CSWSA

Igls Ice Sports Results: Bobsleigh

MediaCS1 — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:00:47 +0000

The Tyrolean snow-capped peaks set against glorious blue skies provided a suitable backdrop for an historic Inter-Services Bobsleigh Championships that saw the RAF take the team events for the first time in 13 years. In the individual competition, consistency and the Labyrinth determined the medals with Royal Navy taking both male and female top honours.

With Cpl Paula Walker injured after World Cup duties and most other seasoned sliders absent, this was a chance for seasoned driver Lt Denni Milner (RNAS Culdrose) to seize the day as RN1 while novice sliders from the Army and RAF couldn’t believe their luck at a chance for a medal. After the training laufs RN1, RAF1 and RAF2 had all been 1^st on one of the days and only 1.6 seconds separated them so there was everything to race for. After the first day RN1 led by only 0.65 seconds from the chasing RAF duo but slower ice on a warmer second day meant that consistency was what really mattered, rather than pushing the lines to catch up. Consequently margins grew wider, with the RAF’s novice bob-team of driver SAC Natalie Alway (RAF Coningsby) and Skeleton athlete Sqn Ldr Heather Ratnage-Black, spending her last day of service helping out as brake-woman, taking Bronze. Another RAF novice driver and another Natalie, this time SAC Tilsey from RAF Boulmer and pushed by experienced brake-woman Cpl Dominique Thistleton (RAF Northolt) took Silver; however, Lt Denni Milner, pushed by LDN Jo Nightingale (HMS Drake), kept her nerve eventually wining Gold by 1.60 seconds. Cpl Dom Thistleton took the Fastest Push medal. The RAF ladies as the only full team took the Inter-Services Rose Bowl unchallenged.

The male event was essentially two races in one. The decider between the 2011 and 2012 Champions, who were only separated by 0.17 seconds after day 1, and could anyone stop the RAF squad that has achieved real depth in recent years taking the team title. Day 2 saw the RAF playing the consistency card which allowed RN1 and Army1 to pull ahead of RAF1, driven by SAC Ross Brown (DCAE Cosford) and brake-man SAC John Baines (RAF Leeming) who therefore took Bronze. Lines in the Labyrinth proved crucial on slower ice and resulted in RN1, driven by 2012 Champion Sgt John Jackson RM (CTCRM) and pushed by Major Carl Johnston RM, pushing out their lead to 0.35 seconds, thereby taking Gold and retaining the Individual Champions trophy. Army1, driven by L/Sgt Lamin Deen and pushed by Sgt Steve ‘Smudger’ Smith (3 Para) took Silver and also the consolation of the Fastest Push with a time of 5.33 seconds. In the team competition the answer to the aforementioned question was an emphatic ‘No’ – the RAF took 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th and thus the Mo Hammond Trophy for the first time since 2000. The Army came in some 2.61 seconds off the pace and in something of a role reversal; the RN took home the wooden spoon for the first time in a long time. The future for Bobsleigh is bright but is it ‘light blue’?

By Group Captain Steve Horne

QinetiQ ISSSC 13 – Overall Results and Prize Giving

MediaCS1 — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 09:34:21 +0000

Following the completion of Friday’s racing in the Snowboard Slopestyle and Alpine GS, the race officials crunched their figures and spreadsheets to produce the overall Team and Individual competition winners and placings for the 2013 Inter-Services Snow Sports Competition:

In the Snowboard events, individual awards went to:

Best newcomer: LCpl Kris Looker
Best trick: Lt Simon Mackosz RN

Overall Ladies Champion:
1st: Sgt Sarah Marriott
2nd : Lt Alex Healey RN
3rd : LPT Lucy McKenna

Overall Men’s Champion:
1st : AET Ross Taylor
2nd : Lt Mick Hawkes RN
3rd : Flt Lt James Smith

Snowboard Competition overall team winners were:

Ladies : Army Snowboard Team
Men’s : Royal Navy Snowboard Team (a historic first win)

Alpine Individual Awards were made as follows:

Best Newcomer (Female): Capt Sarah Eckersley
Best Newcomer (Male): Craftsman Kear
Best Disabled Skier : Chief Tech Kirk

Ladies Overall Combined Champion:
1st : Capt Lizzie Cranfield
2nd : Capt Sarah Eckersley
3rd : Capt Lori Sharpe

Men’s Overall Combined Champion:
1st : Flying Officer Jo Munro
2nd : Flt Lt Howard Fielder
3rd : SSgt Mike Atkinson

The Oliver Delaney Trophy for outstanding achievement in Combined Services Winter Sports was awarded to: Capt Matt Shepherd RLC, Captain of the Army Alpine Team and Captain of the Combined Services Alpine Team that will compete at the British National championships later this year.

The Alpine competition overall team champions were:

Ladies : Army Alpine Team
Men : Army Alpine Team

In the Telemark Discipline, the overall combined individual results were:

1st : Major Chippy White
2nd : Major Rob Thorpe RM
3rd : Sgt Gordon McCrae RM

An individual award of Best Newcomer was made to Capt Darren Howells.

In the Telemark team competition the Army Men’s Team won each race and were also the combined overall winners of the Telemark competition.

Trophies awarded were as follows:

Snowboard	Team SBX Winners	Team	F	SSVC Champion Team Ladies	Army
Snowboard	Team SBX Winners	Team	M	SSVC Champion Team Men	Army
Snowboard	Team Parallel GS Winners	Team	F	Glass Trophy	Navy
Snowboard	Team Parallel GS Winners	Team	M	Glass Trophy	Army
Snowboard	Team Slopestyle Winners	Team	F	Glass Trophy	Army
Snowboard	Team Slopestyle Winners	Team	M	Glass Trophy	Navy
Alpine	Team Downhill Winners	Team	F	The Lord Blyth Trophy	Army
Alpine	Team Downhill Winners	Team	M	BAE Systems	Army
Alpine	Team Super G Winners	Team	F	Wg Cdr Cooke (RAF Calfrana) Trophy	Army
Alpine	Team Super G Winners	Team	M	Hollands Trophy	Army
Alpine	Team Slalom Winners	Team	F	Dick Taplin Bowl	Army
Alpine	Team Slalom Winners	Team	M	Holts Branch William & Glynns	RAF
Alpine	Team GS Winners	Team	F	BT Ladies Giant Slalom Trophy	Army
Alpine	Team GS Winners	Team	M	BT Giant Slalom Trophy	RAF
Telemark	Individual Combined Champion	Indiv	M	Medal & Ski Trophy	Maj Chippy White
Snowboard	Best Newcomer	Indiv	F	The Johnny Lowe Cup	LCpl Kris Looker
Snowboard	Best Trick 2013 Nelson Pratt Trophy	Indiv	M/F	Daulkes/Tozer Board	Lt Simon Makosz
Snowboard	Individual Combined Champion	Indiv	F	RAF Finningley	Sgt Sarah Marriott
Snowboard	Individual Combined Champion	Indiv	M	CS Snowboard Championships Shield	AET Ross Taylor
Alpine	Best Newcomer (Female)	Indiv	F	The Pat McGill Trophy	Capt Sarah Eckersley
Alpine	Best Newcomer (Male)	Indiv	M	Hill Samuel Investment Services	Cfn Junior Kear
Alpine	Individual Combined Champion	Indiv	F	Flt Lt Eric Henry Cup	Capt Lizzie Cranfield
Alpine	Individual Combined Champion	Indiv	M	Army, Navy and Air Force Ski Challenge Cup	Fg Offr Joe Munro
Alpine	Best Disabled Skier	Indiv	M	The Coombes Cup	Chief Tech Kirk
Alpine	Outstanding Achievement	Indiv	M	The Delany Trophy	Capt Matt Shepherd
Telemark	Team Combined Champions	Team	M	Medal & Ski Trophy	Army
Snowboard	Team Combined Champions	Team	F	McKinsey & Co IS Winning Team (Ladies)	Army
Snowboard	Team Combined Champions	Team	M	McKinsey & Co IS Winning Team (Men)	Navy
Alpine	Team Combined Champions	Team	F	Wilkinson Sword Trophy	Army
Alpine	Team Combined Champions	Team	M	Inter Services Ski Championship Team Cup	Army

And the final combined individual listings are posted below.

Alpine:
20130208_ISSSC13_Alpine-Overall_Indiv_M001
20130208_ISSSC13_Alpine-Overall_Indiv_F001

Snowboard:
20130208_ISSSC13_SB-Overall_Indiv_M001
20130208_ISSSC13_SB-Overall_Indiv_F001

The prize giving was hosted, as usual, in the auditorium at Meribel Tourist Office – CSWSA’s thanks go to the Events Director, M. Christophe Mugnier, for use of this excellent facility and for the closing reception afterwards.

Selex ES Snowboard Slopestyle Competition

MediaCS1 — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:33:42 +0000

The Selex-ES Snowboard Slopestyle competition was run today on the Moon Park at Meribel. This exciting event always draws the crowds as the three Service teams compete, not for the fastest time down the hill, but for the most stylish. Judges assess the difficulty, hight and amplitude of the various jumps and tricks pulled by the riders, awarding points accordingly. The winner in the Mens catagory was Royal Navy Air Engineering Technician Ross Taylor, successfully defending his title, against Silver placed Lt Simon Mackosz Royal Navy and Staff Sergeant John Craig. The Ladies catagory medals went to Sergeant Sarah Marriott with the RN’s ladies picking up Silver, Able Rate Mel Southern, and Bronze, Surg Lt Cdr Stephanie Ingram RN.

Full results are here:
Men; 20130208_ISSSC13_SELEX-ES_SB-SlpSty_M001 Women: 20130208_ISSSC13_SELEX-ES_SB-SlpSty_F001

Serco Alpine Giant Slalom

MediaCS1 — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 14:38:58 +0000

The final Alpine Discipline event was held in, finally, bright sunshine on the Stade de Slalom at Meribel. Fresh snow is never the best surface for a fast race so the extra care taken by the Meribel team to prepare the course was really appreciated and sure enough the track ran fast for all the racers and held up well. The GB Development squad set some cracking times, taking both first and second fastest overall in the open competition – Joe Morrisson and Matthew Thompson respectively. For the Inter-Services results the Army’s top two hopes had less luck than they might have wished, as did the RN’s team captain, allowing the RAF through to take all the top 5 places. The Gold winner was SAC Gary Smith, Silver went to FgOff Joe Munro and Bronze to SAC Barnaby Rudge.

In the Ladies event the Army held their team lead with Gold secured by Capt Lizzie Cranfield, Silver Capt Sarah Eckersley and Bronze scooped by the RAF’s Clair Nixon from under the noses of the 4th (with a combined time just 0.3 seconds faster), 5th and 6th placed Army skiers.

Full results are here:
Men: 20130208_ISSSC13_Alpine-Overall_Indiv_M001 20130208_ISSSC13_Serco-Alp-GS_Team_M001

Women: 20130208_ISSSC13_Alpine-Overall_Indiv_F001 20130208_ISSSC13_Serco-Alp-GS_Team_F001

IBM Telemark Sprint Parallel

MediaCS1 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:24:09 +0000

The final Telemark event was run this morning on the Stade de Slalom at Meribel, with the previous few days heavy snow demanding an early start to the final day’s racing for all the events to fit into the week. Hot off the press the results were Gold to Major Chippy White, Silver to Major Rob Thorpe Royal Marines, and Bronze to Sgt Gordon McCrae Royal Marines.

Results: 20130208_ISSSC13_IBM TM Parallel_M001

BT Alpine Slalom Results

MediaCS1 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:13:50 +0000

A cold night under the floodlights of the Stade de Slalom at Meribel was the scene for fast and furious action in the BT Slalom last night. This event, run over two different courses of 54 gates demands extremely fine technique as well as stamina and athletism. Those who do well at Downhill or the other speed events do not necessarily have the same advantage in the SL where the tight and twisting turns, on an icy and steep slope, require agility and balance more than strength or a head for high speed. That is not to say courage isn’t required, but its the deftness to put your skis within millimeters of an obstacle, and the courage to deliberately whack your arms into that obstacle to shorten the racing line (or your head!) Hearty congratulations therefore go to the winners and runners up as follows: Overall fastest was Matt Thompson of the GB Development Squad, with SSgt Dougie MacPherson scooping Gold for the Army, SAC Gary Smith and SAC Barnaby Rudge collecting both Silver and Bronze respectively for the RAF. First placed RN athlete was Lt Tom Constable RN at 10th, so the Army and RAF Men have increased their lead in the team competition. In the Ladies event it was an even more one way result, all three podium positions going to the Army, with Gold to Capt Sarah Eckersley, Silver to Capt Lizzie Cranfield and Bronze to Capt Lori Sharp.

Full results are here:
Men: 20130207_ISSSC13_BT-AlpineSL_M001
20130207_ISSSC13_BT-AlpineSL_Team-M001

Ladies: 20130207_ISSSC13_BT-AlpineSL_F001
20130207_ISSSC13_BT-AlpineSL_Team-F001

IBM Telemark Sprint

MediaCS1 — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:00:07 +0000

The snow just keeps on falling in Meribel at the ISSSC13! Conditions for this morning’s IBM Telemark Sprint race were probably best described as “soft”, with the ESF hill team working hard to keep the course fair and equitable after another half foot of fresh powder fell overnight. Nonetheless the racers tackled the challenge with their usual gusto and determination, and as is now becoming usual, GB Squad telemarker Chris Stewart scooped the overall win, with Major Chippy White of the Army the winning Serviceman. Silver and Bronze medals were awarded to the Naval team, Lt Col Huan Davies RM and Maj Rob Thorpe RM respectively. IBM Sponsor representative Joanna Davinson presented the prizes and congratulated all the competitors on another gutsy and hard fought competition.

Full results are here: 20130207_ISSSC13_IBM TM Sprint_M001

IBM Telemark Classic Results

MediaCS1 — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:03:44 +0000

The IBM Telemark Classic was run yesterday in sunshine at the Stade de Slalom in Meribel. This event is won or lost on the final section of the Loom and the uphill climb to the finish, all of which happens right in front of the spectators. Loud cheering on of the racers, and some special IBM cowbells, helped create the atmosphere as GB Development Squad’s Chris Stewart stormed through to win a blistering 14 seconds ahead of the fastest military skiers. Nonetheless, a fast pace was still made with some outsanding efforts in the InterServce competition. The Gold medal was scooped by Major Chippy White, Silver by Lieutenant Colonel Huan Davies Royal Marines and Bronze by Major Phil Grove.

Full results are here: 20130205_ISSSC13_IBM TM Classic_M001

PwC Snowboard Parallel Slalom Final

MediaCS1 — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:40:57 +0000

Bad weather didn’t stop play in the PwC Snowboard Parallel Slalom which ran on the Stade de Slalom in Meribel last night. Despite the blizzard conditions, terrible visibility and cold, riders from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF competed hard and enthusastically in search of more team competition points and individual medals. In a historic first there was a clean sweep of the top prizes by the Navy riders with Lt Lt Alex Kelly RN the Gold winner for the ladies and AET Ross Taylor the Men’s champion. Full results : 20130205_ISSSC13_PWC-SB-ParSL_F001 20130205_ISSSC13_PWC-SB-ParSL_M001

Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group Super Giant Slalom and KBR Super Combined at ISSSC 13

MediaCS1 — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:50:43 +0000

Warmer than expected temperatures and thick drifting fog banks challenged the hill team and competitors today at the Marshall’s Super G and then the KBR Super Combined. The course this morning was both fast and technical offering the thrill of speed and the thigh burn of a challenging course. The fog banks caused a number of delays to ensure each competitor recieved a safe chance to compete down their single run with the standard of visibility required.

In the ladies event it was the Army who dominated with Captain Lizzie Cranfield winning and Captain Sarah Eckersley taking second ahead of Flight Lieutenant Ally Phippen. In the men’s event Captain Matt Shepherd skied a strong run to lead the field ahead of Charles Richardson from the GB Development Team, Flying Officer Joe Munro from the RAF in Silver Medal position and Lieutenant Chris Sharrott from the RoyalNavy picking up the Bronze.

After the prize giving for the Super G the alpine racers enjoyed a burger from the BBQ and supported the IBM Telemark Classic race, a great spectiator event, whilst they changed over their skis. Those who successfully completed the Super G went forward to a single run of slalom which, combined with their time for the Super G gives a Super Combined competition result. The slalom leg is run in reverse time order from the Super G run and a dynamic podium is run in the finish area with racers being ‘bumped’ from the podium as their respective combined time is beaten. This provided huge spectator excitement as successive racers came down the demanding 57 gate slalom course. After a nail biting finish, those left on the top step of the KBR Super Combined podium were Captain Lizzie Cranfield from the Army and Charles Richardson from the GB Development team with SSgt Mike Atkinson from the Army being the top military male. The Combined Services Disabled Ski Team had 3 athletes competing today representing all 3 individual services.

Looking ahead the Alpine community have an enforced day off due to forecast weather tomorrow with normal service planned to resume for the BT Alpine Slalom on Thursday evening.

Official Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group Alpine Super G results are here:
Super G Ladies: 20130205_ISSSC13_MADG-SupG_F001
and Super G Men: 20130205_ISSSC13_MADG-SupG_M001

Team results from the Super G: 20130205_ISSSC13_MADG-SupG-Teams_MF001

Official KBR Super Combined results are here:
Ladies:20130205_ISSSC13_KBR-SupComb_F001
Men: 20130205_ISSSC13_KBR-SupComb_M001