9th-12th-Lancers - Year 1985 - Page 0087
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
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THE 9THJ’12TH ROYAL LANCERS REGIMENTAL JOURNAL Exercise Sparkling Diamond | tCarvcr negotiates the Special Slalom al the RAC Championships at Vcrhier. The Regimental Downhill Skiing Team For the first time in recent years the Regimental team won a place at the Army Championships, and went on to notch up some very respectable results. This was due in no small part to a generous grant from the Regiment for equipment and, the undoubted success of the RAC Training Camp. In return, the team hopefully proved that such investment was worthwhile by becoming the top cavalry team in lst Armoured DivisionI with a 3rd place in the Championships out of a field of 21 teams. Then going on to win a 61h place as a team in the Army Downhill Race. The final squad, which consisted of Lt Carver, Lt Crawshay, 2Lt Cooke, LCpl Hammond, Tpr Randell and Tpr Thomas, was picked from a group of hopefuls in the Autumn and by lst November last year had started dry training. This consisted of the multi- gym, running and trampolining (to get used to ‘head-planting'!) On the [st December in the wee hours of the morning, the team landrover pulled out of camp for Verbier only to return 3 times for forgotten ski boots, skis, gloves and lucky mascots, to the great amusement of the guard and the embarrassment of those driving! For the next six weeks in Verbier, which had always thought of itself as a large resort, was overrun by BFG land- rovers, all painted every colour of the rainbow — ours was possibly the most unusual with a grey and black warpaint thanks to Tpr Thomas. English became the universal language and ”Flash- Sloane” the common dress .... if it wasn’t already with 250 chalet girls working there! In spite of the distractions and the possibilities for posing, the training undoubtedly took priority lasting from 08.30 — 1600 hrs every day. However, from the start we seemed to be dogged by bad luck. Lt Crawshay broke his ankle on the second day — to the dis- belief of the team and the absolute dismay of the chalet girls. His was the only breakage of the training camp and proved to be a bitter blow. Then near- disaster struck again when Tpr Randell developed a septic foot missing a fortnight of valuable training and Tpr Thomas had a mid-air collision with 2Lt Cooke. (Minor instances such as loss of ski passes, chalet keys. ski breakages seemed trivial in comparison, but abounded!) in retrospect, the training could have been much more aggressive and racing- orientated. Neverthelss, the experience, especially the last week, was invaluable. Lt Carver came 6th overall in the RAC Championships and Tpr Thomas picked up best novice in both slalom and giant slalom — a trick which we was to repeat at the Divisional Champsiortships. These were once again held at Axams in Austria and for the first time in 3 years included a downhill race. The most important lesson we learnt at 1“ iii; l.t Cooke at \"erbier posing for the Chalet girls! 85 |
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