Examining the forces sporting calendar for 2023
From Inter Services tournaments to World Championship opportunities, 2023 will bring lots of forces sporting moments to remember.
But when does your favourite forces sporting occasion happen?
Let's look into the 2023 forces sports calendar.
January
We start the year in the midst of the bobsleigh World Championship season.
Marine Taylor Lawrence has started the campaign in form for Great Britain. The team will tackle events in Germany, Lillehammer and Switzerland during the month.
Also on the agenda for the first month of the year is the Sir Sefton Brancker Cross Country race (11 Jan) at RAF Halton as well as the Army judo championships (13 Jan).
The first round of the Challenge Cup will see all three military rugby league teams enter the competition in fixtures yet to be decided.
February
The football season returns to BFBS screens in February as the Inter Services U23 championships take place.
As well as that, the re-arranged Army Super Cup football final takes place in Scotland (4 Feb) as the 6 SCOTS take on 4 Regt RLC.
March
The month of Inter Services sport.
The men's and women's football tournaments takes place in March with men's fixtures at Shrewsbury Town FC, Portsmouth FC and Aldershot Town FC.
The Inter Services Ice Sports championships sees competitors race in Germany for titles.
It's a highlight of the year with bobsleigh and skeleton events seeing the best forces stars battle each other in high-speed races.
The service boxing teams will battle in Plymouth (9 March) while the Inter Services netball championships also take place at RAF Cosford (w/c 6 March).
The UK Armed Forces Sports Awards will be an afternoon of celebration (16 March) while the Snow Sports Championships will also be on show at Meribel.
Finally, the first Inter Services rugby union clash between the Navy and RAF men's and women's teams will happen at Plymouth Albion (25 March).
In March 2022, BFBS Sport presented eight LIVE sporting broadcasting with total views of more than 99k.
April
The rugby union is in full swing as we head into April.
The Army will play their annual Mobbs Memorial match against Bedford (5 Apr) while their clash with the RAF in match two of the Inter Services at Gloucester's Kingsholm Stadium follows soon after (15 Apr).
The Inter Services golf tournament will take place at Enville Golf Club (3-5 Apr) – seeing a return to the course after last year's event was cancelled due to the death of Her Majesty the Queen.
It's also expected that many service football finals will take place during the month as well as potential UK Armed Forces team fixtures.
May
It's the biggest sporting event of the Forces year, so mark your calendars.
Saturday 13 May sees the Army v Navy matches take centre stage at Twickenham Stadium with the women's clash being held there for only the second time ever.
May should also see service rugby union finals as well as boxing trophies on the line across all three services.
The cricket season will also start in May as teams prepare for the Lord's showpiece while all eyes on will be the Army's Kat Matthews as she looks to win a triathlon World Championships in Ibiza.
June
Trophies are on the agenda in June as the Inter Services Ice Hockey, Army Triathlon and Inter Services Volleyball championships take place.
The Royal Navy and British Army are both expected to submit teams to the Super Sevens rugby union tournament that runs throughout June and July, but the headline for the month comes from Lord's Cricket Ground.
The Inter Services T20 cricket championships sees all three services in action on the same day on a date yet to be decided.
July
As the heat increases in the summer, athletes take to the track to prove they're the best.
The Inter Services athletics and triathlon competitions take place in July while the Rundle Cup clash between the Army and Navy's polo teams is expected to return to Tidworth.
Both the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines are also hoping to make their Falklands Cup football match a regular July event.
August
The forces cricket teams take to the pitch again for the 50 overs tournament as their season comes to a close in August.
Service cricket teams are hoping that the famous Wimbledon courts will host the Inter Services tennis championships while the Navy Equestrian championships are expected to take place.
Meanwhile, the Simpson Cup golf competition usually takes place at the end of August with Team UK set to host their American rivals in 2023.
September
The Inter Services competitions continue to ramp up in September with Cycling and Windsurfing hosting events.
The RAF Regiment, Royal Marines and Infantry football teams are aiming to compete in their annual tri-service tournament called the Combat Cup, while the first Inter Services rugby league match is also expected to be announced for the end of the month.
The final cricket event of the year usually takes place in September with the Army Inter Corps final.
Also pencilled in for this month is the first-ever Inter Services American Football match between the Army and Navy.
October
The 2023 Inter Services rugby league champions will be decided in the spooky month. Will the Navy hold on to their men's crown?
The football teams are back in full swing with a number of high-profile matches at this time of the year. Wolves and Swindon Town have provided opposition for the RAF teams in 2022.
Meanwhile, the second Inter Services American Football clash sees the RAF and Navy involved in October and the RAF Sports Awards kick off the celebration season at Halton House.
November
A month of Remembrance which sees a number of sporting events scheduled to allow players and teams to pay tribute to the fallen.
The UKAF Women's football team will be lining up a high-profile opponent to continue their streak of tough Remembrance matches (Chelsea Academy in 2021 and Everton Academy in 2022).
A traditional fixture is the Remembrance Rugby match at Kingsholm Stadium as UKAF's rugby union team are in action.
The glitz and the glamour of the Army Sports Awards will come from Sandhurst in November while the U23 Inter Services rugby union championships kick off.
December
It may be a month where some military personnel are thinking about their Christmas plans, but the sporting world has some big dates in December.
U23 Inter Services rugby union champions will be crowned, while the Royal Navy will hold their annual sports awards.
The Army boxing team could repeat their 2022 fixture against Team Scotland while the Forces Showjumping event at Olympia rounds off the year.
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