Friendly rivalry came to the fore recently as HMS Sultan and HMS Collingwood battled it out in a sporting compendium of challenges.
Trainees from Victory Squadron, in HMS Collingwood, travelled to HMS Sultan, in Gosport, to take part in the Battle of the Bases.
The competition saw the sailors compete with their Sultan counterparts from the Defence College of Technical Training’s Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS) and the Defence School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE) across six team sports.
Football, rowing, rugby 7s, CrossFit, bucketball and the establishment’s Trim Trail were among the activities.
For many of the trainees involved, it was a first introduction to inter-establishment competition and also an opportunity to try out something new.
Air Engineering Technician Oliver Karowski-Budd who was part of the Sultan rowing crew said: “It’s really good to have this competition and get people working against each other, as it really gets us to test our limits.
“Obviously, there are no hard feelings between us as we will be working together in the long run, but it’s a great introduction to Inter-Establishment sport.”
ET WE Mathew Morton who represented Collingwood in the hockey said: “It’s the first time that I’ve actually seen Sultan and also the first time I’ve played hockey. It’s been a good laugh and a great team building exercise.”
As results started to come in, it was Collingwood who were in the lead with victories in both the Trim Trail and football, however Sultan’s sailors went on to claim success in the rowing, hockey, CrossFit and bucketball.
With all the results in it fell to Commander Jules Philo, the Executive Officer HMS Sultan to present the Battle of the Bases plate to the Sultan trainees.
