Page 25 - QARANC Vol 18 No 1 2020

After a match
together before the tour. We had planned a trek up Table Mountain, however due to the busy training and match schedule, we instead enjoyed the view of one of the newly added wonders of the world from a leisurely cable car ride up the mountain. We were too busy playing netball to hike up a mountain in the heat, honest...
That evening we played a friendly match against the University of Western Cape, who were kind enough to host us after the game. Thursday brought our final training session before our match against Langa Netball Club. This game had the squad on the edge of their seats, the closest game so far with only a few goals in it!
Friday arrived and after a week jam- packed with netball, a day off was welcomed with open arms. The squad split into two groups; one group went to Boulders Beach to visit the penguins
Sporting a colour change
whilst the remainder who were brave enough went cage diving with great white sharks. The experience was out of this world and most definitely one to cross off the bucket list, with plenty of Instagram-ready photos taken!
The weekend arrived but the coaches hadn’t heard of the words ‘lie’ and ‘in’, with still more netball to come! The AMS had entered two teams into Walker Bay 7s, a South African sports tournament held annually. An early start was needed for the long journey to Hermanus on the south-west coast. Although there were lots of different sports to play, such as rugby, dodgeball and hockey, we stuck to what we came for... netball. The tournament was a great way to mix with more local teams and end the tour on a high, even if some of the squad are now thinking of switching to dodgeball.
After a fun-filled 10 days our time in
Enjoying the sun!
After the daily morning run
South Africa came to an end, a country perhaps once divided but certainly unified by netball. We headed back to the UK for final preparations before the Inter-Corps Championships on 17- 18 October where the AMS came 3rd overall, the culmination of a successful tour.
Lance Corporal Amber Down
The Gazette QARANC Association 23
Ex Surfing Serpent and Army Surfing Champs
In August 2019 Corporal Emily Johnson and Corporal Frances Metson attended Ex Surfing Serpent in Hossegor, France. This was organised as a development and training week for the Army Medical Services Surfing Team prior to the Army Surfing Championships.
Hossegor delivered the goods and served us up some fantastic conditions with some friendly rivalry amongst those who attended. This led straight into the Army Surfing Championships held in Newquay, Cornwall from the 2 – 8 September. We had at total of four QARANC nurses representing the Corps at the Championships, all from JHGS Portsmouth; Corporal Johnson, Corporal Metson, Corporal Hagenbuch and Corporal MacDonald. Sergeant Richardson represented JHGN.
The training had clearly paid off. In some extremely challenging Cornwall conditions we saw all four nurses make it to their respective finals. In the Female Surfing discipline Corporal Johnson, Corporal Hagenbuch and Corporal MacDonald fought their way through the heats to get to the final. Corporal Johnson claimed 2nd place, Corporal Hagenbuch came in 3rd and Corporal MacDonald took 4th place.
In the female Bodyboarding discipline Corporal Metson claimed 2nd place.
If there are any QARANC personnel who would like to attend future events or get involved please contact meberships@armysurfing.org or visit www.armysurfing.org