Page 65 - RADC 2020

SPORT & AT
Success is not final, failure
is not fatal: it is the courage
to continue that counts
WO2 Z Beckett
Army Ice Sports
This last season has been amazing, it surely will be one to remember, with
lots of tough, disciplined and focussed training. I’ve personally had some highs and lows, crashing on race day at the Army Championships in Winterberg was a real test for me. However, I did not let this set back get me down, I brushed myself off and got back to training, ready for the Inter-Services Ice Sports Championships. The hard work eventually paid off. Not only did I make the podium but finished overall in second place, and along the way met some excellent people. Following the season, I was selected for an Army Sports Scholarship and to attend the
GB Bobsleigh development program
in North America, unfortunately, this exciting opportunity was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Please read the below article, written by Capt Sarah Smith (ETS) and myself, to give you an idea of what the season entailed.
If anyone is interested in giving bobsleigh, luge, or skeleton a try, please get in touch. This is an experience unlike any other.
Adrenaline junkies... your Bobsleigh Team needs you!
The Army Bobsleigh Team is recruiting now. Tired of speed limits? The faster the better
on the icy highway! Our training caters to all levels, and for some has proven to be the gateway into international level sports. The season runs from Oct-Mar each year and consists of 3 Ice Camps, and 1 Army Push Track Championship at the University of Bath.
• Army Push Track Championships
– Meet and greet the team, push training and race at the Athletes Training Village, University of Bath (1 day).
• Racing Ice I – Comprises of 2 individual novice training weeks in December.
• Racing Ice II – The Army Championships (1 week).
• Racing Ice III – 1 week of squad training and 1 week of Inter Services Racing (2 weeks).
ARMY PUSH TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Army Bobsleigh Team hosts the Push Track Championships at the home of our International and Elite Bobsleigh Athletes at the University of Bath each October. The day is open to everyone and aims to give those wishing to join our team a ‘look at bob-life’. There is the opportunity to meet the team and coaches, benefit from specific training and tips from our Army members currently
Top of the Track
representing GB, get a full introduction to the Bobsleigh and have the opportunity to race on a dry push track. The day serves to open the season and is a chance to identify early talent. There is always time for a social after! So come along and try something new and make some new mates!
EX RACING ICE I
Novice Training Camp
The Novice Training Camp takes place at the Olympic Bobsleigh Track high in the
Alps in Igls, Austria each December. The camp runs over 2 weeks, and novices
can apply for weeks 1 or 2, stating their preferred discipline, Luge, Skeleton, or Bobsleigh. The aim of the camp is to offer young aspiring athletes the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of Bobsleigh and attempt both braking and driving as part of a 2 man/woman team. The camp benefits from top-class coaching from 2 of our ex GB and Olympic athletes, who go right back to basics teaching the technical aspect of the sled and sliding dynamics. By day 2 the novices will experience their first slide from the ladies (Damen) start. Despite this being a ‘gentle’ build up to driving the track from the top... it may still give the sensation of being re-born through the screaming jaws of the sound barrier itself, as the sled generates speeds of up to 100kph on the training runs. Then it is to the top!!!
It helps to arrive prepared for this extreme sport, with a fair level of physical fitness
and a robust and positive attitude to get the sliders from ‘zero to hero’ on the mountain. The 2019 season saw 25 soldiers and officers successfully complete the Bobsleigh training camp with some returning for the Army Championships. Our recent success
2nd Place Inter-Services Champs
RADC BULLETIN 2020 63