GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Members of the 315th Training Squadron here hosted a ‘Break the Pandemic’ morale event April 11.
In response to social restrictions due to COVID-19, the 315th TRS decided to organize an event to ensure the mental and physical well-being for Goodfellow members.
“The original idea came to be when Chief Master Sgt. Toby Hiseley, 315th TRS chief enlisted manager, was talking about the idea of having an event to benefit the Airmen who were restricted to base and had limited options,” said 2nd Lt. Christian Bills, 315th TRS student and event organizer. “Our expectations were to help relieve some of the stress cause by the current situation and we believed that if we had the right mix of events and people it could be a really great showing.”
Volunteers orchestrated eight mental and physical challenges for the event, which consists of four-person teams who competed while maintaining social-distancing guidelines. Any equipment used was sanitized by volunteers between competitors.
“It was great to have an event break up the isolation monotony, because it reminds you of the simplistic joy in spending time with friends and how much of a positive impact it can have on your day,” said 315th TRS student Amelia Feuka.
The event included a one-mile relay, photo scavenger hunt, disc toss, physical training circuit, Air Force knowledge quiz, basketball shootout, a water bucket challenge and a football punt, pass and kick challenge. The events were spread around base to allow adequate personal space, and the points were tallied at the end to determine the winners.
“Friendly competition allows you to push yourself outside of your normal scope, as well as do something you would not typically do on your own,” said 2nd Lt. Brenna Przeslawski, 315th TRS student.
The competition ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the teams completed the challenges in any order they chose.
At the end of the day, the winners were split into three categories. Team Hustlepuff took the win for the enlisted student category, Dream Team took the title for officer student/external squadron category, and Team Staying Alive won it for the permanent party category. The winning teams were awarded a pizza party for their winning effort.