Page 43 - RADC 2023

AMS Squash Championships 2023
Major Colin E McGrath
On the 3rd and 4th of October I attended the AMS Corps Squash Championships which were held at RAF Shawbury.
The turnout was around 12 and a mix
of inexperienced players, Corps players and some Army level players, also a mix of regulars and reservists and was expertly organised by the AMS Squash secretary, Captain Michelle Higgins, and the AMS Chairman Maj Ian Richardson.
Starting on the Tuesday morning after some meet and greets we played two concurrent tournaments inter-dispersed with some coaching. One for the novices (people who haven’t represented the Corps) and the Open, for those who had or wanted to play in this as well. It was an excellent two-day event with a good social Indian meal on the evening of
the 4th in Shrewsbury. I was pleasantly
surprised to meet our own Captain Syed Mohi Uddin representing the RADC reserve contingent with his silky racquet- based skills, and a great opportunity to chat all things RADC military and civilian teeth related.
For my own part I was thoroughly beaten by all those in the AMS Corps team but managed to win all my novice games and was the lucky recipient of
the AMS Novice Medal. As part of the post-tournament discussion there was talk of a potential squash tour in the coming year or so which would be an exciting opportunity. The AMS Squash scene was very welcoming and open to all abilities, please feel free to drop me or one of those named above a message if you might like to get involved yourself.
a pea from where I was stood. The following day, the weather conditions were perfect, a NW wind, highs of 15 degrees and a clear sky- I had no excuse not to fly. We took
the chair lift up and one by one set up our paragliders on the inclined mountain edge, I clipped myself in, carried out my checks and was ready to launch. My Fitbit vibrated... a reminder to breath! My Heart rate was 150 BPM standing still,
to say I was nervous was an understatement, all I could think about was my mother telling me to stay away from
the edge as a child, yet here I was about to do the complete opposite and run off the edge. I took a deep breath and launched my paraglider, before I knew it, I was airborne, I was actually flying! The views from the sky were out of this world, I was speechless, although I definitely held my breath throughout the whole flight! 3 minutes later I landed (rather abruptly) but in one piece and with the biggest smile on my face and a
round of applause from the rest of my course mates.
This course was fantastic, not only was the cookhouse incredible and facilities top quality, I also experienced my first stein and currywurst.
Showing my vulnerabilities to complete strangers was hard, especially being the only female on the course but the guys were amazing and looked after me like their sister. I have certainly got the bug for paragliding and cannot wait to book onto my Club Pilot Course.
If you are interested in this or any other AT course, all information can be found on Defence Gateway. Should you wish to attend this course in the future and want a real-life explanation of the course, please contact me.
If I had to describe paragliding in three short sentences:
• Heart racing, yet peaceful • Exhilarating, yet calming • Complex and beautiful
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