Page 49 - QARANC Vol 20 No 3 2023

The Gazette QARANC Association 49
days of learning a new skill I felt confident enough to attempt a red slope and no longer slip around the baby slopes.
Although the views of the beautiful scenery could be appreciated from the bottom and the top of the mountains.”
Pte Luca Micheli: “The week started with us learning how to turn on the baby slopes. At that point, I never thought that me or my group would be able to complete a full-blown race (especially the amount of time we spent on the floor). Thanks to our instructor however we were pushed to go on the slopes as early as possible making the race easier and more fun.
Before we knew it, we were all parallel turning. I’m glad we went, and the grant from the Association made it all that easier. This was a great event to help me learn about colleagues in the army and the navy as well, which made the trip more fun.”
Sgt Yeen Wichaisri: “Despite it being the Royal Navy Snowsports Festival 2023 (RNSF23), this event was in fact open to all members of the Armed Forces, which inadvertently made it a tri-service event.
We in the QARANC thoroughly enjoyed representing the Army at this skiing and snowboarding event.
I never thought that me or my group would be able to complete
a full- blown race (especially the amount of time we spent on the floor)
People were often surprised to find QAs hidden amongst the crowd, but the competition was friendly, and everyone was, of course, very welcoming of any Army or RAF personnel.
Everyone arrived in Les Deux Alpes with enthusiasm and anticipation. For some it was the first time at this event and the first time giving their snow sport of choice a go as a beginner. For others it was a refresher with some more advanced lessons and techniques to improve on current skills. For those in the intermediate and advanced groups, it was more race preparations and speed work down the slopes.
As a novice snowboarder my day consisted of either a morning or afternoon lesson, and sometimes both depending on the day’s visibility and our instructor’s direction. We worked on improving snowboarding techniques whilst incorporating some tricks and slope style skills into the lessons to broaden our abilities. This concurrently helped us prepare for the Giant Slalom and Slopestyle races we had been scheduled for at the end of the week.
We would just like to say a big thank you to the QA Association who had kindly given us this incredible grant to attend this sporting event. We all had a fantastic week and really appreciate your generosity. We even managed to come away with some medals!”
Cpl Prajit Gurung: “ This was my first time attempting on winter sports. The first few days involved lots of falls and bruises, but I managed to overcome and progress. At the start of the week, I didn’t expect to be attempting red slopes or even make my way down to the valley from top of a glacier, but I did managed to do all of it.
The Association’s financial and morale support was crucial, and we hope we proudly represented QARANC and the Army. Some members of our team excelled and finished second and third in their respected races. I am hoping to keep representing our corps in future.”