Heating up the Inter-Squadron Competition: Sports Day and Wing Harrier 2009.
By: IV OCdt Catie Keyser, 1 sqn, 24633.
This past Saturday, the 12th of September, RMC cadets and a substantial amount of staff participated in the annual fall Sports day and Harrier run. A cool morning motivated the participants for the 5 km run up Fort Henry and around the Point, while the afternoon turned into the blistering heat of competition.
The top 50 times from each squadron were averaged, and 2 squadron came out on top again. (Photo left with Commandant) III John Rutherford of 2 squadron conquered the run with a time of 16.32 while III Celine Best of 6 squadron attained the top female time with a run of 19.17. Five other runners completed the run with exceptional times despite carrying hefty rucksacks. In their final week of training, we wish them all the best of luck in the Military Ironman this Thursday in Petawawa.
(Photo L-R): III Andrew Standfield eating up yardage; 9 squadron won the Spirit Award (the squadron members are given the trophy by CWC Nicholas Bouchard; Stone Frigate -beat Otter in one round of Tug of War competition. The first loss for the Otter Squadron in five years; and overall winning squadron photo-2 Sqn.
In the later part of the morning and in the afternoon, 14 squadrons competed fiercely for the titles of five games. 2 squadron conquered again winning the Tabloid event; a series of small games using wits, athletics, strength and skill, and also quite a bit of luck. Maze game was won by 10 squadron, while 3 squadron triumphed over Flag Football, and 7 squadron took home the gold for the Chain of Command Relay Race. Also on this exciting 12th of September, Otter squadron was defeated in Tug of War for the first time in 5 years! I do believe a big round of applause is in order for 1 squadron who attained this feat. Unfortunately, as best out of 3 goes, the roars from the whole wing were quieted as Otter squadron came back and won two more matches against the Stone Frigate, placing them in number 1. Three cheers for the acclaimed ‘old man strength’ and the sole female on their team! (Otter team captain, M0975 Karl Braschuk (RMC 2011), receiving the tug of war trophy from Maj Erkelens)
So as all scores were added up, 7, 12, and 13 squadron tied for third place, 10 squadron attained 2nd place, and low and behold; feisty 2 squadron came home on top, again!
Thank you to all of the student and staff organizers; your day was long, you probably ran around more than the length of the Harrier many times over, but the job was completed and the day was a success! Everything went as planned, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves in the sun and despite being exhausted, not one unenthusiastic face was seen when the delicious BBQ opened at the end of the long day.
Traduit par III Jérémy Daigle
Samedi passé, soit le 12 septembre, les élofs du CMR accompagné par une grande partie du personnel du côté militaire ont participé à la journée sportif et la course Harrier qui a lieu à chaque année à l’automne. Au début de la journée, il fessait plus ou moins frète, ce qui a aidé les participants à courir le trajet du 5 km, qui commence avec la monté de la côte du fort Henry et finit en faisant le tour du fort Frédérique. L’après-midi par contre a finis en ce réchauffant en même temps que la compétition dans les autres épreuves.
Pour la course, la moyenne des temps de parcourt de chaque escadron ont été calculé et l’escadron 2 était vainqueur encore cette année pour une deuxième fois de suite. L’élof John Rutherford de l’escadron 2 a eu le meilleur temps de la course avec un temps de 16.32 alors que le meilleur temps pour les femmes était de 19.17, obtenue par l’élof Celine Best de l’escadron 6. Cinq autre coureurs ont obtenu de très respectable temps, malgré avoir couru avec leurs « rucksack » sur le dos. On souhaite bonne chance à ces cinq braves personnes qui participerons au Ironman militaire la semaine qui s’envient.
Au cours de la journée, les 14 escadrons rivaux ont joué pour la victoire dans cinq sports différents. Après tout, l’escadron 2 a gagnée à la compétition de course à obstacle, la 10 a gagnée au défi du labyrinthe, la 3 a remporté la victoire au tournoi de Flag Football et finalement la 7 a remporté la médaille d’or au course a relais. Il est aussi intéressent de noter que cette année, l’escadron Otter a été battue à la compétition de souque à la corde pour la première fois dans 5 ans. C’est l’escadron 1 qui a réussis a remporter un des matchs contre Otter, mais malheureusement l’escadron Otter a quand même remporté la victoire contre l’escadron 1 en gagnent deux des trois matchs.
A la fin de la journée lorsque tous les points ont été additionnés; les escadrons 7, 12 et 13 se sont placés en égalité pour la troisième position, l’escadron 10 s’est place en deuxième et l’escadron 2 a remporté la journée pour une deuxième année de suite.
Un grand merci a tous les organisateurs qui ont rendu cette journée possible. Pour ces gens la journée était très longue et certainement épuisante mais grâce à eux c’était un grand succès et tout le monde s’est amusé.
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Nijmegen 2009
By 25101 OCdt Tony Walsworth & 24501 NCdt Tyson Babcock
This past summer, RMC sent an 11 member team consisting of 10 cadets and a Squadron Commander overseas to the Netherlands to represent the College and the CF in Nijmegen. It was a fantastic experience in which the cadets got to interact with many foreign militaries and see a different culture. The trip was filled with difficulties, challenges, as well as rewarding memories and once in a life time experiences
The second day on the ground, the entire Canadian contingent took a day to pay their respects to the past. The Canadians contingent travelled to France and visited Vimy Ridge and the surrounding cemeteries. This served as a silent reminder to everyone and brought the purpose of the marches into focus.
As expected with an event of this nature, the toughest part of the marches was keeping morale high during the long days of marching and the nights spent taking care of our feet. The team fought through this by singing high spirited songs and the witty banter amongst our fellow teammates. This coupled with the competitive rivalry between teams from other nations was a great way to take the mind off of the pain and blisters. One thing no one on the team will ever forget was the roar of cheering by the Dutch people lining the road. Whenever a Canadian team marched by they would cheer so loud it was deafening.
Throughout the days of marching, the most phenomenal sight was the local population. Besides the 46 000 participants, countless thousands of people cheered, waved, sang, and danced. Even when we stepped off at 0400, there would people awake and lining the route cheering us along to show their support! The children ran through the streets and weaved through the marchers to see us go by, offering excited high fives and candies. The children will never be forgotten yelling frantically as they ran beside the team asking, “Souvenir?” in a thick Dutch accent. Dozens of bands were stationed throughout the routes to give those passing some musical entertainment as the teams marched through small picturesque European towns. On the third day, the team stopped for a quick break, and one of the bands offered us shelter under their awning from the heavy torrential rain. We graciously declined because we were already soaked all the way through and still had a long uphill road to cover!
The Trip was a huge success, giving the members of the Canadian Contingent an experience we’ll never forget. When it was all said and done the team marched a total of 180km over the four day period through heat and high humidity and of course torrential downpour. On top of fond memories, the team will never forget how we grew as a team and what we learned about working together. The whole event culminated after passing the finish line and being awarded our medals by MGen MacQuillan. The strangest thing then happened. Some one from the background yelled, “RMC, give me a beer!!”