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46 NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2010


Rare triumph for Yeovilton


AFTER a nine-year wait, RNAS Yeovilton Golf Society (YGS) has Þ nally managed to win the Aylward Cup in Guernsey. Now in its 27th year this


prestigious event is played in its traditional slot of the last Sunday in September and is an annual event between the YGS and Royal Guernsey Golf Club (RGGC). In the format of a Ryder Cup- style four-ball match-play, the event commenced in 1983 as a memorial to LA Cecil Aylward who was killed in an aircraft accident at Yeovilton in 1945. The match and cup were subsequently named in honour of Cecil and in recognition of the ongoing relationship between Yeovilton and Guernsey; members of CecilÕs family still regularly take part in the event. Yeovilton have only managed


two victories in the tournamentÕs history (1988 and 2001). The 2008 and 2009 matches ended in ties, so the YGS team were more determined than ever to take the next step and win the event. With the weather unusually good for the time of year in the Channel Islands, team captain CPO Nige Pogson explains how the team played to success:


James Thompson, and I won the Þ rst match of the day with a convincing Þ ve and four victory. ÒThe pairings of WO1 John Sheldon and Lt ÔDutchyÕ Holland, Bobby Shafto and WO1 Pete Edwards and Steve Reece and Lt Paul Mitchell also gained impressive victories on a demanding links course, with the vital half point being supplied by CPO Nick Carter and Andy Sinclair.


ÒMy playing partner, CPO


Picture: PO(AWT) Dutchy Holland


Lifting makes us feel good


THE Combined Services Powerlifting Championships proved a very successful day even though the Royal Navy were edged into second place by the Army.


The Senior Service fi elded a team of six lifters: Lt Adam Cooper, Cpl Mark Fleming, LMA John Strange, AB Niall Duncan, AET Simon Cataldo and AET John Locker.


Four of the lifters competed in the full power event with the exception of Lt Cooper, who only benched, and AB Duncan who only deadlifted because of pre-existing injuries. Before the start of lifting at RAF Wittering – the new home of Combined Services powerlifting – all 45 competitors were tested by the Compulsory Drugs Test team as powerlifting aims to assert itself as the lead sport in drug-free competitions across the three Services. The competition started well with AET John Locker getting a personal best in the squat of 120kg.


Riders race for Jamie


ÒThis ensured a total of 4½ points for the YGS preventing the RGGC from retaining the trophy once again.Ó YeoviltonÕs golf society is made up of approximately 90 members of all ranks, retired ex-servicemen and civilians employed at RNAS Yeovilton. Over 50 of those members have represented Yeovilton at some stage in the past year against other South-West golf clubs, military units including teams from Bovington and Bicester Garrison and one from Yeovil Police.


seasonÕs closing event and the team is made up of those whom have played the most amount of matches throughout the season and the YGS committee,Ó explained Nige.


ranging from six up to 24 the team is never selected on skill, leaving the opportunity to play in the event open to all abilities of golfer.Ó Tradition dictates that the


Aylward Cup remains stored in the trophy cabinet at the RGGC clubhouse, preventing the Heron golfers showing off their trophy back at Yeovilton. But for a short while the 2010 team managed to get their hands on the cup, a feat that 24 other Yeovilton teams have tried Ð but failed Ð to achieve.


Trustee sought


THE Naval Service Sports Charity is looking for a trustee to support its work. The charity distributes non- public funds for the beneÞ t of sport in the Senior Service. These funds, which come from SABS, VSSS, investments and charitable donations, are distributed as grants to RN/RM sports associations and Command sports funds, for coaching and to support individual athletes. The role of a Trustee is to ensure that the Charity is run efÞ ciently and that support to Sport is fairly distributed. The majority of the activity will centre on board meetings which are generally three times a year. More information and


application forms can be obtained from Norman Jackson, company secretary, on nssc-cs@sky.com or 07512 857 806. The closing date is December 5 2010.


ÒWith handicaps this year ÒThe Guernsey trip is the


POET(ME) Matt Page Ð riding as Team Royal Navy Racing Ð negotiates the Thruxton track in an emotional Round 14 of the North Gloucester Road Racing Club (NGRRC) 2010 Championship, writes PO(AWT) Dutchy Holland, HMS Collingwood. The senior rating from HMS Dragon represented the Royal Navy Motor Cycle Club on his Suzuki SV 650, competing in the Open 600 and Minitwin classes. With free practice due to start at 9am, organisers


postpone the session by an hour and a half because of fog covering the full 2.4 miles of the fastest circuit in the UK.


As the fog lifted the organisers decided to


decided to go ahead with the practice sessions. Matt went out in practice three


on wet tyres Ð the track was still damp from the previous nightÕs downpour although dry lines were appearing so the wets were only just about viable.


The team entered the Open 600 class for some extra practice at this seldom-ridden circuit. With most machines having


between a 30-45 BHP power advantage over MattÕs Minitwin, the team were delighted to qualify for the main Open 600 race with a time of 1m 30.05s and an average speed of 94mph, placing the RN 30th on the grid.


By the time of the RNMCCÕs


main event, the Minitwin class, the track had dried for qualifying, with only the odd damp patch around the circuit to catch out anyone who strayed off line. After just Þ ve laps Royal Navy Racing had secured a front-row start for the afternoonÕs race, having moved up from 13th on the grid to 4th, another good result that put a podium Þ nish within reach.


was suspended and the NGRRC held a one-minute silence to remember PO Jamie Adam, a North Gloucester Road Racing Club member who lost his life competing at the Isle of Man GP in the summer.


In the mid-afternoon all racing


own Stig (no we canÕt identify him...) took JamieÕs bike Ð with its trademark commando livery Ð for one last lap. Throughout the weekendÕs racing all bikes wore memorial stickers with a picture of Jamie on their motorcycles as a mark of respect for the work he had done for the club. When


the Open 600 race got under way. Unfortunately MattÕs trusty steed gave up on lap two with a slipping clutch.


was packed away and the hard earned front-row grid position in the later Minitwin class was left empty.


Royals edge Inter-Commands


AFTER a hard-fought and well-played


contest, the Inter-


Command Championships reached a thrilling conclusion with the Royal Marines pitted against Portsmouth at Victory Stadium. In a tight Þ rst half Portsmouth


narrowly edged ahead with a goal from the penalty spot by AET Danny Cummins in the 19th minute. Cummins is relatively new to the Service and showed some good movement and strength of character to step up and successfully convert the spot kick. Following an inspired half- time team talk, the Royals unsurprisingly came out and took the game to Portsmouth. In a deadly 15-minute spell Mne Mick Husband (62 min) and Mne Lee Hildreth (75 min) took their chances to put the Royals in the lead.


Both goalkeepers put in outstanding displays to keep the scores down and after a tough match involving two evenly- matched teams the Royal Marines ran out winners. A Þ ne individual performance by Mne Danny Fox, in which he was dominant in midÞ eld, proved to be the difference and rightly earned him the man of the match award and the Royal Marines the title of Inter Command champions for 2010.


The Inter Commands are the


curtain-raiser to the new season and you can look forward to hearing how our representative teams get on in future editions. As ever, we are keen to hear about Royal Navy football at all


levels and wherever you are


deployed. Contact Lt Cdr Neil Horwood (398-lo@a.dii.mod.uk) with your match results, along with photographs. Meanwhile, you might see the


face of PO David ÔJackyÕ McNamara around EnglandÕs football grounds in coming months. The


rating, currently serving at RAF Waddington, is one of half a dozen or so Ôordinary folkÕ chosen to front a national campaign aimed at fostering grass roots coaches and officials. The Football Association wants to find 50,000 new coaches and 8,000 fresh referees within the


senior


next two years. David,


former England and Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux and ITV presenter Ben Shephard to head the Football Needs You campaign. As well as posters, the campaign


features cinema ads (also viewable online) and is part of a £200m


and


up with an air steward, teacher, singer


from Preston, firefighter...


lined plus


With no spare available, the bike racing As a tribute, the RNÕs very recommenced,


LMA John Strange squatted 180kg in the 125kg class for a new RN record and then Cpl Mark Fleming went on to squat the highest amount in the tournament with 217.5kg. It was encouraging to see that all female entrants competed in each of the three disciplines and equally impressive was that the RAF managed to fi eld a team of ten female lifters. While their respective


standards varied, all the female competitors showed a great deal of enthusiasm.


Indeed, one lesson taken


away from the day was the need to grow the number of female lifters if the Royal Navy are to compete for all Combined Services titles in the future.


The bench event saw the largest number of competitors with the Army having a large contingent of bench-only specialists.


John Locker set another personal best with a bench of 117.5kg.


The largest bench of the day went to Capt Neil Thomas from the Army who successfully benched 180kg and attempted 190kg.


Again Cpl Mark Fleming gave a very impressive display by benching 170kg despite only weighing in at 80kg. The deadlift event was a


fi tting fi nale to the day, with four out of the six Navy lifters hitting personal bests.


AET John Locker gained his


third PB of the day by pulling 180kg.


● Sailor (and referee) PO David McNamara (centre) at the launch of the Football Needs You campaign with former England star Graeme Le Saux (second from right) and TV presenter Ben Shephard (third from left)


Onside with Lt Cdr Neil Horwood, RNFA


N


initiative by the FA to support the national game at the grass roots level.


In the petty officerÕs case, refereeing is his passion. ÒI kind of had an epiphany at 33 when I realised I had hit my playing peak, and needed something else to keep me in football,Ó he explains. ÒRefereeing has enabled me to stay in the game I love.Ó Since that epiphany, the senior


rating has risen through the referee rankings and now officiates almost to Football League level. More


information


campaign at footballneedsme.


thefa.com/ on the


AET Simon Cataldo lifted a healthy 200kg but clearly had spare capacity for more. And AB Niall Duncan then surprised himself by pulling an easy personal best of 210kg. In the second deadlift fl ight, LMA John Strange pulled a new Navy record with a personal best of 240kg in the 125kg class before Cpl Mark Fleming closed the personal bests by pulling a massive 260kg – despite not deadlifting since April. When the time came for the prizes the RAF swept up all of the female lifter awards due to the strength in numbers of their team.


Best individual squat, bench and deadlift awards all went to Army individuals, however Cpl Fleming won the best full power lifter award.


Consequently, having checked the record books it turned out that Mark had missed out on a world record by a mere 10kg, a situation he will no doubt address at the World Championships this month.


When the points were totalled, the Air Force were placed third (better known as last!), and the Royal Navy were squeezed into second place by the Army by a measly three points.


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