About

Young people can try their hand at pro field gun with week-long classes in the competitive and fun team sport.

About pro field gun

Pro field gun is the descendant of the Royal Navy’s Command field gun competition and first begun as a competitive sport over 100 years ago. The main competition was a league run for the duration of the Earl’s Court Royal Tournament.

The conduct of the sport

Teams race against each other and the clock to complete a course of pushing, pulling, carrying, and lifting the one-ton field gun and limber. Each race comprises of 3 phases (or actions); run out, back and home and each phase include obstacles (walls, chasm) crossed only with the use of mechanical aids (spars and rigging), as the gun and limber are partially disassembled and rebuilt. In addition to this, competitors must comply to strict rules and are subject to the penalties of the competition.

Youth training

This training is delivered by experienced trainers supported by fully trained assistants. Thye use lightweight equipment developed by Wellington College for the 13 to 17 age range. The concept and training progression is based on the Royal Navy’s Junior Leaders (RNJL) programme which take novice and over the course of a week trains them as team to compete in a tournament.

Aim of the week

The aim of the week is to give young adults the opportunity to try out a sport which will improve their self-confidence, give them a sense of pride and responsibility while making friendships and bonding a team together while having a lot of fun (its summer holiday after all!).

Curriculum

The training day will run from 10am to 3pm, although parents will be able to drop children off early and collect later to cater for their work timings. Each day will start with a roll call, revision of the previous days training, safety brief, and inspection. There will then be a training brief to explain the day's training activities. Frequent breaks are included which allow the training to be matched to the pace of the team and to encourage interaction between trainers and the athletes.

The day is concluded with equipment maintenance and stowage followed by a two-way review of the day and a look forward to the next day.

Monday:
AM
Introduction & history
Full safety brief & equipment introduction
Fit athletes to positions
PM
From the start line to the wall

Tuesday:
AM
Intro to gun & limber over the wall
Crossing the chasm
Team discussion to design t shirt
PM
Intro to going through the wall

Wednesday:
AM
Develop gun & limber over the wall & crossing the chasm
'What does it mean to be a team member?'
PM
Develop going through the wall

Thursday:
AM
Practise the run out
PM
Practise the run back & run home

Friday:
AM
Practise full runs
PM
Open day rehearsal

The week is concluded on Saturday morning with an open day for friends and families to allow the athletes to demonstrate the skills they have acquired during the training.

Dates available

Monday to Saturday every week from 24 July to 2 September 2023.

Admin

All adults are CRB checked. Insurance, risk assessments and lesson plans are available and will be forwarded on request.

Toilets and changing facilities are on site. The pavilion is an ideal briefing room, rest area and dining area. Catering can be organised as there is a fully equipped kitchen.

Location

The training ground is at Farlington Fields, PO6 1UW.

The Heritage Connection

The heritage of the sport is bound up with the Royal Navy with its home in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust has agreed to the use of their real estate for training and competition and junior tournaments have been run in the Historic Dockyard and on Southsea Common.