Page 52 - 4RA Regimental Journal 2019-2020

good way of monitoring people’s level of activity, assuring they were doing exercise and creating no small level of competi- tion that would keep soldiers motivated. However, there are downsides. Strava focused mainly on running and this led to an increase in the amount of “junk miles” that soldiers absorbed. Whilst they might gain CV fitness in the short term overrun- ning could cause injuries in the long term.
As a PT department we began hosting sessions on Zoom. This meant we could see people working, demonstrate correct form for activities and include an ele- ment of personality that would keep sol- diers interested. To maintain some level of routine that mirrored normal regimental
life we posted weekly fitness videos on Fridays that included a more challeng- ing high intensity circuit for those who wanted something extra. These appeared on Regimental social media pages and provided a great opportunity for the new CO to introduce himself to his troops. We also couldn’t risk leaving behind those individuals who were on rehab or weight management PT. Left to their own devices these individuals could undo so much improvement they had undergone and a personalised approach directly from the PTIs was required.
In addition to this we hosted educational videos on a variety of subjects including nutrition, flexibility, overall health and the
effects of exercise, looking way into the long term and helping soldiers understand why it is so important to keep on top of their health.
Returning to a more normal working pat- tern we are now able to measure the effects of lockdown on our soldiers. Host- ing an SCR to gain a base level of under- standing of people’s fitness has been eye opening but put us in a good position to up levels of training and get the Regiment ready to undertake their new Role Fitness Tests in the coming weeks.
4th Regiment Royal Artillery
4th Regiment Royal Artillery’s rugby team has had a disrupted year to say the least and whilst training and
playing opportunities have been few and far between there have been two notable success among them. Firstly the 15’s side played in the semi-final of the Army plate competition against 29 RLC in what proved to be an extremely close encounter. The team had little opportu- nity to train together before the match, however they came to an early lead thanks to notable performances from Sgt Qoroya, Sgt Patterson and Bdr Dob- son. A dynamic style of play with notice- able amounts of Fijian flair allowed the Regiment to consolidate their lead with a length of the pitch tries converted well by Dobson. Unfortunately, the Loggies
Rugby
Lt Doug Bartlett
rallied together to produce a stronger and more structured second half. Their greater team cohesion was obvious through their set pieces and eventually they managed to wear down us down. The match was eventually won with their outside centre running a hard line and finishing under the post with the clock in the red, duly converted it finished 4th Regiment’s involvement in the plate competition.
Two weeks later our 10’s team trav- elled down to Larkhill to compete in the McIlwaine cup. Lead by Capt Stoddart and Sgt Lotowa the team performed extremely well in the group stages again playing the flowing style this regiment is known for. Hard matches against 1st RHA and 19 RA were particularly good to watch but 4th Regiment kept to its strategy of a strong forward presence and getting the ball out quickly from the breakdown. This produced a quick flow to the game that tired out our oppo- nents and allowed 4th Regiment to work quickly around the edges of the pitch. Strong showings throughout eventually led the team to the final where they ran
out victors by a significant margin and have retained the cup ever since.
Unfortunately, the rest of the season was cut short, but we look forward to restart- ing again soon. With friendlies against 1 Yorks, 3RHA and 12RA already in the pipeline we look forward to going from strength to strength.
On an individual basis there has also been numerous success stories within the Regiment. Gnrs Hicks and Lodola have freshly join the regiment from ITT but are already regular contributors to Gunner Rugby with Gnr Lodola already receiving two Man of the Match awards whilst playing with them. This is further backed up by Sgt Qoroya who is still representing the Gunner Veterans team and Bdr Dobson, who is not only play- ing Gunner rugby but also Army rugby league and appearing for Mowden Park in National League one. Even more impressively Gnr Townsend has now been selected to play for the Brad- ford Bulls and is balancing this among her Regimental commitments. A very impressive season for 4th Regiment, regardless of the obstacles that have been in our way.
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