Page 64 - QDG Volume 9 No. 2 2021

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Basketball
With a very busy regimental calendar, combined with the ongoing impact of COVID-19, this year has been a relatively quiet one for QDG Basketball. The team have, however, found themselves reinvig- orated with a fresh drive for training now that restrictions have eased. It has been heartening to see the enthusiasm with which all the players have approached sports afternoon sessions. We’ve had a consistently high turnout of players who are keen to play and continue to improve themselves. Various regimental commit- ments have made consistent training difficult, however, those who are able to, have consistently shown up to training.
The coming year will hopefully see a resurgence in QDG Basketball, with the eventual goal of having an internal Level 2 Coach and two internal Level 1 Coaches to develop the team. New additions to the QDG team have displayed plenty of talent, with 2Lt Walsh showing particular promise. The team will look to send its members down to the RAC try-outs to ensure the QDG continues its strong tradition of representing the RAC in sport. Over the coming year the QDG Basket- ball team will again attempt to organise a two-week training camp, with the last two camps having been cancelled by COVID. This will be a fantastic opportu- nity to bond as a team and test ourselves against other teams.
After a challenging two years for sports in general, the Basketball team is looking forward to being able to throw itself back into normal sporting life, being able to play some friendly games against various other teams and have some players represent the RAC.
FH
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Sailing
The second week of September saw teams from across the Combat Arms descend on a picturesque village on the Isle of Wight, Seaview, to partake in the annual Combat Arms Regatta. Equipped with Seaview Yacht Club’s fleet of Mermaid yachts
(a brightly coloured keel
boat), we raced around
inshore courses. The inexperienced QDG team,
consisting of Lt Fulloway
and 2Lts Clark, Swailes
and Fetherstonhaugh
spent a weekend bonding
before their races began.
Over three days the team
took part in eight races, consistently finishing in
the middle of pack, with
the one exception being
a strong 2nd place finish.
The racing was thrilling,
with adrenaline fuelled
overtaking, crashing and
heckling of the House-
hold Cavalry’s team. The
weather throughout the Regatta was pleasant with varied wind, with windier races providing most of the excite- ment. When the winds died we were incredibly frustrated, our four man crew, instead of the average three man, made us considerably heavier and thus slower than most of the fleet. Despite this, we were still lighter than the 3 man Cavalry and Guards Club team. The evenings were hosted wonderfully by the Seaview Yacht Club. Our first evening was spent on the race deck enjoying champagne and canapés, we sized up our oppo-
The racing was thrilling, with adrenaline fuelled overtaking, crashing and heckling of
the Household Cavalry’s team
Parachuting
Throughout the month of October, B Sqn has been supplementing the training programme with a range of AT packages designed to stretch all ranks. In total B Sqn sent 21 soldiers on a week-long parachuting course which would eventually see 21 para- chute foundation qualifications being awarded. The week started with a day of ground training, where students learned of all the things that could go wrong. The boys quickly became acquainted with all the kit they would be using and after a quick written test we were ready for our first solo static line jump. The Tuesday morning jump was cancelled due to high winds which only prolonged the excitement, anticipation and nerves. Fortunately, the weather
improved and it wasn’t long before we boarded the single propeller plane called “the caravan”, ready to take a big leap into the unknown from 4,000 ft. The boys, despite having some nerves on the ground, were all stoic once on the aircraft and correctly made use of the stress management techniques we had been taught on the course. Once the door opened, the adrenaline pumped but the boys remained calm and one by one exited the aircraft. We all quickly learnt that enthusiasm to leave the aircraft is no substitute for technique, Tpr Eade nearly back-flipped and Tpr Dempsey’s twisted parachute caused a few seconds of panic. It was not long before we were all gliding towards the ground and were enjoying the awesome