Page 6 - Cormorant 2019

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Sports Olympiad
Lt Cdr Dan Wilmott
SO THERE WE WERE, intrepid individuals shuffling around in questionably short shorts, still getting a feel for just where we fit into the
ACSC scheme. It was time to come together as divisions and make teams out of 256 individuals from 59 countries. Nothing can
be better than the ACSC Sports Olympiad to get out of uniform and into the sun.*
Uniforms may have been put aside for the afternoon but old habits die hard. While there may have been a few sets of RAF golf
clubs going unused on the day, Army
tweed was out in full form. Among the twelve events on the day clay pigeon shooting had the biggest risk of reducing the course student count by one or two, but thankfully all those who tramped off in plaid and wellies returned in one piece.
Other activities allowed people to choose, or be chosen, for their sport of greatest prowess. The importance was that names were learned, personalities adjusted and familiarity fostered in the way only sports can. Team sports like football, rugby, hockey and cricket (the non- stop variety) spread out around the Defence Academy to reasonably polite interdivisional rivalry on the sports fields. Table tennis and basketball provided a schooling opportunity for international students to showcase their skills and the homegrown Academy triathlon competition provided an opportunity for
“
Uniforms may
have been put aside for the
afternoon but old habits die hard. ◆◆◆
students to suffer. Martial
Arts turned into a speed
competition (speed
in marking and erasing blackboard tick marks
that is). Dodgeball, that noblest of sports, turned out to be very popular with spectators. Flexible rules and participants showing shades of a famous Hollywood film made for a great time.
The penultimate competition brought everyone back together for a Tug o’ War. Much heaving and hoeing with a bit of yelling had A Division rooted as the most robust/strongest on the field. B Division had the points lead going into the final event, the mysterious Grand Finale.
Much snickering and foreshadowing had the eight individuals from their respective divisions wondering what they had been volunteered for. For the general entertainment and amusement of all in attendance each team had to run laps of the football pitch, carrying with them successively more pieces of heavy kit, including the bench they were sitting on! As the incumbent points leader, B Division was able to hand