Sgt. Stecker's COLORWARS Returns To Glover; Green Team Wins (No, Really)

GLOVER PARK -- With Sunday’s closing ceremonies marking the end of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, sports fans squarely re-trained their eyes on Washington for an equally herculean display of athleticism and national pride. Well, almost…

While it’s true that yesterday’s return of Sgt. Stecker's COLORWARS to Glover Park might not have risen to the same level of prominence as the Summer Games, the afternoon field day competition nevertheless quite handily tested the physical mettle of the close to 100 participants, with a series of sporty challenges.

Teams bandied together in the weeks prior in order to plot their respective strategies and recruit ‘anchor’ members who could help bring home the glory at such taxing events as flip cup, dizzy bat, three-legged racing, hula-hooping, and a widow-making tug of war competition.

All the while, athletes were required to stay hydrated, both during and in between events, with a continuous flow of colorful beverages in order to ‘maximize’ their performance. Some of these libations came in kegs courtesy of the Waterfront District’s FAIRGROUNDS, while still others took on a more gelatinous form (e.g., jello).

Of course for the truly hypercompetitive, athletic performance purveyor Motive Pure stood by with the company’s signature electrolyte replenishment concentrate. And case-upon-colorful-case of ‘never fried’ popchips! ensured that the strength of the competitors remained equally high.

Invitees to White Haven Park on Sunday weren’t limited to the two-legged variety, as dogs and deer happily abounded. Trash talking was encouraged, however, and attendees more than happily rose to the occasion. Still, only a handful of players were sent to the makeshift penalty box for violating game rules, such as spinning an incorrect number of times during dizzy bat or mouthing-off to judges.

All playfulness aside, at its core, COLORWARS is a massive outdoor party for Courtney Stecker -- a longstanding D.C. resident and U.S. Army veteran - who wanted to find a fun way to celebrate his birthday each year with all of his friends.

Fiancée and ‘Commander’ Judy Mayka (the couple got engaged on Friday) has organized and produced the annual event with Stecker since 2009. The premise behind COLORWARS was modeled off of the fun field games Mayka participated in while studying at Syracuse University.

And while the war was not fought in 2011 much to the dismay of many, that armistice thankfully didn’t hold and the battle waged anew this year stronger than ever.

The long-running joke about COLORWARS is that Stecker’s ‘Green Team’ is guaranteed a first place finish each year since the game is a celebration of his birthday. And 2012 was no different in this respect (although the judging really did uphold such a victory unlike in previous years where suspicious ‘bonuses’ were rumored to be in play).

Congratulations to all that were drafted. Target acquired; weapons hot.