DEFENCE
athletes have demonstrated that age is no barrier for people determined
to get out and have a go.
Not surprisingly, many Defence members competed in the 10th Australian
Masters Games, which were held in Adelaide from October 7-16.
The Masters Games are one of Australia’s biggest sporting
events. Held biennially, they attract more than 24,000 competitors
with a supporting army of officials and about 2000 volunteers.
The Adelaide games attracted more than 10,000 athletes ranging
in age from their 20s and 30s to 90 (a 90-year-old civilian woman
won a gold), participating in more than 50 events.
Their numbers included former professional, Olympic and international
champions as well as amateurs who compete for pleasure.
Regardless of their status, all competitors gave their all during
the 10 days of gruelling competition
Defence athletes competing as members of ADF teams or as individual
competitors took home at least six gold, six silver and four bronze
medals.
Other personnel also participated and while they did not win medals,
they showed the same determination, dedication and passion as
the more successful.
Related
Stories:
Touch
team's faultless performance a gold rush
Sticking with second
Air Force player strikes gold in bowling
Track and field trifecta
Ball skills fall short in a tough comp
Silver dragons rule the waves
Touch team’s faultless performance a gold
rush
THE
Snapperheads over-40s touch team swept everyone before it to take
the gold. Not a single point was scored against the skilled players.
Gold also came in the over-30s competition when the men’s
Flyers team broke though the Skunks 7-5 in a thrilling grand final.
DSTO’s Ninh Duong was among the victorious players.
Team coach Paul Ridder from RAAF Base Williams-Laverton said that
although six members of the team who had come from Victoria had
trained together about half-a-dozen times, the whole team had
only come together for the first time in Adelaide.
“We used e-mails and Powerpoint to establish some basic playing
strategies, which seemed to work well,” he said. “Some
of the guys have been around touch for some time and have either
played in the same team or against each other for years.
“Our strategy in defence was to protect our short side and
force the opposition to attack us on the open side. This worked
perfectly as we did not concede a touchdown against us all tournament.
In attack, we used agility to perform short, sharp moves closer
to the line, which proved fruitful.
“We played four round games where we did not concede a touchdown
and scored around 19 touchdowns. We also played a friendly practice
match against a younger over-30s side and defeated them.
“The grand final was not the most tidy of games, but we still
played over the top of our opponents and came away with an 8-0
victory.”
Mr Ridder said Flight Sergeant Craig Thomas from RAAF Base Williamtown
was the team’s most outstanding player and congratulated
the organisers for holding the competition in the most trying
conditions.
“The first Thursday [October 6] was sunny, but the Friday
and Saturday games [October 7 and 8] were delayed by up to three
hours because of the very wet weather,” he said. “Thankfully,
the grand final on the Sunday was dry.
“Considering the amount of water that fell on the fields,
they held up quite well and the organisers did a tremendous job
in facilitating the competition in such trying conditions.”
The Snapperheads will now form the majority of the team to represent
the Southern States Defence Force Touchball Association at the
next ADF Touch Association titles.
Sticking
with second
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The
ADF’s only hockey team took away silver in the over-30s
competition.
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ADF
Hockey (ADFH) is continuing its medal-winning form after winning
silver in the Adelaide Masters Games. This follows the two gold
medals and one silver that the organisation won at the last games
in 2003.
Although the team was entered in the over-30s, its players ranged
in age from 32 to 54 years.
The hockey attracted 491 participants in 33 teams.
The ADF men stepped up in the over-30s against seven other teams.
Two wins (against Des’s 5-1 and 4-0 in the final) and a 2-2
draw against the Old Rhinos were sufficient to put them over the
line with a silver medal.
Team manager Lieutenant Commander Brian Froome said ADFH could
only enter one team this year.
The team got off to a slow start, with a 2-0 loss to Port Adelaide
in their first game.
The next day ADFH played two matches and finished with a close
loss to Crookwell (3-2) and a 5-1 win against Des’s.
The team’s next game against the Old Rhinos ended in a 2-all
draw.
After a rest day, ADFH played two matches on each of the next
two days. Unfortunately, the Thursday was not a good day for ADF
and the team went down 5-0 to both Port Adelaide and Crookwell.
The final day, two matches to play against Des’s and then
Old Rhinos and, despite the losses, medals remained in grasp.
“We made a few position changes and saw our first game that
we did not concede a goal,” Lieutenant Commander Froome said.
The team defeated Des’s 4-0. All now hung on the final game.
The game started at a frantic pace and at half time ADF was 1-0
up. The ADF players were away to a blistering start in the second
half, with two goals in the first five minutes. Old Rhino’s
came back late, scoring 2 goals. But the ADF team held out to
take the match and the silver 3-2.
Air
Force player strikes gold in bowling
AIR
Force produced a winner in 10-pin bowling when Corporal David
Cole, from RAAF Base Edinburgh, stood up to take two golds (700
series 45-54 age group and 1983 series best from all events –
singles/doubles/triples – with a 220 average).
He also won a silver in the doubles with team-mate Squadron Leader
Denis Hunt (1250 series 208 average) and bronze in the doubles
with a civilian team-mate, triples with Corporal Alan Pepper and
a civilian and mixed trios.
“Corporal Cole played more than anybody else and thoroughly
deserved his results,” Squadron Leader Hunt said.
Track
and field trifecta
SERGEANT
Warren Davey, from RAAF Base Edinburgh, turned heads in the athletics
stadium on October 7 and 8 when he battled both the weather and
the competition for a gold, silver and bronze.
Sergeant Davey competed in the male 55-59 years bracket for 100m,
shot put, discus, heavy weight, javelin, and hammer, but “pulled
out of the 200m run because of the very bad weather conditions”.
Sergeant Davey won gold in the discus with a personal season best
and silver in the shot put, hammer and heavy weight throws. He
said his shot put was also a season best, but “I was 2m behind
the winner”.
“The level of competition between one Queensland competitor
and me meant we were neck and neck for most of the throws competition.
“I was fortunate also to pick up a bronze medal for the javelin
throw as the level of competition was of a pretty high standard.”
Sergeant Davey came sixth in the 100m, but the winning run was
11.75 seconds.
“For a 56-year-old male, that was an incredible time.
“Even though the weather was the worst of any athletics championships
I have ever attended, all competitors
gave their utmost throughout all events and developed a very good
camaraderie.
“There were about 120 competitors across all age groups from
35s up to 80-year-old males and 75-year-old
females.”
Ball
skills fall short in a tough comp
ADF
Basketball Association teams were unsuccessful in their endeavours
against a strong basketball field.
Paul Heine, from Corporate Services and Infrastructure-Western
Australia, said the opposition was far taller than the ADF hopefuls
and had played together on a regular basis for some time.
“The Defence team hadn’t played together for two years,
with three of the team members playing their first Masters games,”
he said.
“Considering the first game was the first time the team had
played together and had had no chance to train together, the end
result was an outstanding effort.”
The men competed in the 40-plus C-Grade, the women in the 35-plus
C-Grade.
The men won two of their six games (Mildura Masters 36-29 and
Guam Masters 39-30) and drew with the Gladiators 45-45. But their
three losses placed them out of contention for a medal.
“We started well, with a win on the first day, followed by
a loss. We then had a draw on day two and two more losses, but
finished with a win.”
Sergeant Gary Browning, from RAAF Base Edinburgh, was nominated
as the team’s stand-out player.
Mr Heine said that, as well as being the team’s coach, Sergeant
Browning controlled play and put the ball in the
hoop at critical times.
“During the tournament he received bruised ribs from a hard
hip and shoulder and a huge black eye from a stray elbow but he
kept playing.”
Meanwhile, the women scored a comfortable 45-21 win over the Once
Were Warriors team, but three losses also placed them out of contention.
Silver
dragons rule the waves
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Dragon
boaters from a combined team, including some ADF members,
scored two silver medals at the games.
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ON
THE water at Torrens Lake, Flight Lieutenants Michel Devine, Kevin
Williams and Kevin Boobyer, from RAAF Base Edinburgh, took two
silver medals in the Dragonboat events.
Run over a 250m course, the events comprised the Masters (40 years
plus) and the Future Masters (27-39).
Thirty-six boats participated, including the NAVMAT Dragonboat
from Canberra and a Royal Australian Navy entry, which Flight
Lieutenant Devine said won a gold and a silver medal and posted
the fastest time of the competition.
She said the four Air Force personnel competed with the Stray
Sea Vipers, a combined team from Department of Health, themselves
and two clubs in Adelaide.
“There were more than 400 paddlers from all over Australia,”
she said.
“Some were elite clubs, some Dragons Abreast (breast cancer
survivors) and some corporate crews.
“Our motto was ‘Go hard or go home’.
“We trained about three times in the lead up and had never
raced before. The races were run in excellent spirit but were
hard.
“We won our silver medal in the future masters mixed by less
than a dragon’s head (about 60cm) against an elite team from
Adelaide, which was full of state and Australian representatives.
I don’t think we could do better than that.”
