PW_3_2024

Article

Every night, the dinner was followed by some sort of cultural experience laid on by one or other of the teams. Either food, music or both…and always with traditional alcohol. The penultimate evening also saw a small reception off resort with President Martin Hoffman. This incorporated what has now become an intrinsic part of every IPA event – planting of trees as part of the Green Project. Alka and I were very pleased to represent Section UK. The final day was hilarious as I booked the team on what was billed as a ‘carriage ride through the forest’. Enjoy a horse-drawn carriage-ride through the beautiful forest of Bran, they said, “experience nature firsthand at the waterfall”, they said. I think it is fair to say that when we arrived at the pick-up point, it wasn’t quite as we expected. I will let the photo speak for itself, but to say that I have not laughed so much in ages would be an understatement. So, in that sense, it was the best trip in the world. The evening was the closing ceremony – all the teams gathered in the sports hall for a fabulous buffet followed by traditional music, dancing and a presentation ceremony. We were presented with team participation medals and a certificate. We also had gifts to present to IPA Section Romania President Mihai Tărtăreanu, IPA President Martin Hoffmann and IEB Chair Sports and Social Commission, Christos Parginos. It was superb and to top it off, we had two tickets in the raffle, and won the IPA Games mascot to bring home. Who would have thought our final conversation would be about how to get a massive mascot head onto the plane…

Getting behind Jenna

Andy Amos

Andy Amos writes: The third IPA games were hosted by the Romanian Police in a delightful ski resort in Bram, near Brasov. About three hours travelling time north of Bucharest, our hosts transported us to our destination. Surrounded by the Carpathian mountains, this out-of-season location comprised a number of hotels, restaurants and sporting facilities. There were over 800 representatives taking part from countries including Japan, Cyprus and Israel. The UK sent a team of eleven ably led by coach VP Karen Duckworth including serving and retired officers from a number of forces including Jersey, Leicestershire and Met.

Team photo with the mascots

The next IPA games (2026) will be held in Wroclaw, Poland, and planning is already underway. I am not sure how they will beat the event put on by IPA Romania, but I am sure they will try. As an opportunity to experience everything that is positive about the IPA, I cannot recommend the IPA Games highly enough. You do not have to be a brilliant athlete, you just need to be prepared to get stuck in and have a go. Enjoyment and friendship are the aims and objectives of Team Section UK, and we welcome anyone who wants to get involved. We are a way off registering for the 2026 event yet, but if you would like more information about the Games, please feel free to contact VP Karen Duckworth – VPDuckworth@ipa-uk.org .

Table Tennis Team

The team had members competing in a number of the sporting events including Judo, table tennis, pistol shooting and a 5k run, obtaining a creditable medal haul in the process. After the magnificent opening ceremony in the grounds of Bran Castle, Transylvania, the competitions took place over the following days, with inter country rivalry and friendship formation foremost on the agenda. As competition came to a close, we had some time to soak up some of Romania with a horse and cart trip into the mountains and a visit to the town of Bran. That evening was the gala closing ceremony held in the main sport hall. A buffet of local food was provided and we were entertained with Romanian music and dancing. To cap the evening off, one of our group won the main raffle prize. The now unrequired life-size mascot costume! This was flown back to UK via outsize baggage for pride of place at IPA HQ.

Carriage ride through the forest

POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.3, 2024

13