Three air cadets from Watton had a snowy start to the year when they travelled to Zweisel in Germany as part of the 130 strong National Air Cadet Team to learn the art of Langlauf cross country skiing.

Three air cadets from Watton had a snowy start to the year when they travelled to Zweisel in Germany as part of the 130 strong National Air Cadet Team to learn the art of Langlauf cross country skiing.

Flight Sergeant Daniel Cooper and Sergeants Michael Whitney and Alex Thorpe spent the majority of the week in bright sunshine with fresh crisp snow under ski as they learnt the five disciplines of langlauf.

Flight Sergeant Daniel Cooper who received a Silver Langlauf award said “Having the opportunity to go Nordic skiing was amazing. I was also very pleased to receive my Silver Langlauf award. To achieve this I had to demonstrate my skill and meet the standard required across the five disciplines which are skating, double pole kicks, diagonal skiing, step turns and the snowplough stop over a short distance.”

The weather conditions were ideal for skiing throughout the week and the cadets were unanimous in their praise for the standard of training and accommodation. As the individual skill levels improved the cadets also had the opportunity to take part in a 20 km trek across the Grosser Arber, and to compete in individual 1km time trials and 4 km relay races.

Sergeant Alex Thorpe said “It was a fantastic week and we had so much fun, the snow was perfect for snowball fights! I also got to meet the Burgermeister (Mayor of Zweisel) and I finally got to use my German language skills to build relations rather than just order drinks!”

Flight Lieutenant Michael Edney said “The opportunities are endless at Watton Air cadets for fun and adventure. We are recruiting now so if you have a son or daughter who is 13 or over who would like to have fun and make new friends then bring them along. For more details please check our website at www.wattonaircadets.co.uk”

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