SWAAL END OF SEASON REPORT 2002/03

12 May 03

1. 2002/03 proved to be an extremely successful year for our League following new changes that were introduced to bring back the competitive edge to our sport.

2. Although our League catchment area covers some 9 Stations, large civilianisation on most of these Units has meant that Lyneham and Brize Norton were the only Stations sending out full Teams and hence the only Stations able to actively compete. Also, due to the unpredictable nature of the roles of Lyneham and Brize Norton, Individual attendance figures would vary drastically from 7 to 25 anglers per match. We as a committee felt that to readdress the balance and bring back the competitive nature, the traditional RAF Teams of 3 system would need to be changed. We therefore introduced a new system of an Individual draw with points being awarded in ascending order at each match, i.e. one point for a win, 2 points for 2nd etc. This individual system allowed anglers to see how they did over the year against their peers and did not award people who traditionally won the League purely by attendance, as under this system they still had to produce the goods on the day. This system proved universally popular with all abilities of angler who were glad to see not only the better anglers from the same Stations competing against each other, but were also able to have some fierce competition mid table. More importantly, these changes were able to bring about a completely revised Team competition. We worked on the principle that a Station could now submit a Team with 3 or less anglers with the Team score being the average of the sum of their individual scores, e.g. if Lyneham turned up with 3 anglers then they would form Lyneham’s Team and their Team score would be the sum of their Individual total divided by 3, if Innsworth turned up with 1 angler then he would be Innsworth’s Team and the Team score would be the same as his individual score. The only noticeable draw back with this plan before we introduced it was that if the best angler in the RAF was the only person at a particular Station then he would run away with the individual and Team title. However, what we found in reality was that this risk was vastly outweighed by the benefits of having more Teams competing for the Title and also individuals competing on their own as a Stations Team were under pressure to constantly do well.

3. Following the trial year of the new system, it was unanimously voted in at the end of season AGM with most believing that it has turned the SWAAL into a highly competitive Team and Individual League.

4. Statistical proof that the system works for the SWAAL can be observed in the 2002/03 attendance figures. 43 individuals attended the League during the season with 23 competing in over half of the matches. 11 Teams from 9 Stations competed for the Team title as apposed to 4 teams from 2 stations in previous year.

5. The various Team and Individual results from the League were based on the following. The Summer League consisted of 10 matches from which 6 best results would count, the Winter League consisted of 5 Matches from which 3 best results would count and the League overall would be the best 9 results from any of the 15 matches fished, thus not penalising individuals or Stations that were deployed for large periods of time.

6. The top 5 results in each category were as follows:

a. Summer League Individual (Best 6 from 10).

i. Flt Lt R Tomala (Lyneham) 12 Points.
ii. J/T M Booth (Brize) 22 Points.
iii. Sgt G Atkinson (Brize) 25 Points.
iv. C/T M Easey (Innsworth) 26 Points.
v. Sgt A Loasbey (Lyneham) 29 Points.

b. Winter League Individual (Best 3 from 5).

i. Flt Lt R Tomala (Lyneham) 5 Points.
ii. J/T M Booth (Brize) 10 Points.
iii. Mr B Cullen (Brize) 14 Points.
iv. Sgt I Stevens (Brize) 14 Points.
v. Sgt G Atkinson (Brize) 17 Points.

c. League Overall Individual (Any best 9 from 15).

i. Flt Lt R Tomala (Lyneham) 17 Points.
ii. J/T M Booth (Brize) 32 Points.
iii. Sgt G Atkinson (Brize) 42 Points.
iv. C/T M Easey (Innsworth) 45 Points.
v. Sgt I Stevens (Brize) 54 Points.

d. Summer League Team (Best 6 from 10).

i. Lyneham 9 Points.
ii. Innsworth 9 Points.
iii. Brize-Norton 12 Points.
iv. St Athan 12 Points.
v. St Mawgan 26 Points.

e. Winter League Team (Best 3 from 5).

i. Brize-Norton 5 Points.
ii. Lyneham 5 Points.
iii. Innsworth 9 Points.
iv. St Athan 11 Points.
v. Boscombe 13 Points.

f. League Overall Team (Any best 9 from 15).

i. Lyneham 14 Points.
ii. Brize-Norton 17 Points.
iii. Innsworth 17 Points.
iv. St Athan 22 Points.
v. Boscombe 41 Points.

7. As can be observed, both the Team and Individual results were extremely close in all aspects indicating the level of competition that as been reintroduced to our League.

8. Other events that have occurred during our season have been a charity match and a 6-day detachment.

9. In June 02, we held a double header sponsored charity match in aid of the British Forces Foundation and were able to raise just under £1000. The event was a great success with raffle prizes and BBQ also helping to raise funds. Sgt Gav Atkinson took the honours on the day and will hopefully be available to present the Cheque. A similar event is planned for this summer.

10. Although originally planned as a SWAAL Detachment, only personnel from Lyneham ended up travelling around the country on a 6-day detachment last June. The detachment was fully self funded and saw several anglers visit Farllows Lakes, Willow Park Lakes, The River Cam and The River Seven. This detachment gave several anglers the ability to learn new tactics off more experienced anglers and proved to be a great success. Although no detachment is planned for this summer, another is hoped for next year.

9. As I now hand over the Chairmanship to C/T Ady North, I believe we have struck the right balance in the SWAAL of enjoying our sport but keeping the Competitive edge. All of the SWAAL members are extremely happy with the new system and are looking forward to another season.

R J TOMALA
Flt Lt
Chairman SWAAL