Page 86 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

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Early December 2019 saw a team of 10 Lancers once again deploy to the playground of the rich and famous to train and compete in Exercise WHITE KNIGHT 36. The team, made up of three Officers and seven soldiers, with a fifty-fifty split of ex- perienced and novice skiers, were met with a metre of fresh Ver- bier powder (much to the delight of B Squadron’s newest Troop Leader), alongside an incredibly warm welcome from our Swiss hosts.
The Exercise started with the highly anticipated ski grading; an individual effort down a gentle red run, watched by the Ecole De Suisse instructors, all exercising troops, and what felt like the entirety of Verbier, in order to determine which ability group you would train with. Once again, this superficially harm- less event proved to be the great of undoing of many so-called ‘skilled’ skiers. Nevertheless, the Lancers placed well with three team members in the top two groups. From here began an in- tense two weeks of ski training; the first week concentrated on ‘back-to-basics’, whilst the second saw skiers introduced to (or reacquainted with) race technique. During this period, the Ex- ercise was blessed with even more fresh snow meaning off-piste training days were fairly frequent, thus allowing skiers to de- velop their all-round skiing ability. This intense training period was ‘complimented’ by a robust and varied White Knight social calendar that saw many Lancers introduced to the delights of apres-ski; one Lancer famously remarking that “some of my darkest mornings in the Army have been in Verbier”...
Following three days of stand-down over the Christmas period, the Exercise launched into the Championships where the Lanc-
Lycra lovers 2k20
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Exercise ALPINE LANCER 19/20
Expectation
Reality
The dream is over...Until next season
er team would do battle against the rest of The Royal Armoured Corps and The Army Air Corps in three race disciplines; sla- lom, giant slalom, and super giant slalom. From an individual and team perspective the RAC championships were a huge suc- cess; the Lancers ‘A’ team made up of Capt Cave, Lt Reed, 2Lt Ozanne, and Tpr Simcox took second place in the team giant slalom and third overall in the team competition. Individually, Capt Cave blew away the competition; winning the individual slalom, individual giant slalom, and being awarded best RAC skier of the championship. Alongside this, LCpl Mohin placed third overall in the novice competition; a testament to his con- sistently strong performances throughout the championships.