Sandhurst Cup: UK teams all set to go head to head with rivals from around the world

Two Army officer cadet teams from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) are taking part in an international military skills competition.

The UK teams join competitors from around the world in the Sandhurst Cup, which takes place at the US Military Academy at West Point in New York.

48 teams from 16 countries are taking part, including squads from Poland, Chile and Albania, all competing to be crowned the winners.

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Teams will be tested on various challenges including grenade throwing, pistol shooting and casualty evacuation.

The two teams from Sandhurst are made up of 11 people and the UK military academy has a Red and a Blue Team.

They have been preparing all week, increasing their fitness levels, practising on the ranges and brushing up on their navigation skills.

The British Army officer cadets earlier in the week had a lesson on how to fire the US 9mm M17 pistol – not a weapon they would usually handle in their training at Sandhurst.

Forces News checked in with how prepared the UK teams are and to see how they are feeling ahead of the competition.

"As a team, I think we are in a very good place," said RMAS Officer Cadet Robert Blackman, representing the Red Team.

He added: "Everyone has their speciality, everyone is very confident, everyone is very fit, we did very well in the Order of March relay, and that's put us in a good place as a team."

The first test the teams had to undertake was the Order of March – a relay that determined the position the teams start in on the first proper day of the competition – with RMAS teams UK Red starting in fourth place and UK Blue in 18th.

There is stiff competition from the American and Canadian teams – but the UK teams are quietly confident.

RMAS Officer Cadet Cain, also a part of the Red Team, told Forces News: "It will be a tough competition, but nothing we can't handle.

"I think with some weight on our backs, we'll prove that we can do just as well.

"You don't want to turn up to anything feeling that you're not going to win it, so we are going to come here and think we are going to win."

With the Sandhurst Cup competition running across two days, even after the gruelling events of day one, there will still be a long way to go.