RAF Inter-Station Championships 05 – 07 NOV 2008

1. The RAFSA Inter-Station and Individual Swimming, Diving and Water polo Championships were held at RAF Cranwell on 05 – 07 Nov 07. Once again, the Mounsey Trophy was to be awarded to the Unit that achieved the highest total number of points in the combined swimming and water polo competitions. Due to the current Operational tempo, there were fewer competitors than previous years, but the Championships were admirably supported with 14 Stations being represented. Most of those Units only managed to field a few personnel, and some Stations who could not raise a full team were represented by just individuals;these personnel are commended for turning up to compete. The competition was a great success, with more first timers trying out water polo (both men and women), and new individuals taking part in the diving competition. Congratulations are due to SAC N Barber (RAF Waddington), Flt Lt A Phippen (RAF Odiham), Fg Off M Pugh (RAF Cranwell) and the RAF Cranwell men's freestyle team for each setting new records in the swimming events.

2. The first event decided was the water polo, with just 5 units participating. The teams played each other in a round robin format. Honington fielded the team with the most females and fought hard against their much stronger opponents, managing to get themselves onto the scoreboard in one of their matches. Waddington brought the largest team, illustrating the benefits of being just down the road from Cranwell, and demonstrated how depth of strength in a team is a great advantage, winning all their matches, although the one against Cranwell was a very close contest. Cranwell developed and grew stronger as the competition progressed, demonstrating some great polo from young inexperienced players. Coningsby recruited members from other sports (namely football goalkeepers) and with a small team proved good fighters and a tough challenge for the other teams, having close matches throughout. Their competitive spirit was slightly challenged with members being excluded from the water at crucial times, which resulted in losing a decisive match. Brampton/Wyton/Henlow fielded a bare minimum team, only on occasions actually having a substitute, but this did not impinge on their tactics and determination. Only losing one of their games and having a very close match in another they drove their route into the final. So as per last year, it was to be B/W/H and Waddington to fight it out for the title. The final was a brilliant match, with some great plays, especially as B/W/H only had the bare 7 to take on the slightly larger (full) Waddington squad. Flt Lt Chris Jones (B/W/H) coached/played out of his skin, even though out of his normal position, he scored most of their goals and kept the B/W/H team fighting hard. The first quarter was a draw, though B/W/H opened the scoring in the first minute shocking Waddington early in the match; the second quarter was a very narrow win for Waddington, the third was very close too and the fourth and final quarter was stolen by Waddington in the last few minutes. Credit must be given to all the teams who played in the championships and it was again fantastic to see lots more women participating. The overall results of the Water Polo competition were as follows:

3. The individual diving competition has gone from strength to strength and again more new divers turned out for the competition with the overall standard being above average. The men's competition was closely fought for second and third but an early lead was set from the start by the experienced Sgt Davies, who performed some excellent dives. The standard was no lower in the ladies' competition where SAC Monk set the high standard in the springboard and Fg Off Herbert stormed ahead on the highboard. The results are as follows with the scoring breakdown for individual dives at Annex C.

4. The swimming event was affected the most by the lack of personnel attending, resulting in many straight finals in the competition. The overall standard was high and the dedication of the swimmers competing kept the challenge alive for the Mounsey trophy. There were some excellent races and exciting finishes between competitors, with some times exceptionally close to current records. A special mention to RAFs Lyneham and Boulmer whose one-man teams did extremely well, giving some medal winning performances and stalling the other stations in the points tally. The were some excellent races in both the men's and ladies' events and the relays were as exciting as ever, capturing the true Inter-Station spirit. The results of the swimming events and the overall swimming results are at Annex A. RAF Waddington won the Mounsey Trophy for the 8th year running. The overall Mounsey Trophy points are as follows:

RAF INTER-STATION (MOUNSEY TROPHY) COMBINED RESULTS

5. The Championships were a resounding success and clearly enjoyed by those who took part. There were 4 new swimming records, demonstrating the development of the talent across the RAF. Credit must be given to all those Swimming OICs who managed to send a team to the championships. Thanks also go to the following individuals for their time and effort both leading up to and throughout the Championships: FS Paul Kendall and Chf Tech Mike Fisher for providing the swimming officials, Sgt Dale Jacques and Flt Lt Trev Down who helped on the administrative side of the championships, Cpl Mick Whiteley and Flt Lt Chris Jones for organising the water polo, Sgt Jennie Burchell for organising the diving championship and Sqn Ldr Ian Chesworth and Sgt Rebecca Nicholls for assisting with the medal presentations. Without the help of these and other individuals from RAFSA, the Championships would not have been the success they were. Thanks must also go to Cranwell for hosting RAFSA once again, especially: Jude Shave and the Home for Sport staff; Paul Mumby, the accommodation Manager; Nick Dagley, the Sgts’ Mess Manager; and James Boulmer in graphics for their continued support to RAFSA.

ANNEX A
ANNEX B
ANNEX C