JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- The Commander’s Cup on Marine Corps Air Station New River is an annual tradition promoting friendly competition between units through variety of intramural league sports. With nearly two dozen units participating on the air station, competitions were conducted January through November and included basketball, deck hockey, softball, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, kayak racing and flag football.
Dressed in festive holiday attire, Col. Curtis V. Ebitz, the commanding officer of MCAS New River, presented winning units a Commanders’ Cup trophy at the Marine Aircraft Group 26 headquarters building on MCAS New River, Dec. 18. Monetary compensation was also awarded to winning units in the form of Unit and Family Readiness Funds to increase unit cohesion and improve unit morale.
“The Commander’s Cup is wonderful; it provides an opportunity for the units to take a break and build some further camaraderie and esprit de corps especially during these times,” said Ebitz. “We had to scale some events down and eliminate others, but overall the Marines had a blast and it is just what we needed to do in order to keep a sense of normalcy during this pandemic.”
For each event, units earned points for their participation while additional placement points were awarded in each division for first, second and third place.
Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 (MWSS-272) went undefeated during the intramural basketball tournament and the Beast of the Base Football tournament. MWSS-272 secured the championship for both events and accrued 30 points more than any unit within their sports division.
MAG-26 accrued 23 points, more than any other unit within their own sports division. Winning the Intramural Softball season and kayak race, MAG-26 came in second place for the Beast of the Base football tournament.