Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2006/Update on team sport
By LCDR Anne Faulconbridge
The last edition of SeaTalk featured an article on the reinvigoration of team sports in the Navy under the Sea Change program, and looked at Navy Australian football, rugby and dragon boat racing.
Sport plays an extremely important role in the Navy, and Sea Change is recognising this through the development and encouragement of a very broad range of sporting activities. Navy is supporting sports to accommodate all tastes and levels of fitness, so here is a small selection of some of the other sports that you can participate in.
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Hockey
Navy hockey glory is "up for grabs" annually in competition for the Jubilee Shield. Ships and establishments across the ADF can enter teams for this primarily Navy event. Hockey has had a rebirth at Cerberus in recent times, and the Cerberus team's hard work paid off this year when they were victorious at the Jubilee Shield. Cerberus defeated the RAAF NSW side 3-0 in a final decided by penalty strokes.
The Jubilee Shield is a great lead-up to the ADF hockey championships (held in Albury each June). The ADF championships are played as a combined services sport in the ADF. Teams are state-based and players compete for positions in the ADF teams that play in the Australian country championships. Navy has a strong showing in the ADF squad for the Australian country championships, with 12 members selected this year.
Navy also forms sides for other "one off" events. For example, last year a Navy side was formed to play against a touring UK Army women's side.
Sailing
Traditionally the sport of the seafarer, sailing is still a sport at which the Navy excels. In both yachting and dinghy sailing, there is a core group of enthusiasts who compete at the service, state, national and international level, supported by the Navy Sailing Association. Navy were victors at the recent ADF yachting championships, entering four three-member crews, winning the team event, and taking first and second positions outright.
Last year crews represented the RAN at the Tasar world championships in Darwin and hosted a team of sailors from the Royal Navy (RN). About eight two-man crews are set to compete in the Tasar national championships in Perth over the Christmas break this year.
Sailing is a sport that welcomes people of all ranks, backgrounds and experience. The ADFA boatshed in Canberra (as well as other Navy establishments around the country) has Tasar sailing dinghies available for the use of service personnel with a basic sailing qualification.
RAN lawn bowls
Lawn bowls in Australia has undergone massive changes over the last couple of years, due mainly to the influx of young players to the game.
Most clubs now realise that their survival is dependent on the players of the future. These changes have been reflected in the RAN, with the formation of the RAN Lawn Bowls Association (RANLBA) in March 2004.
RANLBA members have been very pro-active, and have participated in many events around the country, including the Australian Masters Games, and many club events. Two very successful RANLBA singles and pairs events have been conducted at Rosehill (NSW) and Hastings (VIC) over the past two years. The RAN has also been much more competitive at an inter-Service level, winning in NSW in 2005 for the first time in over ten years, and also winning in the ACT and WA.
Navy put up one of their best ever performances at the national championships in Brisbane in 2005 . Ultimately Navy was beaten by RAAF and Army, but put in a much stronger performance than in the past.
The inter-Service lawn bowls competition for 2006 was held in late July in the ACT and mid-August in NSW, and the nationals were held in Brisbane in September. The RANLBA intends launching an even stronger challenge this year.
All of these improvements to RAN lawn bowls have been made possible by support from the RAN Sports Council and sponsorship from the RAN Central Canteen Fund.
Conclusion
Once again, the foregoing provides you with some insight into some of the exciting things happening to sport in the RAN. As you can see, Sea Change is making a positive impact on life in the Navy in many different ways. Personnel initiatives are being implemented at a very strategic level, but Sea Change is also making a difference to the smaller things that set life in the Navy apart from "everyday" jobs.
