The human foosball competition drew lots of laughs Friday at the Armed Forces Olympics at Carney Park in Naples, Italy. Playing from left were Army Sgt. Shonda Haddock, 27, from Greeneville, N.C.; Air Force Staff Sgt. Sabrina Crawford, 28, from Charlotte, N.C.; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Janina McQueen, 24, from Greensboro, N.C. (Kendra Helmer / S&S)
The human foosball competition drew lots of laughs Friday at the Armed Forces Olympics at Carney Park in Naples, Italy. Playing from left were Army Sgt. Shonda Haddock, 27, from Greeneville, N.C.; Air Force Staff Sgt. Sabrina Crawford, 28, from Charlotte, N.C.; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Janina McQueen, 24, from Greensboro, N.C. (Kendra Helmer / S&S)
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathalie Zodan, 31, an aviation boatswain’s mate handler from Los Angeles, competes in the horseshoe tournament Friday at the Armed Forces Olympics at Carney Park in Naples, Italy. (Kendra Helmer / S&S)
NAPLES, Italy — Some Naples-area servicemembers had a pretty sweet day Friday: Instead of working, they competed in outdoor wacky events for the Armed Forces Olympics.
“Somebody kicked me!” yelled Army Sgt. Shonda Haddock, wrists tied to a giant pole for the human foosball competition. That’s right — human foosball. Teams smacked a soccer ball around inside a giant inflatable box.
Nearby, servicemembers furiously pedaled plastic cars in a chariots-of-fire race. Not all of the 15 competitions at Carney Park were off the wall. Guys screamed “head’s up” dozens of times as baseball players smacked balls over the fence in a home run derby.
About 450 servicemembers representing 11 military commands in the Naples area competed. The overall Olympics champ was the Air Operations/Supply team. Between events, guys like Petty Officer 2nd Class Ismael Limas rested in the shade. Limas laughed with fellow Seabees and drank beer from a Penn tennis ball canister.
“I needed a cup, it’s all I could find,” smiled Limas, a construction electrician from Guadalajara, Mexico.
It was the ninth year for the event, said park director Patrick Keaveny.
“It’s a chance for the active-duty military to just get out, have a good time and bond,” he said.
Event winners
Overall results:
1st place: Air Operations/Supply2nd: Army-Air Force3rd: NCTAMS team A
First places in following categories:
10K run: NCTAMS team AArm wrestling: Air Operations/Supply (men and women)Homerun contest: Army-Air ForceVolleyball tournament: Army-Air ForceClimbing wall: Public Works Department/SeabeesBanner contest: Public Works Department/SeabeesBench Press: Army-Air Force (women), Air Operations/Supply (men)Chin-up: Air Operations/Supply (women and men)Tug of war: NCTAMS team AObstacle course: Security DepartmentBasketball hot shots: Army-Air ForceChariots of fire: Air Operations/SupplyHuman Foosball: DentalHorseshoes: Air Operations/Supply100 m dash: NCTAMS team A (men and women)
