Issue 80 - Jun 19 RAF A ‘STRIKING’ PERFORMANCE FOR MARTIAL ARTS FREE THE HEEL A TELEMARK STORY SLIDING ON THIN ICE 1 UMSTEAD 1 100 MILE RACE LEGS & FEET BURNING BUT MENTALITY UNBREAKABLE 2 3 RAF ACTIVE CONTENTS 8 28 FOCUS, FIGHTING … FORESIGHT, SQUEEZE RAFSPIRIT Martial Arts competitors The Royal Air Force Operational unite at the 2019 Champs to Shooting Team beat World Class fight for a spot at the upcoming opposition to win Service Pistol Inter-Services Gold in Canada. 12 32 SLIDING ON THIN ICE SOUTH AFRICAN CHUKKAS... RAF Natural Luge Championship - a season of dedicated training for the championships, and a farewell FOR THE RAF POLO TEAM RAF Polo team members visit Absolute to one of its own. Polo in Himeville, South Africa, for an intensive training tour in the commencement of the 2019 Season. 16 Sprinting the 36 Pennine Way: The Montane Spine Challenger UMSTEAD A gruelling 108-mile ‘sprint A 100 MILE distance’ race along the Pennine Way. In January. RACE Stomach groaning, legs and feet screaming, but mentally unbreakable… a day beyond my wildest dreams. 4 4 22 What’s On? What’s On... it’s Summer at last. 40 A Look Inside…RAF Ornithological Society Getting active with the RAF Ornithological Society wasn’t where I imagined myself, but what a privileged place it was. 42 Free the Heel: A TELEMARK STOR Y Twenty five gates and a 14-metre jump from start to finish, what could possibly go wrong? 44 From PSF to Mountain Rescue… A little insight into life on Mountain Rescue Service. 5 Send us your articles: 5 RAF Active publishes every 3 months, Feb-Apr, May-Jul, Aug-Oct and Nov- Jan. Let us worry about the deadlines, we just want to hear from you. Send your article to any of the editorial team, thanks! RAF Active Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor-in-Chief Rachael Lee Andy Knaggs RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Specialist Sub-Editors Air Sports Editor Ball & Racquet Sports Editor Cycling Editor Kevin Morley Jon Priestley Andy Knaggs RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Equitation Editor Winter Sports Editor Fighting Sports Editor Kev Sing Chris Challenor Andrew Jackson RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Land Based Editor Deputy Land Based Editor Motor Sports Editor Leigh Posthumus Dave Walker Gary Hignett RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Running/Athletics Editor Water Sports Editor Triathlon Editor Calum Ferguson Rob Davies James Deytrikh RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] What’s On Editor Features Editor Chris McNarry Andy Pawsey RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Management Team If you would like to join the RAF Active team and encourage others to get out and make the most of what the Service has to offer, then just send an email to our OIC, Stu Clarke at RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Director Officer-in-Command AM Julian Young Stu Clarke RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Webmaster Secretary/Treasurer Distribution Manager Gapped Phil Major and Jon Bailey James Illingsworth RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] RAFActiveMag+[email protected] Inclusion of advertisements within this magazine does not imply endorsement of the advertised product by RAF Active or the Royal Air Force. Personnel should conduct appropriate research before purchasing or using any products advertised in this magazine. Personnel are advised to use only supplements and products that are approved by Informed Sport (www.informed-sport.com). Consumption of contaminated or banned substances Submission by service personnel, whether intentionally or otherwise, may contravene MOD regulations and could result Deadlines: in action being taken against the individual in question, up to and including discharge from the Service. Articles should be submitted to © This magazine contains official information and should be treated with 6 discretion by the recipient. The opinions expressed in the articles in this 6 Sub-Editors for consideration Commercial publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy Military and views, official or otherwise, of the RAF. No part of this publication may before 15 Jul 19 for Issue 81 P U B L I S H I N G L T D be reproduced without the permission of the editor. No responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised in this magazine can be accepted by Director:& Katie Mordue the publishers or printers and all advertisements are included in good faith. Creative Director: Kerry Wells Published by Commercial & Military Publishing Ltd, 5 Carisbrooke Court, Advertising Sales: Heather Branchflower - Buckingham MK18 1TU. [email protected] www.candmpublishing.co.uk RAF Active Editorial Team RAF Active where to find us Facebook @RAFActiveMag RAF Active Editor hank you for inundating us with Tarticles; so many that unfortunately we can’t include them all, but we have got some excellent ones for you in this issue, as well as a few changes. We have a new publisher, Commercial & Twitter @RAFActiveMag Military Publishing Ltd, who we happily welcome to the team and we also have a new look for the magazine; we look forward to hearing what you think. As I look at all the articles that are submitted, I can see they have common Instagram @RAFActiveMag themes, themes of people Back on my bike…again! with a positive mindset, determination, commitment and the desire to go that extra the officials. The highest levels of success mile. I think this is due to the individual cannot be achieved alone. In this issue we mentalities you all bring to the military, and get to share with you the story of RAF Luge the great culture you all help to create and and their coach Eddie Dunlop, who evolved immerse yourselves in daily. the sport into a position where the RAF and Great Britain teams can compete with the A mindset to dream big and push the best athletes in the world. boundaries, whether that be that the collective mindset of a sports team or an In what I believe is a first for RAF Active, we individual; either way it is essential. Jayne also share the story of Jason, a member of Mitchell and Phil Holdcroft have shared the RAF Mountain Rescue Service. This is Online their experiences in this issue, they both set a team of individuals who have perfected Sports Federation page where the themselves a challenge and successfully their skills to manoeuvre themselves online versions are hosted completed endurance events – they most through the mountains safely so they can www.rafsportsfederation.uk/ definitely had the right mindset, but more help those in need. It’s truly is amazing what raf-active-magazine/ than that, they had commitment and can be achieved with a positive mindset, determination. And as we know, most commitment and determination. achievements cannot be made without a little of each. As I have said before, we want to hear about all your ‘Active’ adventures, whether that be When we talk about representation in RAF obstacle races and mud runs or competing sport the focus is usually on the athlete, the in your sport at an RAF level or higher. That 7 competitor, the team, who work hard to get is and will continue to be true! Hopefully 7 to the top of their game but there is more you will see this reflected in the articles that that goes into it. Yes, it of course requires you read in RAF Active! commitment from the athlete, but it also needs commitment from the coaches and Rachael Around the RAF bases - Get your free copy on the bases FOCUS,FORESIGHT, SQUEEZE… by Pete Guard As the sun lowers over the ranges alongside the Ottawa River in Canada and the warm orange light begins to dim, the shooters widen their dominant eye to let in more light and allow them to focus intensely on the Glock 17 foresight. The low light indicator ball begins to glow, but they’re not interested in that, they’ve listened to the coach and the fundamentals of Service Pistol Shooting repeat over and over in their heads… ‘focus on the foresight, a crystal clear image of the foresight, squeeze through the trigger pressures, maintain that sight alignment, focus on that foresight’… the target is blurred but central and the shot 8 8 releases…. the shooter knows not to react…. ‘control the recoil and follow the shot through’… the foresight drops back down into the centre of the rear sight and aligned perfectly with the middle of the target… the shooter knows he has scored a five/five… but he doesn’t look at the target to check… his coach has told him enough times in training not to! The sport of shooting comes in a plethora of disciplines and is available to many people across the country; clay pigeon, target rifle, small bore and air pistol to name a few, but Service Weapon Shooting is in a class of its own. Only Service Personnel and Police Firearms teams can shoot fully-automatic rifles and semi-automatic Guard parades the International pistols in the UK and HM Service Pistol Champions Trophy in Forces categorises this as Canada Individual Military Training in the Joint Service Publication (JSP660), not a sport. So, what does this mean? Service Weapon Shooting is a full duty status activity as it is developing a core military skill. Anyone who has deployed on Operations or carried out SSGF duties has probably completed a live fire shoot with either the L85A2 Rifle or the General Service Pistol (Glock 17), where the RAF Regiment will teach you all you need to know in the competent handling and application of these combat weapon systems.