Summer Survival

Motto: “Survive with that what you have.“

The remaining 18 teams entered the 3^rd day of the SUMMER SURVIVAL 09, and during another 20 km long movement on foot, they again collected very precious points in performing various events.

The “Cross-country” was the introductory event. The mission of the competition teams was to negotiate the established track as fast as possible with use of the compass. The members of the team had to put the carried equipment aside, and at its starting point they were acquainted with the description of this event. All of them had to prepare their compass. At the signal “START,” the teams ran through rough terrain marked with a red-white tape. At the checkpoint they received information for the next event. The team members could help each other in rugged terrain and at natural obstacles, but they were forbidden from leaving the track marked with the red-white tape. They had to reach the finish line together. Here, they learned that the equipment put aside would not be given back to them and, consequently, they had to survive the rest of the stage with what they had on, or in their pockets. Perhaps they could hope that they would receive food and water from the organizers at further posts.

The next event to follow was the Water Cross, during which the teams had to cross water as fast as possible by means of found material (canvas, plastic bottles, rope, plastic bag, wood sticks, card with Morse code) that facilitated them not only to carry their equipment across water targets, but also helped them to survive. The team was to bring canvas, rope and the card with Morse code to the finish line of the today’s stage. At the end of this event, they were rewarded with water and could continue in the contest.

During the Radio Orienteering, the contestants had to find all prepared checkpoints by means of a map and a navigator (a team member), who gave azimuths and distances of individual checkpoints from the map to other two members of the team in the role of runners. The number of points depended on time, in which the team found all checkpoints. At the end of this event the successful contestants were rewarded with a raw potato and an apple.

They then gradually reached the checkpoint, where they learned, through the Morse code, that they could either extend their track up to the given coordinates at the cost of losing certain time to receive an attractive emergency package of food (food for each member and a blanket for the whole team) at the end, or continue according to different coordinates. Thus, each team could choose the course of action that was regarded as the best for their tactics during the rest of competition.

Indeed, a very difficult event called the “bird’s nests” was prepared for them by the organizers from the Training Command – Military Academy. The teams, fulfilling three tasks in joint efforts, had to collect eggs from three bird’s nests placed on a tree in three different ways: 1) reach the nest in the height of 3m with use of a pole, 2) reach the nest placed anywhere on the branches with use of a pole, and 3) reach the nest situated at the tree trunk without any instruments. Apart from collecting the eggs, they had to carry them to the finish line unbroken (otherwise they would be penalized).

At this moment, after this daylong highly challenging stage, the contestants had to pay their attention to nothing else but reaching the desired finish line, where they still had to complete the final task, which rested in making fire on the designated place as fast as possible with use of a flint and steel received from the organizers and wood gathered in the nearby forest.

Text: CAPT Monika Nováková, TC-MA Press and Information Officer (acting in charge).