Page 56 - The Gazette Autumn 2023

56 The Gazette QARANC Association
‘Our instructor’s motto
“knife between the teeth” kicked in’
Sgt Sarah Stewart from 204 (NI) Field Hospital, Belfast, shares her experience of taking part in the Army Medical Services (AMS) ski championships in France.
It all started when I responded to a message regarding interest for this opportunity, so I was delighted to be able to join the 204 Ski team. I have been a part of 204 Field Hospital since 2015 and have completed the Ski Foundation Level one course but I had never raced so this was going to be an exciting challenge.
I am a nurse in the Emergency Department, so this course in January provided a welcome distraction from my day-to-day busy work environment.
We started our journey to the French Alps, and I will not forget those bendy roads coming down the mountains. When we arrived, I was pleased to discover our accommodation was a beautiful chalet. We then got our boots and skis and received a brief from our team Captain for the next day’s activities.
The first morning in France did not disappoint, the sun was shining, and we had our breakfast looking at the snow-capped mountains. I was very excited to get back on the slopes. We then made our way to the ski resort and sat in silence on the chair lift taking in the amazing views of Serre Chevalier.
We got organised into separate groups based on ability and experience and met some incredible people from different units. For the first three days we had race training by a fantastic ski instructor called
Pierre who trained us on different racing techniques. After our days training on the slopes and of course some hot chocolate, we met up with our units and skied down to the bottom together, this was one of my favourite parts after a successful day’s skiing.
In the evenings we got a brief for the next day then had some time to explore the village and sampling some local cuisine.
The day of the races had finally arrived, I was both anxious and excited. The first race was called