Page 190 - AGC Journal 2018

AGC JOURNAL 2018
Snowboarding
By Lance Corporal Tara Ingham
In January 2018, 18 members of the Corps had
the opportunity to take part in Exercise Green
Hucker 4, joining up with the Intelligence Corps
Snowboard Training Camp and Championships at
Neustift, Austria. We were ready and buzzing for
two weeks of sun, snow and snowboarding.
We all jumped onto the early morning bus; those with
a little less experience fell victim to the morning ‘bus
stumble’ where people scrambled to find their footing
as the bus pulled away to take us to our next stop, the
Stubai Glacier. Some of the participants had never even
seen a snowboard before, but everyone was eager to
get onto the gondola to take us up the amazingly white
mountain. There were blue skies, a chill in the air, and
the sun was beating off the glistening piste, what more
could you ask for?
Training Commences
We were placed into our respective groups: beginners,
intermediates and the advanced and made our way to
the slopes. For some this was completely new territory
and there were worries that they were going to be like
Bambi on ice. For others, they were eager to conquer
the whole mountain, making the most of the knee deep
powder during their stay.
Training Progresses
As the initial training week progressed, people began
to find their feet, going to extra lengths and having the
courage to push themselves outside of their comfort
zone. This was down to the amazing instructors that
we had. Some of the days the weather conditions were
outrageous, minus 25 degrees with a wind chill of minus
28 and barely being able to see two feet in front of your
feet. However, before we knew it, the beginners were on
red runs, the intermediates were throwing themselves
down black runs, and the advanced were showing off
their tricks in the Zoo Park.
Race Week
Preliminaries Race week arrived with people getting the opportunity
to tackle the border cross and the Slalom. Many people
had not had the chance to try these before, so everyone
On arrival at our accommodation, we sorted our was excited to give it their best shot. Both of these events
equipment and stocked the cupboards with food. were based on the best time in which you complete
Everybody was then ready for a night of exploring the course within your respective group. After the
the local area and getting to know their fellow competitions, there was an award ceremony where the
snowboarders.
winners were awarded a medal.
First Day on the Slopes Endnote
The night drew in quickly and the much anticipated Overall, the Exercise was an amazing experience that
morning arrived. Everybody proceeded to rush around gave everybody the opportunity to learn new skills, go
ensuring they had all of their essentials for the first day outside of their comfort zone, have some competition
on the slopes, including at least two freshly cooked rolls and hopefully head towards their ultimate goal of
with fillings of their choice.
eventually competing within the Army Championships.
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Golf Tour
By Warrant Officer Class 2 Jason Moore
As we flew into Orlando it certainly didn’t feel like it had been three years
since we last landed in the United States, but a few new to the group were
excited to be playing some quality golf.
The team at Bay Hill
Golf and Country Club
The team, less
Brendan MacConnell,
at Sawgrass
Warm Up Palmer had a home here and the event bears his name.
Each group had a caddie for ball spotting and assistance
On the first day we were up early for an 18 hole warm up and with distances and reading the greens. It must have been a
frustrating day for the caddies as their advice bore little fruit
skills training in the afternoon with more than a few aching, from the twelve supposed golfers they were accompanying.
old stiff bodies. Things did not let up on day two as we travelled
an hour to Mission Inn Resort for a fantastic, but tough 36
holes. Internal Competition
Matches As in previous years, the most heated competition was the
competition within ourselves to be the Tour Champion. Paul
Some of the group were still sore from the previous day’s Dixon was the favourite going in, but thanks to the tricky
exertions but Red Tail Golf Course hosted us for our first match Florida grass, succumbed to the chipping yips. He still
of the trip. The members of this lovely course within a small managed to finish third leaving yours truly and Guy Wilkinson
community welcomed us with warm hearts and deep pockets playing off a handy handicap of sixteen.
and it was fitting that the match ended in a pleasurable draw. Finale
Golf Lesson
LPGA International Golf Resort proved a testing finale having
After the previous day’s stalemate, students of Celebration hosted the US Open qualifier the day before with myself scoring
University gave us a lesson in how to play golf, especially on a very important 32 points on the penultimate round when
their own tricky course with small undulating greens and lots everyone else found the going very tough and managing to
move from eight points behind to just one. The leaders tee’d it
of trouble. The weather also contributed with the temperature
hitting the mid eighties for the fourth day running. Everyone up together for the final round with Guy Wilkinson aching for
was ready for the first day’s rest. his first major Corps victory and after some scares did enough
Legends Location to see it home.
Summary
We were offered a great opportunity to play a venue that had
not long hosted a prestigious Professional Golfers Association Orlando proved a great location with over 50 courses to
Tour event (won by Rory McIlroy). The golfing legend Arnold choose from with ideal weather. The golf proved tough but all
participants improved some if not all aspects of their game.
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