Corrections officers took part in a sporting competition overseas in a bid to network with officers abroad.They returned to the Island with scores of bronze, silver and gold medals and a greater sense of camaraderie with one another.Fourteen officers, including team manager Jose Allen, got into tip-top shape in order to take part in the Texas Police Games last month.The officers proudly donned necks adorned with medals after beating the competition in running, bowling and golf tournaments.Participant Andre Symonds won two silver medals after taking part in the five and 10km run; he won a gold medal for his showing in a 1,500-metre race.The 53-year-old said: “It was very eye-opening for me. There was great camaraderie with the Texas team and the people that were there was great. It was very well organised and great fun.”Traymetri Wright, who won gold medals in the 10km and 1500 metres, said: “It was also a great bonding experience with my co-workers and I’m looking forward to representing the Department of Corrections next year in Austin, Texas.”Other participants included: Terrance Smith, Vance Gilbert, Anthony Hayward, Gregory Simons, Clarence Burch, Andre Gordon, Trent Rowling and Conrad Lister.Mr Allen, a police canine officer for the Department of Corrections, said he was “quite proud” of the outcome considering the challenges the local officers faced.He said they had to work out in sweltering heat, in some cases up to 90 degrees, and without support from their friends and family.Despite this they took advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other outside of the day-to-day grind of corrections work and formed a “deeper bond”.“It was a good morale booster. The guys realised that as many challenges we have in Bermuda when you consider other parts of the country you learn people have similar challenges, some greater than ours.“It gives you appreciation for where you are from when you see what other people have to deal with. It gave us confidence and a sense of team spirit.”The men also toured the Dallas County Jail, the seventh largest penitentiary in the United States. In 2008, there were 122,000 inmates processed through it.Mr Allen said they were able to observe how other prison systems worked and took back new ideas for tackling everyday challenges here.He said the whole team was praised for being well dressed and upholding a high sense of decorum. They also left other participants with small taste of Island life thanks to goods and souvenirs donated by the Department of Tourism and Gosling’s.