Clubs at USAFA

bendaddy

bendaddy

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
71
I've been pretty well-informed about Flying, Soaring, Wings of Blue, Drum & Bugle Corps, and Honor Guard/Sabre Drill, but have been wondering about Falconry, the First Responders Team, the Aviation Club, and Arnold Air Society.

Can anyone share some insight on these clubs? Or perhaps, if you are/were a cadet, will you please share with us what clubs you are involved in and what you do for them? Thanks!
 
I'm in Catholic Cadet Choir, BlueBards, and Nordic Skiing. The first is awesome because I get to sing 3 times a week with a group of really cool people. It doesn't involve a lot of commitment because there are only a few performances and they're on the weekends. Other than that, we sing at mass every Sunday and practice two times a week.

Blue Bards is the USAFA theater program. It's fun, but a lot more work than choir. In the end, the performances make it worth it. This spring, we're performing Beauty and the Beast.

Nordic Skiing is my primary club. It is a competitive team, but we accept anyone, even if you've never been on skis before (like two of the people on the team, one senior and one freshman). It's a great deal for freshmen if you're willing to work a little. Skiing is good exercise, and we have either practice or a race at a ski resort every weekend of forty days.

Hope this helps! :smile:
 
Wow, seems like you're really keeping yourself busy! Within the past few years, I've really gotten into snowboarding, but still have yet to put on some skiis... Would you happen to know if they have a snowboarding version of the Nordic Skiing club?

Thanks for the info!
 
I'm on the EMT team on top of everything else. Its a good time. Typically hard to join, but once you do, its a blast.
 
EMT

I'll bite: what is EMT? Emergency medical technician club?
 
Mikeandcris said:
I'll bite: what is EMT? Emergency medical technician club?
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Yeah, EMT team does medical support for the cadet wing events. Everything from having someone at formations/parades, Comm's Challenge, Recognition, Basic, CST, etc. Late freshman/sophomore years you apply to take the course the following fall. If they accept you and you get through the class okay, you make the team. They only accept about 25ish (I think) from the people that apply, though. Have to have a good set of GPA and MPA.
 
bendaddy said:
Wow, seems like you're really keeping yourself busy! Within the past few years, I've really gotten into snowboarding, but still have yet to put on some skiis... Would you happen to know if they have a snowboarding version of the Nordic Skiing club?

Thanks for the info!
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Think you mean Alpine Snowboarding! :wink: Nordic snowboarding would have to be the most incredibly boring sport imaginable! :shake: (and exhausting too!).

Does anyone know how hard it is to make the Alpine Ski team? Is this something people are recruited for? Do they practice only on weekends as well? Thanks!
 
Alpine ski team has about the same schedule as nordic- we even have nationals at the same time. I'm pretty sure you actually have to try out for alpine, though.
 
So if a cadet is from, say, the South where there is no skiiing and has only skiied once, where would that cadet fit in if he wanted to be on an organized group just to ski and get better in a group environment?

Also, how many clubs would you say a cadet could handle at one time? Like, would EMT, Skiing, and Combat Weapons Team be doable at all?
 
Are there any Fellowship of Christian Athletes? Or Intervarsity?

Basically any Bible study groups for Evangelical Christians?

Thankss.
 
J.NordicSkier7 said:
Alpine ski team has about the same schedule as nordic- we even have nationals at the same time. I'm pretty sure you actually have to try out for alpine, though.
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Thanks for the info! I'm sure my son will try out. He's raced since he was 7, and has been on teams and in competitions, but we're from the midwest :redface: so I'm not sure how he'll stack up against someone who grew up skiing out there!

Stormtrooper - I hear they have a very active Ski Club (which people snowboard in as well) that gets you off base on the weekends and is just more on your own. They also have ski/SB rentals right at the academy for a very reasonable rate. I know my son will do this if he doesn't do ski team.
 
Clubs in the old days

When I was at the Academy, I was in the Sleeper's Club. We got our homework done, so we could get as much sleep as possible. Once a week, usually Saturday night, we met at Leon G's for Max B's and P's (Beer and Pizza for you civilians), but of course that was when the drinking age was 18 for 3.2 beer in Colorado.
 
Will specific clubs help you advance into a specific job in the Air Force with greater ease? For example, would it be safe to suppose that being on the Flying team would increase your chance of heading to UPT?
 
Generally, no.
What assignment you get is primarily based off your Board Order of Merit.
 
sports

Seems like there are plenty of helpful AFA cadets that are answering our questions about the sports section....so I thought I would go ahead and ask one also.
Is there Competative Taekwondo at the AFA??
My Daughter has been competing at High Level TKD Competitions and is hopeful that she can continue to do so at AFA.
Does AFA have a TKD Team?
Thanks for any info on this :smile:
 
HP8892 said:
Are there any Fellowship of Christian Athletes? Or Intervarsity?

Basically any Bible study groups for Evangelical Christians?

Thankss.
Click to expand...

There are several bible study groups, for all faiths, called SPIRE: Special Programs in Religious Education. There is also a specific time set aside on Monday nights for these groups to meet. I know that several also meet during other times of the week, and have weekend events like community service opportunities, retreats, and fellowship times (e.i. parties).

In the beginning of the fall semester the SPIRE groups host a kick-off picnic where each group has a table with information about how to get involved. I would highly recommend going to that, talking to the leaders, and asking questions. For me, it was a great way to meet new people at the beginning of the semester and get a feel for the different groups I was interested in.
 
Ski Club?

when does the ski club meet and how often do they take trips to local mountains? I'm assuming anyone can join, including 4* cadets? Defiantly hope to continue skiing out there!
 
carp28 said:
when does the ski club meet and how often do they take trips to local mountains? I'm assuming anyone can join, including 4* cadets? Defiantly hope to continue skiing out there!
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Ski club had their first trip the weekend after winter break and have probably gone out every other week since then. It was about $65 to join, but you can use their transportation and sign out on SCA instead of using your limited basic passes. So far, I've taken the bus up once and signed out two weekends and one other day on the ski club pass. Not too bad.
 
Hi J.

Do the Bluebards have their own website? If so, please post the link!
 
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