Milton Abbey teams excel in the Ten Tors Competition
26 May 2017
Once again this year Milton Abbey entered two teams for the Ten Tors competition – a junior team who took on the 35 mile challenge and a senior team who took on the 45 mile challenge. There are many challenging walks in Britain today, but the Ten Tors is alone in catering solely for young people and is said by many to be the largest and most challenging event held nationally.
Over the weekend of 6th/7th May, the Milton Abbey pupils competed against four hundred teams each made up of six teenagers. They hiked over the rough terrain of Dartmoor, visiting ten nominated tors / check points in under two days. The teams had to be self-sufficient, carrying all that they needed to complete their route and stay out over night safely. The weather can be very changeable and at times quite extreme, and success or failure can depend very much on the extent to which a team has been trained for all eventualities. Fortunately with Milton Abbey’s Trevor Law at the helm, our pupils were extremely well prepared for all eventualities.
Trevor said of the teams, “They all worked really hard throughout the Ten Tors Event and did Milton Abbey proud. They put exceptional effort into their training which started back in October last year which really paid off. The 35 mile team smashed the course so quickly that some of the parents and staff who came down missed them coming into the finish. They were second in their group by only 14 minutes despite having decided to go up Chat Tor two times, so in fact they did the Eleven Tor Challenge! Both teams navigated excellently and displayed amazing team work.”
A special mention must go to Fran for being the first girl at Milton Abbey to complete both the junior and senior Ten Tors challenges and to Tom, Alec and Charlie who have also completed both challenges. Next year, to keep challenging ourselves, we are planning to have a 55 miles team.”
The Ten Tors Challenge is organised by the Army, specifically Headquarters 1st Artillery Brigade & South West, from its Moor Group Headquarters at Okehampton Camp. It is assisted by the Royal Navy (with manpower and helicopters), the Royal Air Force and the Dartmoor Rescue Group.