Page 81 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 79 Golf Tour: St Andrews
When I was invited to attend the Regimental Golf Tour in St Andrews I found myself day dreaming of following in the foot-steps of giants and making my way to the first tee on ‘the Old Course’ cheered on by crowds of adoring fans whilst bask- ing in glorious sunshine. On arrival, I quickly realised why St Andrews is regarded as one of the most challenging courses in the world. The Scottish summer lasts no longer than a NAAFI break with an average temperature comparable to ‘Ice-station Zebra’. As the team assembled on day one, the 90-mile per hour cross winds made it extremely difficult to hear Major Rickett’s extremely interesting safety brief. Fortunately, the salient points were summarised when Lieutenant Colonel Barnett pointed out that nobody was listening anyway!
Armed with a spattering of local knowledge provided by Trooper Petrie, we were off! The only thing higher than morale were the scores and as one lost ball turned into ten, the play improved and collective handicaps came soaring down. By day two things
started to get serious and we turned our focus toward the im- pending match against our great friends and colleagues from HMS Prince of Wales. Team Lancer absolutely dominated the day until the point where we had to put on our golf shoes, at which point the Royal Navy’s finest managed to demonstrate what they do when they’re not at sea... Golf apparently (and lots of it).
The week concluded with a monumental show down of ath- letic prowess which yielded the most lasting memories. Rickett chipped in from a hundred yards out, the only thing that went on longer was his celebration. The author ‘destroyed’ Lieuten- ant Colonel Barnett on the 18th using a teenage girl’s driver (AKA the Pink Lady) to the extent that Barney had to measure the range with a laser!
Home for tea and medals we had effectively set the conditions for the Royal Armoured Corps Championships with Lancers from Regimental Duty, Extra-Regimentally Employed and at- tached arms. As we move into 2019 it will be onward and upward for Lancer golf and the Pink Lady is always up for grabs!
RJD
of the Army Powerlifting calendar, it serves as a qualifying event for those wishing to continue to National lev- el competition. The results will also play a large part in the Army Team selection.
A Powerlifting competition com- prises of the squat, bench press and deadlift, with competitors having three attempts at each lift and the score being the combined total of their best/heaviest lifts. Lifters will compete in weight categories and must record a lift in each discipline
The Royal Lancers (Queen Eliza-
beths’ Own) powerlifting team
had a quiet season in 2018 due to
the deployment of OP TOPSCA.
As the officer in command of the
powerlifting sport deployed with
C Squadron to BATUS. It has been
a hard pill to swallow not to have
any silverware on the mantelpiece
with 2018 engraved into it! This will
be the first year missing since 2011
after being the best in class for the
last few years. I did enter the 4 Scots
Highland games and took part in the
strongman event and won that. This
kept me ticking over and feeling hungry for the 2019 season.
The gun show
Powerlifting
After the success of the Armed forces strongman competition hosted by the Regiment at Cambrai lines in 2017 we are back again in 2019. The Regiment will host the 2019 Army Powerlift- ing Championships in Catterick, during April. The competition is open to all serving male and female members of all three Ser- vices, Reserve Forces and MoD Civil servants. The focal point
to attain and overall score. The Regimental team are training on weekly basis and have access to some excellent kit and equip- ment that has been purchased by the regiment over the years. The support so far has been excellent and can only get better with the new Army fitness tests rolling out April 2019 with the focus being on a strong skeletal system to carry the kit.
DAP