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ANNUAL REPORT 2009-2010
The Royal Air Force Squad 2010
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ROYAL AIR FORCE CRESTA ANNUAL REPORT 2009-2010
Introduction
This report is a summary of the 2009-2010 season’s activities for the Royal Air
Force Cresta Association. It is intended to give our sponsors and supporters a
summary of what we have been doing, how we
are going about it and what we hope to achieve
in the future.
This report will also provide the Royal Air Force
and Combined Services sports organisations
with an overview of Royal Air Force Cresta. In
light of current manpower and financial
pressures, every non-essential activity has to
make its case. In this respect, the experience
of riding the world’s steepest ice run continues
to offer a unique personal and team
development opportunity. Riding the Cresta
Run is very challenging, while competing on the
Cresta Run is substantially more so. It provides
an effective route to producing physically and
mentally robust individuals, who are then
better-prepared to meet the demands of the
modern Royal Air Force.
Inter-Services Championship 2010
The Inter-Services Championship was held on Thursday 28 January 2010, with a
core Service training period of 16-27 January, for which the majority of our 11-strong
Squad was present. A few of the members were able to start their preparation
early, during the week 10-15 January, while Wing Commander Jon Hough was the
last to arrive just in time for Race Week.
We had one beginner for this season, Flight Lieutenant
Joss Wilson. Unfortunately, Joss had a serious fall on
his fourth ride, badly cutting his leg (among other things)
which prevented him riding for most of the remaining 2
weeks. To his great credit, Joss spent most of his
convalescence standing in the freezing cold with a video
camera, in order to provide the rest of the Squad with
invaluable video footage of their training rides. Come
Race Day, and despite not being fully recovered, Joss
was determined to ride. He subsequently produced his
best times to win the Services Silver Spoon – a fantastic
effort and a well-deserved win.
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Flight Lieutenant Greg Atkins, who (like Joss) is a Royal Air Force Regiment Officer,
was our only Top beginner. After several years of interruptions due to injury and
operational commitments, Greg made the most of his first full season, taking his first
Top ride on 18 January. After a solid week of Top riding, he was slightly frustrated to
fall in the first course of the Harland Trophy. However, his solid progress this
season (and his spirited attack on Race Day!) bodes well for next year.
Of note, Greg’s attempts to ride very fast
on Race Day were less successful than
those of his Commandant General, Air
Commodore Steve Abbott, who rode some
of his best-ever times to finish ‘in the
photograph’ in fifth place. The remainder
of the Squad made good progress
throughout the training period, acutely
aware that the other 2 Services were likely
to field strong teams on Race Day.
The Royal Air Force Regiment on the Cresta Run
By Race Day, it was the Royal Navy Team that had emerged as our strongest
competition for the Prince Philip Trophy. On an overcast and (initially) slightly
snowy morning, the opening course produced some extraordinary individual
performances. Personal best times from the Royal Air Force (including Group
Captain Tim Below who was riding, remarkably, with a broken rib) were matched by
personal bests from some of the Royal Navy and Army riders, giving the Royal Air
Force the slimmest of leads – 0.24 seconds – over the Royal Navy at the end of the
first course. The pressure was on all of us, and particularly on those riding their
fastest-ever times, as they now had to repeat the feat over 2 further courses.
Inter-Services Cresta riding is deliberately
constructed to require both speed and
consistency as a team, and this had been
an important feature of our training. The
Royal Air Force’s consistency now started
to show, as a Royal Navy mistake in the
second course left them adrift by 3
seconds, but the tension remained: the
Royal Navy could still win if we slowed
down, or if one of our riders fell. In the
event, the Race was virtually decided at
the start of the third course. In an heroic
(but doomed) attempt to recover the Royal
Navy’s position, Sergeant Ian Breeze of the
Royal Marines finished up in the straw at
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Shuttlecock, the only faller in the Inter-Services. As a result, the Royal Air Force
retained the Inter-Services Championship for a second successive year. Results
sheets for all the Inter-Services events are attached.
The Inter-Services Championship was
well-supported by senior officers from all
3 Services. The President of Combined
Services Winter Sports, Air Marshal
Kevin Leeson, was present with his
Chairman, Captain Mike Davis-Marks
Royal Navy, while the Army was
represented by the Assistant Chief of the
General Staff, Major General James
Bucknell. The senior Royal Navy officer
was Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff
(Health), who competed on Race Day (in the Silver Spoon) against the new Director
of the RAF Sports Board, Air Commodore (Retd) Barry Doggett.
Throughout the training period and the Inter-Services Championship, the Royal Air
Force Squad engaged fully with the St Moritz Tobogganing Club and more widely
within the resort. Activities ranged from coaching the other 2 Services and a
number of non-service Club members, to hosting at formal events, to our ‘VIP’ visit
to Hockey Club Davos (where ‘Herr General’, Air Commodore Steve Abbott, was
invited to give a stirring pre-match motivational speech – stirring stuff – which was
featured in the local news). Throughout the period, the Squad seized every
opportunity to present our Service to good effect in this high-profile arena.
The 2010 Squad
We were lucky enough to have an experienced Squad this year, despite the
absence of Wing Commander Greg Cook (on operations in Afghanistan). The 2010
Squad was as follows:
Wing Commander Andy Green
HQ 22 Training Group, RAF High Wycombe
Wing Commander Tim Hill
National Air & Space Operations Centre, RAF High Wycombe
Group Captain Simon Brailsford
HQ Air Command, RAF High Wycombe
Wing Commander Jon Hough
No 70 Squadron, RAF Lyneham
Group Captain Tim Below
Air Warfare Centre, MOD Boscombe Down
Air Commodore Steve Abbott
HQ 2 Group, RAF High Wycombe
Squadron Leader Mike Lea
Typhoon Project Team, DE&S Abbey Wood
Flight Lieutenant Jason Murray
Operations Wing, RAF Brize Norton
Flight Lieutenant Greg Atkins
Training Wing, RAF Honington
Flight Lieutenant Mark Paxman
Operations Wing, RAF Brize Norton
Flight Lieutenant Joss Wilson
RAF Regiment
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Our annual target is for a Squad of 10 experienced riders, plus 2-3 beginners. For
this year, we had initially identified 3 beginners, but because of various work and
domestic commitments only one (Flight Lieutenant Joss Wilson) was able to take
part.
Structurally, we remain somewhat top-heavy in terms of age and rank, and it
remains difficult to attract junior (and particularly non-commissioned) riders. Some
of this problem is related to funding: as an Approved (rather than Recognised)
Sport, Cresta attracts no public funding, so this remains an expensive sport for
individuals to sample and still more expensive to take up long-term.
In an effort to address this imbalance, we are conducting an advertising and
recruitment campaign to attract younger riders, to make sure that we are investing
in the long-term future of Royal Air Force Cresta. (As an example of this campaign,
a full page RAF News article is attached, while our website
www.raf.mod.uk/rafcresta is now producing enquiries from potential new riders).
In addition, we are also aiming to run a novice ‘Ice Camp’ early in January, aimed
principally at our non-commissioned and junior ranks. This should provide a lowercost opportunity to try the Cresta, with the option to return in future as part of the
Royal Air Force Squad. However, the current Association funding will not support
this extra activity, so we will need to find additional funding elsewhere. We are
currently exploring several options to enable an Ice Camp, in the hope of offering a
life-enhancing experience to a small group of junior riders next year.
Equipment
Royal Air Force Cresta is now seeing the
benefits of a long-term equipment investment
programme. We are in the enviable position of
operating a fleet of 12 Flat Top toboggans, one
of which is nearly new (the JCB-sponsored
composite ‘Typhoon’ toboggan), while the
remainder have recently been refurbished. In
addition, we have 5 Traditional toboggans to
support beginner training (and potentially an Ice
Camp), all of which have been refurbished.
To add to this total, we received an extremely
generous donation this season. George Isliker,
long-term friend of Royal Air Force Cresta (and
the original maker of some of our Traditional
toboggans), has now stopped riding and has
donated his Flat Top and Traditional toboggans
to the Royal Air Force Squad. This lovely
gesture is typical of the warmth and generosity that Royal Air Force Cresta attracts,
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and we are extremely grateful for it. George’s toboggans will be refurbished in
Royal Air Force Cresta colours this year, to join the fleet next season.
While toboggans are a key part of the equipment, they
are by no means everything. In particular, good-quality
and well-maintained safety equipment is essential. We
are fortunate to have enough good-quality body armour,
which is bearing up fairly well, although some
replacements will soon be required. The purchase of
10 new helmets, based on the Czech bob-skeleton
helmet design (the only helmets available at the time),
has given us sufficient high-quality helmets for all Royal
Air Force riders. The new helmets continue to suffer
from some visor misting problems (a known design
fault), but we are working around this, and overall they
are giving good service. Finally, the squad’s blue riding
suits are wearing well and continue to look smart.
Funding
Our aim is to keep a working total of between £10 000 and £15 000 in the account,
which represents a 2-year ‘survival’ budget if current funding lines were to be
interrupted for any reason. The bulk of our outgoings are riding fees, with
equipment maintenance, insurance, business development (social events), et
cetera, adding to the total. Main income sources are from 3 distinct areas:
Non-public Funds. We are fortunate to receive grants from the Combined
Services Winter Sports Association (to cover a week of riding fees for the InterServices team training), the Royal
Air Force Sports Board (to support
novice rider development) and the
Royal Air Force Sports Lottery (to
cover travel costs).
Corporate Support. This year we
were delighted to maintain our links
with JCB, while welcoming Thales
and QinetiQ Boscombe Down as
new supporters of Royal Air Force
Cresta.
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Private Individuals.
As
ever, the support that we
received
from
private
individuals means a huge
amount to us. This support
makes
the
difference
between ‘just about coping’
and providing for a full-size
and
properly
equipped
squad.
The remainder of the funding
is made up by individual
contributions
from
each
Squad member. While we aim to subsidise the cost of accommodation from
Association funds (which we achieved this year), food and other living expenses are
paid by individuals, as are membership fees for the St Moritz Tobogganing Club.
Overall, we are in a sustainable financial position, thanks to the continued support
from these various organisations and, of course, from our friends.
The Committee
The Committee will see some changes this coming year, as we take the opportunity
to involve some of the more junior riders in the running of our Association:
Captain
Andy Green
Chairman
Tim Hill
Secretary
Simon Brailsford (handing over to Mike Lea)
Treasurer
Jon Hough (handing over to Jason Murray)
Equipment Member
Tim Below (handing over to Mark Paxman)
Training Member
Andy Green
Our current situation, with well-ordered finances, a strong long-term plan and wellmaintained equipment, is down to the large amount of hard work that our outgoing
committee members have invested in Royal Air Force Cresta. We are indebted to
Simon, Jon and Tim for all their efforts.
Social Events
We remain keen to meet up each year with those of our friends who are unable to
join us in St Moritz. While the Royal Air Force Dinner in St Moritz is our main formal
gathering, we also intend to meet as the Royal Air Force Cresta ‘family’ at least
once during the off-season, either in the Royal Air Force Club or (when possible) at
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a front-line station. Moreover,
arranging occasional events in a
station environment affords us the
opportunity to showcase a little of
Service life. In 2009, we continued
a highly successful series of station
visits when Group Captain Tim
Below hosted a summer afternoon
visit and evening dinner at MOD
Boscome Down.
We will also continue to make use of St Moritz Tobogganing Club social venues
wherever possible. This year’s Cocktail Party is on Wednesday 12 May in the
House of Lords, and we hope to see as many of our friends and supporters there as
possible.
Summary
The 2009-2010 season was another successful one for Royal Air Force Cresta. We
have strength in depth, albeit with a limited number of young riders joining. We are
actively addressing this, in part by exploring a novice Ice Camp to promote wider
(and less individually expensive) access to Cresta. In terms of equipment and
funding we are in a sound and sustainable position, thanks to the invaluable support
of a number of organisations and private individuals.
Royal Air Force Cresta continues to
provide Service personnel with a
unique challenge, helping to
produce physically and mentally
robust individuals. At the same
time, by displaying a high standard
of performance, sportsmanship and
teamwork, Royal Air Force Cresta
makes the most of the opportunity
to present the Service at its best.
As a result, Royal Air Force Cresta
continues to benefit both the
individuals involved and the
Service as a whole.
The Inter-Services Cresta Champions 2010
Andy Green
Wing Commander
Captain
Royal Air Force Cresta
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