A team of Charterhouse Royal Marines CCF cadets travelled to Lympstone to compete in the prestigious Pringle Trophy, one of the most demanding and respected competitions in the cadet calendar.
The Pringle Trophy Team were in high spirits as we set off on the long journey down to Lympstone. After a mandatory stop at McDonalds, we made good progress and were one of the first to arrive to the “Drill Shed”, our home, along with all the other schools, for the next few days. We seamlessly transitioned into marching everywhere, led by Alex, who only once got his lefts and rights wrong- a significant improvement from last year!
Saturday started nice and early with the lights coming on in the Drill Shed at a luxurious 5:45am. After fuelling up, we headed out to the first of 10 stances for today. The morning included Map Reading, Fire control orders and Target Indication, Urban Close quarter battle, Command Task and the much-anticipated Assault Course. A loop around the “Bottom Field” carrying a deceivingly heavy log while also completing all the obstacles. Safe to say the highlight of the morning was beating our Assault Course time by over 45 seconds from the previous year, placing us joint 3rd for the stance.
The afternoon saw us move to Woodbury Common for the green skills aspect of the competition: Observation, Contact Drills, Camouflage and Concealment and Section Attack. After a fairly disappointing Cam and Con (definitely something to work on for next year!), the team showed great teamwork, adaptability and determination in the contact drills. This was bettered by our performance on the Observation stance taking 3rd place.
We were all exhausted come the evening, but we knew the hardest test was tomorrow morning, the Endurance Course. A 2.5 mile run, all holding a rope, through bogs, swamps, multiple 50m long tunnels, and shoulder-deep ponds, not to mention the underwater sheep dip to start! It required grit, physical stamina, mental toughness and a willingness not to let the team down. The team displayed this in bucket-loads, completing the course quicker than any Charterhouse team, rightfully earning an impressive 4th place. For me, this was the highlight of the weekend, seeing everyone push to their limit, keep each other going and staying positive despite the challenging conditions.
Our weekend ended with the final assessed stance, Drill. This was all about discipline and mental focus, a tough task after the Endurance Course. It was the last contribution to the Royal Marines CCF for many of us, and I can confidently say we ended on a high.
An overall finish of joint 5th place in the Pringle Trophy was a testament to all the hard work we had put in. I could not be more proud of the entire team, and I will be looking out and wishing the best for next year!
