By Sqn Ldr Leah Griffin

As one of the later additions to the Overseas Visit, I was surprised to be asked to be Detachment Commander having never been on an Athletics Association Visit before! Any initial concerns were however quickly dispelled at the start of the Visit as it was obvious that the Visit Manager, Fg Off Stacey Kirby, had everything under a tight rein and had done a superb job in organising the event. Stacey had clearly put in an inordinate amount of work in ensuring that every aspect of the Visit catered for all of the Royal Air Force athletes and it did not disappoint in any respect. The facilities at Monte Gordo were tailor-made for the aspiring athlete with excellent accommodation and training venues to match. All of the Visit members eagerly threw themselves into hard work from Day 1. Those that had been on a Visit before shared their knowledge and experience with new members of the Squad and everyone, irrespective of their discipline, squeezed every ounce of training value out of the 10 days that they could, but sensibly paced themselves to avoid injury!

I was impressed by the effort put in by the whole team and energy which they sustained throughout the Visit, applying themselves wholeheartedly to whatever technical training drill their coaches asked of them and, believe me, many of the drills and core sessions were very challenging! Team camaraderie throughout the Visit was excellent with many athletes benefiting from sampling new forms of training that complemented their usual routines and much experience was shared between different disciplines which, was pleasing to see.

Overall, the Visit brought out the best of qualities in all of courage, determination, team spirit and leadership; all members were excellent ambassadors for the Royal Air Force overseas. All of the athletes now leave Portugal, fitter, stronger and justifiably confident to face the season ahead. I look forward to the Inter Services and hopefully the next Visit!