Inter Services 09
Inter Services - 22 Jul 09
By Flt Lt Ben Trapnell
A fantastic day of competition at the Tidworth Oval saw high drama, with close fought battles throughout the day that culminated in a titanic clash in the relays with everything at stake for the Teams involved. The highlight of the match for many was Fg Off Ester Sandiford finishing off a jam packed season by hurling her Discus out to set a new Personal Best (PB), and in the process breaking an Inter Service Record that was set in 1977. At the time of going to press this will put her 14th on the UK Ranks for 2009!
The RAF Women’s Team excelled all expectation through skill, guile and utter determination - their effort provided the Army with no respite throughout the entire competition and the women’s impressive display of team cohesion was noted throughout the fixture.
Cpl Laura McGawn earned herself 6 Gold medals, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze as well as 2 new PBs in the Shot and Javelin. Newcomer, Cpl Sam Hodges showed her class taking Gold in the 200m and 400m and Silver in the 100m. In addition to her Gold medal and Inter Service Record in the Discus, Fg Off Ester Sandiford took a Bronze in the Shot with a throw of 10.94 another PB. SAC Caroline Livingstone took a break in her Out Of Area in Al Udied to fly back and take home a Bronze in the 400m. Fg Off Stacey Kirby and Cpl Tamsyn Rutter took Silver and Bronze respectively in the 800m, both setting new PBs of 2:23:07 and 2:25:47. Sqn Ldr Jo Roe provided a gutsy performance in the 5000m earning Bronze.
The women’s team shared holistically the self-belief that they could beat the Army and this was key to their performance throughout the day whether competing or supporting one another. RAF colours were awarded to Flt Lt Rebecca Screech, Sgt Emma Kerslake, Cpl Sam Hodges, Cpl Laura Silva and LAC Sophia Pegg. Overall there were 6 PBs and Fg Off Ester Sandifords IS shattering discus throw was a notable highlight.
Disappointingly the Women’s Team wasn’t able to pull off last years relay double victory. The last 2 events proved to be agonising, winning the 4x100 and coming second in the 4x400 culminating in losing to the Army by the narrowest of margins – 1 point. However despite the loss this is the closest that the Women’s team has come to winning the IS since 1996, over the past couple of years the team has been steadily increasing in strength and depth and next year they really will be a force to be reckoned with!
In the men’s competition a developing squad put on a brave show and hinted at the potential to really cause problems for the Army in the next few years! The competition saw many athletes put in Herculean efforts, with many competing in multiple events and a large proportion gaining Seasons Best's (SB's) and PB's.
Cpl Stu Benson, fresh from the UK World Trials the week before, won the 100 and 200m repeating the sprint double he achieved the year before. Flt Lt Nav Childs completed a hectic programme, taking Golds in both the Long and Triple jumps with last round leaps before moving on to take 4th place in the 200m to reinforce the form he showed in the UK World Trials the week before in the Triple Jump. The Triple Jump also saw the return of Sqn Ldr Dion Wooler from Oman for a special apprearance!
Sgt Bob Kingman put in a fantastic effort to post a SB in the Pole Vault ensuring an RAF one two along with Cpl Alex Williams who then dashed off to compete in the Long Jump! SAC Daz Robinson, battled through a tough 400mH race, never giving up and was rewarded with a new season's best, ducking under the 56sec barrier for the first time in a number of years showing he is back to scorching form. The distance events were a close fought affair with the Army and Navy gaining the upper hand this year but a very tactical 5000m for Cpl Matt Blunden resulting in a sprint finish and a gutsy charge from Flt Lt Tom Bailey with 800m to go gave everyone something to cheer about.
The Men’s 4 x 100m relay was a close fought battle, which saw the finish come down to a photo finish with the Army taking a contentious gold on the line which will only serve to fire the squad up for next years challenge.
The day saw many new athletes representing the Royal Air Force for the first time and bodes well for the future of the Association with SAC Iain Ashall, Sgt John Currie, AC Travis Culverwell, SAC Oz Ellis, SAC Jamie Davis, SAC Tom Mitchell, AC Tom Harvey all receiving their Royal Air Force colours for the first time. Worthy of special mention are Iain, Jamie and John. Iain has improved no end in the 400m this season and is knocking on the door of the 50 sec club! Jamie, a new find from the RAF Champs has impressed everyone with his talent for the Javelin following very little technical training, breaking through the 40m barrier with a Seasons Best and with a solid winter behind him the Army should be on their guard next year. John has returned to athletics after a long lay off but with season's bests in both the Hammer and the Discus on the day he looks to be coming back into form.
There were many more fantastic performances during the day but the key theme was that everyone put their heart and sole into the match and raised their game on the day.
Speaking from track side RAFAA President, AVM Paul Evans said ‘Its been a fantastic day with everyone putting in 100%, even thought the result did not go our way the team spirit I’ve seen today means that things can only get better and bodes well for taking on the Army and Royal Navy next year on our home turf at Cosford!’
The night ended with the traditional End of Season dinner and saw the Athletes of the year trophy presented to SAC Tony Higbee for his titanic efforts throughout the season despite recovering from a serious injury the year before. Highlights of the season have been reaching low 14 sec times again in the 110mH and helping the men's decathlon team to team gold by winning the silver medal at the Inter Service Multi Event Champs.
This marks the end of the official track and field season that has seen the team compete at venues as diverse as Cosford, Guernsey and Portugal, against some of the best athletes the UK has to offer. The athletes can now look forward to a rest before travelling to the Royal Braemar Gathering in September to compete in from of the Queen. To find out more, check out the rest of the website.
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