Twenty-five jammed fingers, 10 rolled ankles, at least 20 blisters, numerous sore shoulders and a world record. Twenty Team Schriever members got all that and more after playing dodgeball for more than 40 consecutive hours March 22 – 23 at Shriever Air Force Base beating the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest dodgeball marathon by eight hours and raising more than $1,000 for the Air Force Assistance Fund.
Battling on the dodgeball court for 40 hours straight is no small feat according to Col. James Ross, 50th Space Wing commander. Doing so required all four pillars of Comprehensive Airman Fitness to accomplish.
“These Airmen certainly displayed the social aspect by getting the entire wing to rally around them to complete this undertaking,” said Ross. “They displayed the mental and spiritual edge to make it through the entire 40 hours and they certainly displayed the physical aspect most of all.”
What makes a person decide to spend the next 40 hours of their life playing dodgeball? For most of the 20 players, raising money for the AFAF was a big motivator second to setting a world record.
“The AFAF is a great tool to give back to Airmen; Airmen helping Airmen at its best,” said Senior Airman Allen Orozcocasteneda, 50th Comptroller Squadron. “I couldn’t think of a better cause and of course I wanted to set a world record.”
For Master Sgt. Cliff Wagner, 50th Security Forces Squadron and the most senior enlisted person on the court, the challenge of playing with the younger guys drove him.
“This was a personal challenge for me,” said Wagner. “I really wanted to see if I could compete with a bunch of young guys. I also wanted to help out the organizations we were contributing money to. I really believe in those organizations.”
To qualify for the record, the 20 team members had to be on the basketball court the entire 40 hours save the five minutes an hour break time they were allotted. Schriever volunteers were on hand throughout the duration, setting up cots, providing food and most importantly, moral support for the players.
That support proved to be the one thing that got the players through the 40 hours.
“[Participating] seemed like a good idea at the time and then it actually started and I realized that it wasn’t a good idea at all,” said Staff Sgt. Neil Kozack, 50th Space Communications Squadron. “I hit my wall 12 hours into the event. We still had more than 24 hours to go. I was extremely sore and I knew that I wasn’t going to get a second wind anytime soon.”
Kozack commented that his team support and the wing support is what ultimately got him and his teammates through the event.
“The second-to-last hour I was sick and I seriously thought that was it,” said Kozack. “Then more folks showed up and the adrenaline kicked in and I was going like it was the first hour.”
Continuous video of the event will be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records for validation before Schriever is officially awarded the record.