On Thursday, April 3, ROTC students from the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy convened at the Elma Neal Roane Fieldhouse for the 2008 Commander's Cup. Each year, three branches of the military come together to promote friendly competition. The Cup consists of basketball, dodge ball and two track and field events.
Capt. Steven Sharp of the Air Force said the Cup is more about "bragging rights for a year" than a hostile competition.
"There's a lot of comradery but also a lot of competition," Sharp said. "There is some rivalry, but it's got to be respectable."
The purpose statement of the Cup is "to promote pride within each respective military branch, to build respect and a sense of unity between the branches and to have fun through the competition of a series of competitive challenges."
Each year, a different branch plans and sponsors the event, with this year's host being the Air Force. There are three scored competitions: track and field, basketball and dodge ball. The winners of dodgeball and track and field receive 20 points, and second-place gets 15 points. However, the basketball champion receives 30 points, making it possible for a comeback late in the game.
"We expect to do really well in basketball," Sharp said.
Safety is an important factor among all the events. All of the games have referees on hand. The Cup is normally a fun atmosphere, which is why the cadets and their commanders do not want any problems.
"That's why every event has referees," Sharp said, "so it doesn't get out of hand. It's fair across the board."
Sharp said there is a great deal of strategy that takes place, not only when planning and organizing the event, but when competing in the events themselves. He added, "Each service has a game plan."
Daniel Millican, Army cadet and competitor in the previous year's games, said the Cup is more than just an annual event - it is a mental escape from the pressures of school.
"It gets our minds off of school, with exams coming up," he said.
As far as the rivalry side of the event, Millican said there is "not as much as you'd think," although he did admit to being "pumped" about dodgeball.
Even though they failed to win last year, they did take one token off the field. During last year's Cup, the Air Force cadets stole the Army's ROTC mascot.
"Yeah, it was like a burn," Millican said. "We have a guard on it this year."
The first competition of the day was dodgeball. It came down to the Army versus the Navy, with the Army pulling ahead and winning the event by five points.
At the end of the first round of competition, Army took the lead with 20 points. The Navy was close behind with 15 points, and the Air Force has yet to make it on the board.
Next are the track and field events. The two races, the 4 x 100 and 8 x 200 relays, were scored by adding the times of both together. Unlike most competitions, the goal here is to have the least amount of time. This time, the Navy grabbed the 20 points with the Army collecting second place and 10 points.
The final event was basketball, where the champion of the Cup was crowned. In a round-robin tournament, the Navy was victorious, and the Air Force finally made their mark on the scoreboard by taking second place.
In 2008's Commander's Cup, the Navy ROTC received bragging rights for a year by racking up 45 points and being donned the winner of the competition. Army was this year's runner-up with 30 points, and Air Force rounded-up the group with 15 points.
Once the competition is over, Sharp said all the branches are on the same side.
"It's give and take," Sharp said. "These are all college kids that are, hopefully, going to serve in the military."
