The Army Challenge Course comes to East
October 7, 2016
The sound of basketballs and jeering crowds that is normally emanating from the gym was replaced by completive jesting and the booming voice of Domineque Taylor and other administers of the Army challenge course. Students from East were invited, or required if taking Weights and/or PE, to complete it.
Speaking from a megaphone, Taylor explained how the course worked. Teams of four raced against each other in various stations. The course starts with some basic exercise, then goes to a challenge where a team must carry a ball using only a plate suspended from ropes. After that, the team must run through a spider web of a ropes carrying a large tube and wearing a back pack. The course ends on the other side of the ropes once the team drops the tube and backpack.
According to Taylor, the entire course took about 90 minutes to set up, especially with all of East’s stairs, but he was confident the effort was worth it.
“The kids love it.” he said, “In the morning some teams were nervous, but once those first groups go through and everyone sees how fun it is, word spreads pretty quickly.”
One element that contributes to the fun is the feeling of completion. Using a leaderboard and prizes, the army managed to pump up some of the aspiring athletes. Faster teams got their names posted for the other competitors to see and win prizes. The record, as of 3rd Mod, was 1:48, and any teams getting a time under 2:00 would win a t-shirt. While two minutes may seem too fast, the students seem undaunted.
Aaron Sams tried his hand at the challenge during his weight class and seemed unworried about the time limit.
“We can do it,” Sams said, “I want that t-shirt.”
The only thing worrying Sams and his team was the ropes course, seeing as it would take some team work to navigate the wires. However, it proved to be the ball carry that provided the most difficulty, as Sams and his team dropped the ball on their first attempt.
“None of us were ready,” Sams said, “you should talk to your teammates before you start, we didn’t.”
Yet even though Sams and his team dropped the ball, they still managed to complete the course in 1:50, walking away with a spot on the leader board, and that t-shirt.
