon returning from summer leave and having recently moved from Tidworth to Bad Fallingbostel, some mad cyclists decided to start up a Battalion team. The birth of TEAM MERCIAN became a reality when Capt Steve Harrington AGC(SPS) and SSgt Dean Foley APTC decided that cycling needed a higher profile. With support from the Commanding Officer, a team strip in Mercian colours and three more cycles were purchased to enhance the two already held. The team list started to
The Mercian Eagle
Training for this year’s races was held up by the weather but is now on track. On Friday 26th March 2010, we had four teams competing in the BA (G) 40 km 3up Team Time Trial in Hohne. The route was a section of the range road which was undulating to say the least. The weather certainly held up its end of the bargain and, with 18 teams in the competition, the event was sure to be a challenge.
The results for the race were:
1st Place Team MERCIAN A: Capt Cooper, Harrington, SSgt Foley 8th Place Team MERCIAN B: Capt Ballard, WO2 Thompson 11th Place Team MERCIAN C: WO2 Bone, Sgt Werrett, Cpl Sumner 15th Place
Team MERCIAN D: WO1 Mitchell, Cpl Goffe, Cpl Bostock
I congratulate all the team members who took part. It was a great win for the Battalion and TEAM MERCIAN.
The next race is at Gütersloh on Friday 23rd Apr 2010. This will be an individual road race in which the Battalion hopes to place well again. On Sunday 25th Apr, this season’s Hartz mountain training session begins with a gruesome 110 km ride over undulating roads through small villages, around large reservoirs and climbing some big (3 x Tour de France style) mountains up to 800 metres above sea level. Those who survive will be able to tell the tale in the next Mercian Eagle.
The Winning Team
Team MERCIAN October 2010 59
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