News Section

Swadlincote Cadets Athletics Win

Article posted: May 21, 2008 by Sqn Ldr Flynn

Five athletic Air Cadets from South Derbyshire have raced to victory at an annual inter-squadron Athletics Competition held on Sunday 18th May in Leicester.

The cadets from 1211 (Swadlincote) Sqn entered the South & East Midlands Wing Annual Athletics Competition in the 13 to 15 year old “Boys” category and beat 28 other teams from Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Northampton to lift the Winners Trophy.

Cadets Tom Parker, Matthew Caffrey, Will Garner, Lewis Chalmers and George Marshall (pictured left to right) competed in six sprinting and endurance track races, plus five jumping and throwing field events throughout the day at the Saffron Lane Athletics stadium in Leicester. In each event the cadets scored points and after an exhausting day were announced the winners, having amassed 65 points out of a maximum of 88 points available and a whole 9 points ahead of the team in 2nd place.

Cadet Matthew Caffrey (13) from Swadlincote, who collected the team trophy from Wing Commander Nigel Dickinson, said, “I won the 100m event, came 2nd in the 200m and 3rd in the relay. It was hard work but well worth it in the end and I felt very proud to collect the trophy for the team”.

1211 (Swadlincote) Sqn also entered 4 other teams in to the competition in different age groups, with further successes in the female classes. The 13 to 15 year old “Girls” team finished 3rd out of 29 and the “Junior Women” team in the 15 to 20 years age category finished 2nd out of 29. The overall combined team result saw 1211 Sqn placed 2nd in the overall competition, the best position that the Squadron has achieved in Athletics in over a decade.

Team Manager, Fg Off Rob Moore RAFVR (T), said, “The team approached this competition with a great deal of enthusiasm and determination and should be extremely proud of their achievements. A number of the cadets had completed a 15 mile Duke of Edinburgh’s award expedition the day before the competition and despite sore feet they still rose to the challenge and performed brilliantly. Cadet Caffrey and a number of other members from the team will now go on to represent South & East Midlands Wing in the Regional Athletics competition”.

By: Fg Off Rob Moore RAFVR (T)

1211 (Swadlincote) Sqn

South & East Midlands Wing

News index

All news items - latest first. Click a link in this list to show the full article. Recent Articles