By
CPL Simone Liebelt
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A
team from RAAF Base East Sale competes in the tug-of-war
event during the base fun day.
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FOR the first time in eight years, personnel from RAAF Base East
Sale have participated in a base fun day of novelty games.
The potted sports day was organised by base PTIs Sergeant Andy
Miller and Corporal Damon Currie, who have been introducing new
ways of encouraging fitness on the base.
“It’s been the first base fun day since 1997, so we thought it
would be a good way for base personnel to set off for Easter by
allowing them to have a bit of fun after a busy first three months,”
SGT Miller said.
“This day was used as a stress release and gave people a chance
to get out of their office. It was also great for members from
different sections around the base to interact with each other
and have a good laugh.”
About 60 military and APS civilian personnel from different sections
took part in teams, competing for points in a mixture of novelty
sporting events.
Starting in the former base gym, teams rotated through 10 different
five-minute activities, starting with mini hockey, then bin ball
and a bicycle obstacle course.
Next was a relay run around the outside of the parade ground,
in which team members took turns running a variety of different
length legs over a 600m course in 15 minutes.
“While it was all about fun, after the relay a lot of people were
sweating,” SGT Miller said. “Three teams did complete 13 laps
of the course in the 15 minutes, so it shows you that they were
working pretty hard.
Once you tell them it’s a competition and it’s for points, the
competitive nature comes out in people.” The last event was the
traditional tug-of-war, in which a round robin knockout decided
the winner.
After points were tallied, the “What ifs”, a combined team from
the Combat Support Unit and Training Aircraft Systems Program
Office, were presented with the winner’s trophy. Competitors then
celebrated with a barbeque.
SGT
Miller said the fun day was a big success, and will become an
annual occasion along with two other base events to be introduced
later this year.
A sports day, involving mini team sports such as soccer and cricket
will be held in August, while a “mystery” activity day is planned
for November.
“We had a great turnout and had a good mixture of Air Force personnel
and civilians, which worked out to be around a quarter of the
base,” he said.
“People loved it, so we’ve told them to spread the word so next
time we might get 80-100 people, which would be great. We want
everybody to get the chance to have a go at this, so we’re going
to continue pushing for it.”
