IN PICTURES: Weather brings mixed fortunes at Army winter sports events

In Winterberg, Germany, despite the worst conditions in memory for the Army Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Novice and Junior Championships, the event was the traditional scene of high drama and excitement.

With the intrepid racers hurtling in pouring rain down the one kilometre-plus course at anything up to 80mph (129km/h), they flashed past amazed onlookers in the blink of an eye, as they vied to beat each other and their own previous timings by just fractions of a second.

The championships, run in driving rain and strong winds as well as sub-zero temperatures, also took in the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Novice and Junior Championships. British Forces Germany (BFG) racers were among the medals with Sennelager-based 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, known as 'The Welsh Cavalry', winning both the Winners and Runners Up Novice trophies.

With plenty of young and inexperienced skiers in the line-up, dramatic crashes were the order of the day in the vital training sessions, where a tiny error of judgement saw the heavy bobsleighs sometimes finishing the run on their sides and minus their crews, although fortunately with no serious injuries, apart from aches and sprains and a lot of wounded pride. The 14 turns over 1,300 metres of track on the Winterberg run mean a tough challenge for the young riders.

The thrills and spills were equally great for the Luge competitors, who go down feet first on tiny toboggans, and the Skeleton racers, who race down headfirst:

"Competitors are still quite inexperienced by the time they reach these Championships," explained Colour Sergeant Sean Ollson, head of the Army Bobsleigh Development Squad and himself an Olympic Bronze medal winner. "The season follows a set sequence, with riders having to attend the Ice Camp at Calgary, Canada, where selection is made for Winterberg. It's all good training and I have seen people making rapid improvements as this week has gone on.

"The guys here have been recruited because of their potential and slowly but surely we're developing that experience. The aim is to get half a dozen guys by the end of the season that will progress on to next season and develop the squad."

Lieutenant Harry Pilcher, of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, described the attraction of bobsleigh racing:

"Yes it is scary, hurtling down the slope in a nearly 400kg bobsleigh, but you get a huge adrenalin rush. At the end of the day, it is all about controlling your fear and putting your trust in your team-mates. We hope to finish the season with several medals before we start Afghanistan training in the spring."

Following the Novice and Junior competition, the season continues with the British Championships, also in Winterberg, the Army Championships and the British and the Inter Services Championships in Igls, Austria.

Lieutenant Colonel Matt Perkin, Chairman Army Bobsleigh, was full of praise for the competitors for a sterling performance in atrocious conditions:

"The weather was the worst I have ever seen at Winterberg, with high winds and massive rainfall, which meant the run was literally streaming with water and visibility was poor. A few crashes were inevitable in the circumstances, but everyone rose to the challenge and put in a good performance. Although everyone deserves praise, Lieutenant Pilcher's results were quite remarkable, having raced as a novice but even beating the Junior timings."

Lt Col Perkin thanked the organisers for all their hard work in making the event such a success, not least in such difficult conditions:

"The Services really are the bedrock of national Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Luge and we need to maintain a drip of quality athletes into the national associations to become the future Olympians."

Snow and sunshine the order of the day at ski championships

Meanwhile in Serre Chevalier, France, personnel taking part in Exercise Spartan Hike were enjoying altogether different weather. The location was chosen by the Army for its ability to provide high enough mountains for the heart-stopping runs required in the Alpine events, and the flatter but still arduous terrain for the classic, biathlon and Military Patrol races in the Nordic events.

Over the ten day competition which finished yesterday, 22 January 2008, teams from 2nd, 4th, and 5th Divisions, London District and Northern Ireland battled it out around the courses and on the slopes with guts and determination, as well as a willingness from the experienced seniors to help out the novices.

Major John 'Smudge' Smith, the Exercise Controller, believes it is this bringing on and encouragement of new skiers, both Nordic and Alpine, that is the strength of Spartan Hike:

"This is about sport for all," he explained. "We encourage anybody of any standard to take part which is why we have got such of a range of abilities. I'm very glad to see the number of novices taking part increases every year.

"The numbers are down this year, but this is due to the tempo of operations at the moment. It is testament to the fact that people do keep wanting to do it that we have the numbers we do. But we would certainly welcome more TA teams in the Alpine events."

Many teams were able to take advantage of training in Norway and Austria leading up to the competition, but the teams from 25 Training Support Regiment RLC and 1st Battalion The Rifles arrived at the exercise with no previous training and still managed to complete all the races and finish ahead of some of the more experienced teams.

Lt Col Charles Bromley-Gardner, Nordic Technical Director, said:

"The conditions were fantastic – there was lots of snow and bright clear days, although we were sometimes affected by avalanche conditions which meant we had to adapt courses, but we were still able to provide a full challenge. The numbers were down but we have still been able to send 11 good teams and 16 individuals forward to the Army championships.

"Nordic is not as glamorous as Alpine so we tend not to get volunteers. They are generally sportsmen and women who are put forward by their units, but once they have experienced it they keep coming back – the best recruiters we have for the sport are the skiers themselves."

Chief Alpine, Colonel Steve James, paid special tribute to 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster Regiment:

"I am delighted by the performance of the team from 2 Lancs who won the Infantry championships, have done well at Spartan Hike and qualified for the Army championships. I would also like to congratulate Oxford UOTC who achieved third place in the Super G – the first time ever that a UOTC team has won prizes in an open hill competition."