May is always a busy month for MSG’s military sports touring family.

The Royal Engineers Rugby Club embarked on a challenging tour to USA’s ‘Deep South’ whilst The Royal and Mechanical Electrical Engineers (REME) Hockey also headed west across the Atlantic.

REME’s 14-day hockey tour encompassed matches in New York around Manhattan and Staten Island. Stopping at the well-positioned Paramount Hotel, access to the city’s major attractions were within walking distance adjacent to ‘The Garden’ – a.k.a Madison Square Gardens.

Utilising American Airlines’ excellent internal network allowed the men’s and women’s teams to fly across the country to Los Angeles. Whilst in LA, both teams competed in the famed Cal Cup international hockey tournament located north of Hollywood. With impressive prize money up for grabs, there were bragging rights and plenty of dollars on offer for teams arriving with winning form.

A mandatory two days’ R&R were scheduled in for Santa Monica at the tail end of the trip prior to the overnight flight back to the UK.

Capt Dean Oatley, tour leader wanted to “challenge the squad in a major international event, assisted with a fantastic build up in New York against testing opposition”.  They certainly made their country proud!