TAVISTOCK could lose out in Dartmoor's greatest youth challenge following the Army's threat to remove teams from the Ten Tors event after a row over the allocation of places. Both Tavistock College and Tavistock and District Youth Network have lost their 35-mile team allocations this year — the college believes it has had a 35-mile team continuously for 40 years. But a request by the college for the Army to reconsider has prompted a response from the event secretary which has 'shocked and appalled' a Tavistock town councillor. Ten Tors event secretary Major Michael Pethers, in a letter to college principal Colin Eves, said: 'Should you continue to feel dissatisfied with your team allocation, then I will ensure that in subsequent years your detail will be removed from the event mailing list, thus ensuring that in future the places will be allocated to more deserving institutions.' Tavistock town councillor Peter Jones, who is the council's liaison with the youth network, said: 'The town had every right to appeal and it was important for us to do so. 'To threaten to remove the college from the list is appalling. I am shocked by this response.' Mr Jones, whose two sons both took part in Ten Tors, said Tavistock was 'smack bang on the moor' and many of the young people who participated in Ten Tors went on to join the Dartmoor Rescue Team. The 35-mile event was particularly important for getting youngsters interested in Ten Tors and other outdoor adventure challenges. Tavistock College said in its letter to Major Pethers there were no other 35-mile teams for the students to join so this action would result in a whole age band of young people being denied the opportunity to take part in 2007 and potentially in 2008. 'Many students live with views of the moor, and Ten Tors is an integral part of their lives with the event being witnessed by them annually,' said the letter. 'They eagerly look forward to being old enough to compete, and competition for places within the school is fierce. The college has been part of the fabric of Ten Tors for over 20 years.' But Major Pethers has accused the college of being 'persistent' after he had already explained that the event was oversubscribed. He said he was not happy that the college had sent a circular letter to 'anyone who may be of influence' and appeared not to accept the committee's decision. More than 600 applications had been submitted for 400 places and many organisations entered for the first time this year, putting extra pressure on the organisers who had the unenviable task of allocating places, said Major Pethers. Tavistock College has two teams taking part in the longer distance challenges this year and the town as a whole has seven or eight teams involved. 'Some organisations who have in the past customarily enjoyed having three team places have not been given three team places this year — Tavistock College is not the only one,' he said. 'I understand Tavistock is a large college but that does not mean it has any more right than any other organisation to take part in an activity that is open to invitation.' This was the only MOD challenge of its kind in the country and everyone deserved to have a chance to take part, added Major Pethers, who said he would be willing to swap the college's 55-mile team for a 35-mile team. College principal Colin Eves said: 'I am surprised and disappointed at the response to our request for the team allocation to be reconsidered and will obviously look to see if there are ways in which the situation can be resolved to everyone's advantage.' Kelly College is entering three teams in this year's Ten Tors — the first time it has had that number for four years. l See page 13