Army avalanche
Army has dominated the 2006 ADF Alpine Snowsports Championships at Mt Buller, winning all four major trophies, Lt Cameron Jamieson reports.
Volume 11, No. 50, August 24, 2006

Accelerate: Sig Kim Edhouse powers towards the finish.

Move it: Snowboard team captain Musn Lincoln Quilliam takes a bend in the Giant Slalom.

THE Champion Service, Men’s Skiing, Women’s Skiing and Mixed Snowboard trophies are now firmly in the grasp of the soldiers, despite determined resistance from Navy and Air Force.
Army team manager Maj Murray Nelson said the Air Force men’s team came closest to beating Army.
“It came down to the last race,” he said. “We had lost the first race, the Long Giant Slalom, but we came back and won the Giant Slalom. It came down to the last race, the Slalom. There was a bit of pressure on, but our guys managed clean times. Air Force tried too hard and had a couple of accidents, which pushed their team time back, and so we picked up the trophy.”
The ADF championships followed on from the Army Alpine Snowsport Championships held the previous week, which were also used to train and select members of the Army team for the ADF competition.
Capt Dean Munsie, men’s team captain, was impressed with how quickly the newer competitors found form in the Army competition, which had a direct impact on the team’s depth and consistency in the ADF championships.
“The RAAF had the stronger team,” he said. “We had a lot of skiers who were racing for Army for the first time, but they came through for us.”
While Army was the only Service to enter a women’s ski team this year, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that they would take the trophy home.
Team captain Capt Zoe King said it was important that her team made clean runs to win the trophy.
“We needed to complete five of the six events by getting everyone down with clean times,” she said. “We didn’t do that last year, so we missed out on the trophy.
“I was pleased with how we performed as a team. People weren’t in it for themselves; they were focused on making sure the team was successful.”
Victory was far more clear-cut for the mixed snowboarding team. Team captain Musn Lincoln Quilliam said the snowboard team had plenty of depth.
“We managed to smash the other teams by a whopping 500 points, which is about a minute in time,” he said.
Chairman of the ADF Competition Sub-committee Lt-Col Scott Harris said a key outcome of the championships was to select, prepare and train Alpine snowsport athletes for the overseas championships.
“The Australian team will compete with European combined-services teams, which includes Britain, Italy, Germany, France and the Swiss,” he said.
“Over the years we have done well, with some of our athletes finishing in the top 20. Our success has often come as a surprise to the Europeans, and we intend to keep the surprises coming.”

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Single-Service champs lead the way

Aim: Pte Tim Burnhart lines up for the next gate.

Speed queen: Lt-Col Bunny Carrigan makes an impressive start in the Giant Slalom. Photos by Lt Cameron Jamieson.

ARMY’S success at the ADF Alpine Snowsport Championships found its genesis at the Army championships held the previous week.

Rank held no favour for the 40 skiers and snowboarders as they raced at Mt Buller from July 31-August 6, competing for individual trophies and selection for the ADF championships.
Disappointing snow conditions restricted training opportunities but still allowed intensive race coaching from the Mt Buller Race Department.

Team manager and championship organiser Maj Murray Nelson said competition was closer than he expected, with some new faces keeping the more experienced racers honest.

The male skiing was won by Capt Dean Munsie, who managed to fend off a strong challenge from Sgt Damon Lynch and Maj Pat Murray. Newcomers Cfn Marty Webster and Pte Tim Bernhart relished their first year of racing and also achieved selection into the Army Team.

The women’s races were also closely contested. Capt Zoe King had her most successful year but failed to match the racing experience of Lt-Col Bunny Carrigan. Lt Ty Driver just managed to finish third ahead of Maj Alida Byatt and newcomer Pte Mel Carlos.

The Army snowboarders had some new faces that proved keen to contest for a place on the team to defend their trophy at the following ADF championships. Musn Lincoln Quilliam held off Sig Pete Nicholls, Cpl Shane Schofield and Lt Alistair Court, but all had close competition from Cpl Troy Radbone, Pte Josh Kneller and Cpl Conan Sinko, which kept the racing exciting.

“The snowboarders, even with the newcomers, have a strong team spirit and keep training as a team even when the formal coaching had finished,” Maj Nelson said. “They interact well together and push each other hard – they’re a great team.”