CONTACT: Melanie Pipkin
202-414-0778
Jul 6, 2006

NEARLY 600 BATTLE FOR TOP SPOT AT YOUTH CHALLENGE INVITATIONAL

Back to News

Nearly 600 cadets from across the country went head to head in academic and physical challenges at the University of Maryland, College Park, on June 4-10, 2006 as part of the 10th Anniversary of the ChalleNGe Invitational.  The cadets spent the week on campus competing for the bragging rights for their states and programs in the scheduled activities.

Cadets from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming competed in drill team competition, GED Jeopardy, basketball, chess, triathlon, Congressional Quiz Bowl, volleyball and softball.  The cadets had the chance to meet and mingle with their counterparts from across the country and many were surprised by their similar experiences and connections with the other teens.

The ChalleNGe Invitational offers cadets a version of intramural sports that they may not have had the opportunity to participate in while attending traditional high school.  For many, this was the first time they played a team sport or were involved with academic teams.  Additionally, many of the cadets took their first airplane ride to get to Maryland, with teens coming from as far as Texas and Wyoming.

Maryland’s Freestate ChalleNGe Academy Program Director Col. Richard E. Young started the ChalleNGe Invitational as a way for cadets to have fun while fostering teamwork, sportsmanship and the competitive spirit with their fellow cadets.  There have been 20 ChalleNGe Invitationals so far, one for each class since 1996, and the first one was held at the Freestate ChalleNGe Academy on Aberdeen Proving Ground in November 1996.  A decade later, the ChalleNGe Invitational returned to its birthplace to celebrate ten years of competition, camaraderie and ChalleNGe.

Various media outlets, Foundation representatives and National Guard leadership attended the event and were impressed not only by the cadets’ talent, but also by their energy and perseverance.

“The cadets competing here this week exemplify just how this program allows at-risk teens to bond with each other to work as a team to reach a goal, something they may have not been able to do before entering this program,” Deputy Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Athletics and Youth Development Joe Padilla said.  “By receiving the support of the staff and cadets around them, our cadets gradually gain the confidence and drive to sustain them once they graduate from our program.”

The next ChalleNGe Invitational will take place at in the Fall of 2006.