Hot on the heels of the Seniors’ Challenge which took place on July 2, the junior version was held at the Fareham training base today.
This competition is very similar to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity Field Gun, but is for youths aged 16-24, who have either only recently joined the Armed Forces or are studying at college. In addition to the Armed Forces, crews competed from the Sea Cadets and University Technical Colleges (UTC) from across the country.
Emphasising the training theme, the teams came into the competition with little or no prior experience of Field Gun and only had one week to train, with the finals taking place today in front of friends and family and personnel across the base.
In a thrilling final, the Royal Engineers crew that took the trophy, beating HMS Sultan, HMS Collingwood’s Victory Squadron and UTC Portsmouth.
Royal Engineers’ crew member Sapper Matt Ward, 20, said: ‘It was amazing to win today. Representing the corps is fantastic, this is a big deal.’
The UTC Portsmouth crew won the trophy for best UTC crew.
Crew member Cayden Guyett-Smith, 17, from Gosport, said: ‘It’s been amazing, I’ve never done anything like this before. Winning that trophy has left me speechless.’
Captain Catherine Jordan, Commanding Officer HMS Collingwood said: ‘Junior Leaders is so much more than a competition. Whilst the competition is an inevitable focus, the event is a week-long immense experience for young people, in a Naval environment to learn about themselves, their crew mates and leadership and teamwork skills. This is a unique event that reflects the core ethos of the services.’
