By Megan Grindstaff
Reporter

After three grueling hours of competition, Baylor Army ROTC cadets overcame the cold and rain to defeat the Air Force ROTC cadets in a series of physical events and claimed the prestigious President’s Cup on Wednesday.

The Army detachment has been President’s Cup champions all but two years since the event’s inauguration in 2009, but this year’s victory was particularly dominant. Through six rounds of 12-minute competitions in calisthenics, tug-of-war, handball, ultimate frisbee, soccer and an 8x200m relay, teams of Army cadets had more cumulative wins in every single event.

Though Army walked away with a trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights, both detachments were able to gain valuable camaraderie.
“It brings the services together,” said Boerne senior Brandon Dittmar, Air Force cadet. “When we begin active duty, we’re all going to be on the same side.”

While pleased with the 2014 results, San Antonio senior Lindsey Wafford, Army’s event coordinator, said winning is not the top priority of the event.

“For us, the main goal is to get to know the cadets from the other forces,” Wafford said.

The President’s Cup competition is an ROTC tradition unique to Baylor, but detachments at other universities hold similar competitions, usually referred to as Commander Cups, in order to build unity between the rival forces on campus, Wafford said.

Timely redemption is one of the benefits to the President’s Cup being an annual competition.

“It gives us the chance to come back and show our skills next year,” said Tech Sgt. Keisha Sallee, Air Force ROTC adviser.

This year’s results show Air Force ROTC has “a lot of room to improve,” Dittmar said. AFROTC looks forward to practicing some of the events during physical training and showcasing its improvement at Field Day later this semester, when it will host other Air Force ROTC detachments from across Texas.