Page 48 - QARANC Vol 20 No 3 2023
P. 48
48 The Gazette QARANC Association
We even
managed to
come away with
medals
QARANC was ably represented at the Royal Navy Snowsports Festival (RNSF23) at Les Deux Alpes in France in January. Five QAs who attended with a grant from the Association report back here.
Cpl Natasha Lane: “With the generous donation from the QA Association, I had the privilege of attending the RNSFW23. The week enabled me to take part in morning and afternoon novice skiing lessons for four days with other members from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, participate in two races and an afternoon of leisurely skiing.
It had been six years since I had last skied so it was initially daunting to attempt the slopes. However, I managed to place second in the novice skiing race and to confidently be able to tackle red slopes at the end of the week.
I enjoyed the French cuisine and made a variety of new friends from different job roles within the navy, including warfare officers to radar. The funding that we received contributed to our accommodation and equipment hire, making the trip affordable and an open opportunity to our tri service unit, encouraging us to build our relationships outside of the clinical area.
I hope to attend another Snowsports event next year in order to represent the QA again.”
Cpl Gerda Diederiks: “Army personnel were outnumbered by the navy and marines however there were a few RAF from our unit JHG(S). I thoroughly enjoyed the new group of people we met as we were divided amongst our ability groups.
Alongside skiing I learnt ‘jack speak’ amongst all the navy personnel. It was my first ever time skiing and I was quite scared in the beginning. Our instructor was excellent and instilled confidence in us from the start.
There were moments where I had to dig deep and find extra confidence to overcome the fear of falling or facing down the steep hill. I am so pleased that I had this opportunity and so impressed that within four
I thoroughly enjoyed the new group of people we met as we were divided amongst
our ability groups
