Photo By Tech. Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham | Virginia Air National Guard recruiters attend the GRIT Fitness Festival at the Hampton...... read more read more
HAMPTON, Va. -- Virginia Air National Guard recruiters found an opportunity to engage prospective Airmen who are “fit to fight” at the 10th annual Grit Fitness Festival on March 7, 2020, in Hampton, Virginia, during the 192nd Wing’s regularly scheduled drill weekend.
More than 500 spectators attended the festival where recruiters assigned to Joint Force Headquarters-Virginia challenged patrons to a pull-up competition with their recently purchased mobile pull-up bar.
“In the high schools, we’ll say ‘if you do 10 pushups or 10 pull-ups, then we’ll give you a [drawstring] bag,’” said Staff Sgt. Alexandria Zavala, Virginia Air National Guard recruiter. “But here, because these people are more fit, they have to do about 25 pull-ups for a bag.”
Zavala said this is the first fitness festival the team has attended upon recognizing the draw for prior and current military members. As fitness enthusiasts, these possible recruits are not only easily transitioned into VaANG career fields, but are also more likely to be retained for the long-term.
With required training and experience under their belts, Zavala explained, prior service members who join the VaANG are easily absorbed without having to go back to basic military training or technical school and scores from their past Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test are still applicable.
The crossfit competition is the main event at the Grit Fitness Festival where Diane Koske, owner of CrossFit Oyster Point and festival organizer, said athletes come from different gyms or “crossfit boxes” all over the East Coast to participate in.
Vendors, including VaANG recruiters, set up their tents in the Hampton Convention Center creating a path towards the mainstage where competitors performed burpees, box jumps, and yoke walks for cash prizes.
Zavala acknowledged that being there was also another opportunity for local military members to interact and connect with the community.
“The biggest thing is that we’re just out here to have fun,” she said. “And obviously that we’re looking for good quality people, and that starts here in the community.”
VaANG recruiters are looking for people to fulfill full- and part-time positions, ranging from aircraft engine mechanics to information technology specialists -- click here for more information.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2020 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 365133 |
| Location: | HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 149 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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