Want to be the best at football and hockey, Thames Valley Air Cadets is the place to be as their performance in both these areas has proven to be of the highest standard.
An unusually warm October Saturday morning in Tidworth, Wiltshire saw the 21 member junior football and hockey teams from Thames Valley Wing pitting themselves against the best cadets from across the South West of England. In a series of exhausting matches the teams came under increasing pressure and, as energy levels ran low had to dig deep into their reserves in order to be able to keep up the momentum. In the end they showed what grit and determination combined with some fantastic training can do as the boys football team came an overall second whilst the girls hockey team won their group. Thames Valley are surely a force to be reckoned with.
An unexpected additional event occurred when Cadet Luke Casey from 1861 (Wantage)) Squadron who is as an experienced hockey player was asked by the Regional Sports Officer to umpire the girls’ hockey matches due to a lack of experienced umpires. On the back of this both he and Flying Officer Colin Burrell, Officer in-charge of 2267 (Brize Norton) Squadron have been asked to help coach the Regional sports team.
Flight Sergeant Barry Tweddle who is Wing Sports officer for the Thames Valley said “Thames Valley are out of the valley and climbing the sports hill of the South West, an outstanding performance to a young team of cadets a well deserved success. Thank you to you all – “Go Valley”.