Page 39 - RADC 2023

AMS Volleyball
Sgt Vida Kobson
The Army Medical Services Festival of Sport (FoS) was held at MOD Garats Hay from 17- 20 Jul 23. The AMS Support Unit (AMSSU) were responsible for organising and the safe running of the event while
1 Medical Regiment were appointed as the Host Unit. This was the third time this event had taken place, having debuted at Tidworth in 2021.
Using the platform of friendly sporting competition, the FoS’s aim is to bring
as many AMS personnel together as possible, cementing existing friendships
and developing new ones. The festival has always been about encouraging maximum participation and healthy competition, using the power of sport to foster community and promote resilience amongst AMS personnel.
For the first time this year an AMS Support Unit team were formed to represent those units which do not have enough personnel to represent their individual Corps and Regiments as a standalone team.
Events fielded at the festival include Football, Hockey, Badminton, Netball, Volleyball, Squash, Swimming, Athletics, Warrior Fitness and Triathlon.
Volleyball Event
The teams representing at the Volleyball event this year are listed below:
1. Med Regt (Including 20X affiliated UAPS)
2. 2 Field Hospital
3. Med Regt (Including 12X affiliated
UAPS)
4. Joint Hosp Gp (N, S, SE & RCDM)
5. Med Regt (Including 7X affiliated
UAPS)
6. 2 Med Bde (Reserve Med Regts)
7. 16 Med Regt (Including 16X affiliated
UAPS)
8. Military Working Dogs (All RAVC) 9. 34 Field Hospital
10. Joint Hosp Gp (N, S, SE & RCDM)
The total attendance for AMSSU was 20 Pers across 9 events. RADC personnel were entered into the AMSSU team. A total of 4 RADC Pers represented at the Volleyball event which I had opportunity to captain this year. Personnel travelled from all over the country to attend the event this year. Historically we have struggled to field RADC personnel at FoS, I hope that as the event becomes cemented in the AMS calendar,
it will become an annual pilgrimage in which more RADC personnel can and will participate.
Match Day
On the day, we arrived at Garatts Hay, an impressive facility with a massive campus and grounds, we later found out that it used to be the Welbeck Army Sixth Form College. We went through the usual arrivals process, collected our room keys, and had
lunch before heading out to checked out the locations for the various events.
The weather conditions were perfect
for this outdoor event, this increased the moral of the participants. It was nice to see how keen everyone was to get involved and do their part to uplift the team. The team
had come together from right across the country and had not had opportunity to practice together like our Medical Regiment colleagues who work together in Regiments and had plenty of opportunities to practice together, giving them a huge advantage. Nevertheless, the objective of the festival is participation and promoting Esprit de Corps, there was plenty of support from the whole team and it gave everyone an enthusiastic sense of achievement to be present and be a part of it. Volleyball earned 3 points to add to the final events tally of 21 (9th place overall).
The event was a terrific opportunity
and challenge for those this was a maiden attempt at Volleyball and a wonderful experience to be a part of. I hope that next year’s event will be even more improved, and I encourage all RADC personnel to participate in this impressive event next year.
RADC BULLETIN 2023 37