Page 147 - RAPTC Mind, Body & Spirit

The team enjoying the sun set after a hard round
from one who forgot to set his alarm clock, but amazingly was able to get ready in 5 minutes flat, a good turn around Ian Lester! With Ian on board the team made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.
We arrived at the hotel mid-day and knowing that we had a busy schedule ahead made the most of the opportunity to relax by the pool, utilising the tennis courts; we also visited the hotel spa. The rest of our time away would be taken up playing golf.
The team were accommodated at the Riu Tikida Garden hotel based within the city of Marrakech. The hotel provided an all- inclusive package providing us with great food, twin rooms, swimming pool, gym, tennis court and very mild alcohol which only Jay Bambury managed to get a bit tipsy on one night while watching the hotels nightly entertainment show! Yes, the hotel did provide night time entertainment but I think it’s safe to say the performers would never make it on Britain’s got talent, but
who knew Lt Col Mark Lewis could rock the Karaoke so well.
Morocco may not seem like a haven for golf but you might be surprised, we played six different golf courses with our longest journey only taking 20-25 minutes. The courses varied in conditions but it must be said the majority were excellent. Most courses had amazing views of the Atlas Mountains and we were spoilt, with temperatures averaging around 22 degrees. The set-up of the courses was
fantastic, not only the course design and conditions but the added touch of large open practice areas and in most cases complementary golf balls which gave it that professional feel. Most of our rounds of golf were concluded with a few cheeky beers at the bar while we waited for our transport back to the hotel.
Although the tour was conducted in friendly spirit we still made time for competition. After each round was played our stableford points were recorded. From the seven rounds we played, our best five scores were taken and divided by five which provided us with an average score for the week. It’s with no real surprise that the ‘Ice man’ Al Murray came out on top with a superb average score of 37.8 points.
Overall the tour was a fantastic success and thanks must go to Capt Steve Green and SSgt Al Murray for organising the trip.
Maj Bob Whittaker, SSgt Alan Murray, Lt Col Bob Taylor
RAPTC MARTIAL ARTS
SSgt (SSI) J Marshall RAPTC MA Secretary
“One way or another we are going to hit the ground and we’ll be in my world. The ground is my Ocean, I’m the Shark and most people don’t even know how to swim”
Carlos Machado
The 2017/2018 season for the RAPTC Martial Arts team has been filled with success. There has been a change of roles with SSgt Marshall taking on the mantle as Secretary continuing forward with the outstanding work SSgt Horton accomplished during his tenure. The team has also welcomed new members from across the RAPTC and the sport continues to grow in popularity especially with the discipline of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), which is now considered one of the most popular Martial
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Arts across all three Services. This year has seen the successful amalgamation of Judo with Martial Arts to further enhance our association and offer more choice and versatility to interested members of the RAPTC.
On the training side of life, the pace has been hectic with everyone putting in the ‘Mat time’ on a regular basis at their local clubs, as well as a participating in a successful overseas training camp to