Photo By Staff Sgt. Tiffany Scofield | Airmen from the 174th Attack Wing participate in the 400-meter relay race during one...... read more read more
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HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, NY -Airmen from the 174th Attack Wing’s Communications Flight came within one point of edging out the Civil Engineer Squadron for the lead in the wing’s regular Sports Day competition held June 6, 2021 during weekend drill.
The Sports Day event is held once each quarter throughout the year as a way to build Airmn morale across the wing. Teams compete in a series of events. Some are physically demanding and others are just plain fun mental challenges, according to the organizers.
“There’s something for everyone,” explained Staff Sgt. Michael Samora, one of the event organizers. “It’s a great way for our airmen to come together and build up morale.”
The Sports Day initiative was set up to encourage morale through friendly competition, said Col. Chuck Hutson, the wing vice commander.
“It’s great to see the friendly competition among our units, and our Non-Commission Officer corps has done a wonderful job keeping the Sports Day initiative going,” Hutson said.
Seven teams, ranging from the Logistics Readiness Squadron to the Operations Squadron are participating in the Sports Day events in 2021.
June’s events consisted of a bench press weight lifting competition ,a 400-meter relay race, Kan-Jam , and a water pong tournament.
Kan-Jam is a game played with a flying disk. Players hit or sink the disk into a can to earn with the purpose of trying to hit or make the flying disk in the can to earn points. The first team to get 21 points wins.
During the single elimination Kan-Jam tournament, the Communications Flight took home first place.
Points in the bench press are based on the percentage of body weight lifted. The Civil Engineering Squadron took first place in that event.
In the 400-meter relay, the four person team from the Logistics Readiness Squadron came in first place with a total time of three minutes and 29 seconds. The top performer was Airman Josiah Daniels, who finished his lap in one minute and three seconds.
Water pong, the forth event in the June competition, is a non-alcoholic variation on the old fraternity game of beer pong. Players win by getting a ping pong ball in ten cups full of water.
The 174th Communications Flight took beat out all their competitors during the water pong tournament.
“I definitely enjoy participating in Sports Day,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Collins, the water pong winner. “It was great way to build morale and have some fun.”
This month’s events helped the Communications Flight boost their points by 30 leaving them just one point behind Civil Engineering. Points are added cumulatively throughout the year. Currently, Communications is in the lead with 60 points, according to and Senior Airman Thaddeus Sitnik, who worked with Samora to organize the competition for June.
At the beginning of each calendar year, the Sports Day leadership roles are passed on to two members who show strong interest and dedication towards the events.
“I’m an athlete myself and I just enjoy watching people get out of the office to socialize and have some fun,” said Samora.
Points are tallied by first place receiving the most points, and fourth place the least. At the end of the calendar year, each squadron’s points are counted to see who won first place.
The first place winner receives a trophy with their squadron name engraved on it. The next Sports Day event will be held September and the last in December.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2021 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 399073 |
| Location: | SYRACUSE, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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