Page 144 - RAPTC Number 102 2018/19

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EX SABRES SAFARI 3 – RAPTC ORIENTEERING OVERSEAS SPORTS VISIT
SSgt (SSI) R Harrison RAPTC and Sgt (SI) T Steele RAPTC
At the end of October 2018, the RAPTC Orienteering Team embarked on Ex SABRES SAFARI 3, an Overseas Sports Visit (OSV) to Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy. The team of seven comprised: Maj Steve Collinson, Maj Chris Deed, Maj ‘Barney’ Barnett, Capt Al Harris, SSgt Mark Beverley, SSgt Rob Harrison and Sgt Tom Steele. The team participated in five races over four days of multi-national competition, one of which was a night-time urban sprint.
The ageing cohort of LE Officers relished the opportunity to welcome new blood into the orienteering squad and everyone looked forward to honing their navigational skills on different terrain in preparation for the Inter Corps Championships due to follow a few weeks later. Not only were there world ranking athletes to compete against from many nations, but the team also had our own internal competition.
Having arrived at Pisa airport shortly after lunch on Wed 31 Oct, it would have been remiss not to drive into the city for a bit of sight-seeing before making the 3-hour journey down to our accommodation in Tuscany. It also provided the first opportunity for a slice of Italian Pizza!
Day 1 of the festival took place in the small hilly town of Abbadia San Salvatore and was a traditional line event containing 12 check points. Terrain was steep and technical and caught a few by surprise. SSgt Mark Beverley took the honours within the team with a quick time of 52 minutes 34 seconds.
Day 2 also took place in Abbadia San Salvatore for a middle- distance line event. Again, the terrain was technical and demanding. Maj Steve Collinson came 1st with a rapid time of 41 minutes 23 seconds. In addition to the morning’s race, day 2 also had a night event. This was an urban sprint containing 13 check points (completed in any order) within the small town of Castelnuovo dell’ Abate. There was mixed apprehension regarding the night event as it can sometimes be extremely difficult. Navigation was quite straightforward and the tempo was at sprint pace; everyone had
a good run and the team winner was Maj Steve Collinson with a time of 7 minutes 50 seconds.
Day 3 was another urban sprint, this time in the village of San Giovanni D’Asso. As this took place on a weekend, there were more competitors from numerous countries which created a great atmosphere. Sgt Tom Steele had a great race with a time of 13 minutes 28 seconds resulting in 1st place.
Day 4 was our last day of racing, it gave us a great advantage as it took place in the same town where we were accommodated. Again, this was an urban sprint which contained 13 check points that had to be completed in a set order (line event). Taking first place again with a fantastic time of 14 minutes 54 seconds was Sgt Tom Steele.
With all races complete, all our individual times were added together to determine the overall RAPTC Orienteering sports tour winner. The official results (after the usual objections from Maj Barney Barnett), were:
Position
Name
1st place
Sgt Tom Steele
2nd place
Maj Steve Collinson
3rd place
SSgt Mark Beverley
4th place
Maj Chris Deed
5th place
Capt Al Harris
6th place
Maj ‘Barney’ Barnett
7th place
SSgt Rob Harrison
Overall, the tour was a great success and everyone got to experience new venues and different styles of orienteering in very different terrain. We are all looking forward to planning the next tour, hopefully in 2021.
L-R SSgt R Moody, Sgt T Steele, Sgt R Harrison, SSgt M Beverley, Capt A Harris, Maj C Deed, Maj S Collinson, Capt G Logan, Maj A Barnett