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The British Championships
01 January 2006
A Report on the British Championships at Igls
This years setting for the AON British Championships was once again on the 1964 and 1972 Olympic track in Igls (near Innsbruck) Austria. A picturesque setting set high in the snow covered mountains of the Tirol.
The competition always attracted past, present, young and old athletes to it, in both 2 and 4 man disciplines. This year was no exception. We had athletes in deep preparation for the forth coming Turin Olympics, novice drivers and brakemen with only 4 days experience, and of course teams from the Royal Air Force.
In the ladies 2 man, driver Cpl Michelle Coy (RAF Cottesmore) had teamed back up with J/T Caz Gray (RAF Kinloss). Caz had been competing with the World Cup crew and had just narrowly missed out on a slot for the Olympics and Michelle had been away with the Europa Cup team and is currently leading the championships.
In the men?s event we had the upcoming, and still novice duo of Cpl Paul Farmer (RAF Northolt) and SAC John Ellerby (RAF Waddington). They had both completed their 2nd RAF Novice bobsleigh school with flying colours and thanks to some masterly fund raising and support from their work places now found themselves on the next rung of the ladder and competing in their first ever national champs.
Training went well for all concerned, a few crashes occurred as is normal at any race venue with the worst incident being concussion by a member of the Army team after a heavy knock which resulted in him being sent home unable to slide.
Race day came and with the World Silver Medallists in the ladies field Michelle and Caz knew that realistically only a disaster from the Turin Olympic pairing would give them a chance of glory. The RAF team ended up as runners-up for a second year running giving Michelle her 10th straight podium finish at the championships.
The men?s race was a tighter affair. After the 1st run, Paul and John found themselves in a very creditable 7th place and close enough to the next positions in front of them to possibly move up if they had a good 2nd run. After a great equalling start, and a great drive at the top of the track, a good down time was on the cards. Unfortunately, the extra speed caught up with the pairing and at Bend 9 the duo came a cropper. Crashing a bobsleigh is never a nice experience, crashing a bobsleigh on race day in lycra is a skin burning experience and John now has a very nice ice burn on his arm and shoulder that will always remind him of his time at Igls. The team ended up 9th but can very much hold their heads high for a great weeks learning and sliding amongst the best in Britain.
The next event on track was the 4man. The field of entries was never high because of the difficulty in not only finding a driver that wants to do it, but also in finding a crew! This didn?t bother the RAF team. Michelle was willing to give it a bash, after driving a 2 man sled for 13 years, she definitely had the experience and Caz, Paul and John were extremely excited at the prospects of not just having a go in a 4 man but racing.
The team borrowed a sled from ex-RAF and GB slider Graham Richardson (director of ?Icerush? the bobsleigh experience company) and embarked on their first run off the top. It had been decided to take it nice and slowly on the first one and make sure the crew were happy with the loading. No, everyone obviously got a bit excited and they ended up blasting it off and but still loaded brilliantly, thankfully. Not bad, bearing in mind it was their first ever go. Then training was cut short and no more runs were allowed. It would be straight into the race!
A nervous affair for the RAF quad but a fun time, the teamwork between them all was second to none and they definitely looked the part decked out in the new RAF suits. The race turned out to be a great one. The Great Britain team were seconds in front, but the awesome RAF foursome and a civilian team were battling the 2nd and 3rd places out. The RAF team had the start, looked good but were nearly 200kg under weight. The civilian team had the equipment, the weight and more experience. The 2nd run was crucial; the RAF crew improved with every start and drive and ended up with a silver lining.
It had been a great week of sliding for the whole team. Competing with past and present Olympians is always good for up and coming athletes and will always keep the better crews on their toes. They now have a goal and a focus to aspire to. After their performance the directors and coaches of the British Bobsleigh Association have noticed Paul and John. John has now been selected to compete in the final 2 races on the Europa Cup circuit in St Moritz and Winterberg, Germany. Paul moves onto a new tough track, La Plagne, France to further his driving ability at the Inter-Services in March.
Michelle and Caz will also be fighting it out to remain in pole position on the Women?s Europa Cup and bring Gold home for the RAF and GB.
The competition always attracted past, present, young and old athletes to it, in both 2 and 4 man disciplines. This year was no exception. We had athletes in deep preparation for the forth coming Turin Olympics, novice drivers and brakemen with only 4 days experience, and of course teams from the Royal Air Force.
In the ladies 2 man, driver Cpl Michelle Coy (RAF Cottesmore) had teamed back up with J/T Caz Gray (RAF Kinloss). Caz had been competing with the World Cup crew and had just narrowly missed out on a slot for the Olympics and Michelle had been away with the Europa Cup team and is currently leading the championships.
In the men?s event we had the upcoming, and still novice duo of Cpl Paul Farmer (RAF Northolt) and SAC John Ellerby (RAF Waddington). They had both completed their 2nd RAF Novice bobsleigh school with flying colours and thanks to some masterly fund raising and support from their work places now found themselves on the next rung of the ladder and competing in their first ever national champs.
Training went well for all concerned, a few crashes occurred as is normal at any race venue with the worst incident being concussion by a member of the Army team after a heavy knock which resulted in him being sent home unable to slide.
Race day came and with the World Silver Medallists in the ladies field Michelle and Caz knew that realistically only a disaster from the Turin Olympic pairing would give them a chance of glory. The RAF team ended up as runners-up for a second year running giving Michelle her 10th straight podium finish at the championships.
The men?s race was a tighter affair. After the 1st run, Paul and John found themselves in a very creditable 7th place and close enough to the next positions in front of them to possibly move up if they had a good 2nd run. After a great equalling start, and a great drive at the top of the track, a good down time was on the cards. Unfortunately, the extra speed caught up with the pairing and at Bend 9 the duo came a cropper. Crashing a bobsleigh is never a nice experience, crashing a bobsleigh on race day in lycra is a skin burning experience and John now has a very nice ice burn on his arm and shoulder that will always remind him of his time at Igls. The team ended up 9th but can very much hold their heads high for a great weeks learning and sliding amongst the best in Britain.
The next event on track was the 4man. The field of entries was never high because of the difficulty in not only finding a driver that wants to do it, but also in finding a crew! This didn?t bother the RAF team. Michelle was willing to give it a bash, after driving a 2 man sled for 13 years, she definitely had the experience and Caz, Paul and John were extremely excited at the prospects of not just having a go in a 4 man but racing.
The team borrowed a sled from ex-RAF and GB slider Graham Richardson (director of ?Icerush? the bobsleigh experience company) and embarked on their first run off the top. It had been decided to take it nice and slowly on the first one and make sure the crew were happy with the loading. No, everyone obviously got a bit excited and they ended up blasting it off and but still loaded brilliantly, thankfully. Not bad, bearing in mind it was their first ever go. Then training was cut short and no more runs were allowed. It would be straight into the race!
A nervous affair for the RAF quad but a fun time, the teamwork between them all was second to none and they definitely looked the part decked out in the new RAF suits. The race turned out to be a great one. The Great Britain team were seconds in front, but the awesome RAF foursome and a civilian team were battling the 2nd and 3rd places out. The RAF team had the start, looked good but were nearly 200kg under weight. The civilian team had the equipment, the weight and more experience. The 2nd run was crucial; the RAF crew improved with every start and drive and ended up with a silver lining.
It had been a great week of sliding for the whole team. Competing with past and present Olympians is always good for up and coming athletes and will always keep the better crews on their toes. They now have a goal and a focus to aspire to. After their performance the directors and coaches of the British Bobsleigh Association have noticed Paul and John. John has now been selected to compete in the final 2 races on the Europa Cup circuit in St Moritz and Winterberg, Germany. Paul moves onto a new tough track, La Plagne, France to further his driving ability at the Inter-Services in March.
Michelle and Caz will also be fighting it out to remain in pole position on the Women?s Europa Cup and bring Gold home for the RAF and GB.