Page 51 - 4RA Regimental Journal 2019-2020

4th Regiment Royal Artillery
During the brief spell that training got back into full flow, we were able to organ- ise another friendly against 32 Regt Engi- neers, again on the 4G pitch in gale force winds! I changed the system to 4-2-3-1, and with different players available, we fielded a quite different team from our last match. The engineers had brought more or less two sides of 11, we had the required 15 which took its toll on fitness. At half time we were behind by two goals but all was still to play for. We looked like a different side in the second half, quickly clawing back the score to four all before
they scored in the final minutes to take the game 5-4. The effort could not be ques- tioned and as we left the field it felt like we had won. We knew that this was a real step forward against stronger opposition.
We had an inter Bty competition to see who would represent the Regiment in the Gunner inter Bty tournament, as well as several friendlies in the pipeline. Football to look forward to, then another cessation of all grass roots football due to another lockdown spoilt our plans!
We look forward to getting back to foot- ball and playing the new season. We have six male and female Gunner players from across the Regiment which speaks vol- umes about the quality we have. To make football accessible to all, 4 RA now proudly fields a women’s team and have also set up a 5-a-side ladder so anyone can play for fun and fitness in the evenings. With football re-energised in 4th Regt, we hope to bring home some silverware soon!
‘The Gaffer.’
Throughout the Covid pandemic Army sport has suffered greatly, how- ever the competitive spirit fostered through the sporting calendar has still found its way in. In February 2021 the Reg- imental Second in Command, Maj Duncan Campbell, competed in the World Indoor Rowing Championships on behalf of the UK Armed Forces.
Keeping fit throughout lockdown has been a constant challenge and the lack of Regi- mental sport has left some people without a focus for their efforts. Whilst the Regi- ment found a way to motivate its soldiers through the creation of Strava groups, Nando’s vouchers on offer and sessions shared through social media there were those who still needed to compete at the highest levels.
For Maj Campbell, whose usual sport is Judo, a change in training was required as contact sports were still not permitted. A
Indoor Rowing
Watt Power Erg programme designed by the RAPTC was devised and participants within it were encouraged to share their times for motivation. After logging a few times Maj Campbell was asked how he felt about representing the UK Armed Forces in the current World Championships.
Whilst other sports were languishing in lockdown Indoor Rowing can be achieved virtually with the Concept 2 rower able to log times accurately and send them in to be judged. After completing qualifiers Maj Campbell was loaded into the UKAF team and a race day was set. The 15 fast- est logged teams in the world would be competing to test a maximum distance attained after three minutes rowing. These may seem a relatively short time but the power athletes are able to put through the machines makes it a gruelling prospect.
As a team the UKAF averaged 1015m in each of their 3 minute efforts. This impres-
sive time secured the team a well earned bronze medal and served to show the Regiment that even throughout a pan- demic the North East Gunners can com- pete at the highest level.
The dispersed working environment over lockdown has been a uniquely challenging time for the PT depart- ment within 4th Regiment Royal Artillery. Operational and Exercise commitments have still existed and so the need for our soldiers to be fit and healthy is just as important as ever. Furthermore, the iso- lation of lockdown can have significant effects on the physical and mental wellbe- ing of our soldiers. The major risks we saw coming were the loss of the “all round sol- dier athlete” and creation of a vast spec- trum of fitness in the Regiment, with those unfit soldiers falling further behind and those on the other end becoming more specialised in their fitness (i.e. running at the expense of strength). Implementing a PT programme that is challenging, achiev- able and able to motivate soldiers wher-
ever they may be was a difficult task but one that the department handled well.
Lone Soldier PT policy has been around for many years and provided a useful guide on how to keep the soldiers active when they might be on their own and lack- ing equipment. However, it lacked person-
ality and focused almost exclusively on the physical side of training, whereas I wanted to take a more holistic approach to the sol- dier, taking in his mental health, nutrition and overall wellbeing.
At the beginning of lockdown many Bat- terys created Strava groups. This was a
PT Department
49