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Part 1 - The Scene
Part 2 - On the Track
Part 3 - On the Field
Part 4 - Fun on the Sideline
Part 5 - The Wave

The Scene


The Air Force Academy Invitational took place on the grounds of the Air Force Academy which is located just outside of Cororado Springs, Colorado.  The Air Force Academy is an accredited undergraduate college for the education of officers and is ranked high on the list of best colleges in the United States.  Its mission is "to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation."  Character building is important at the Academy and so the Cadet Honor code is a foundation of the cadet training. The Academy is the youngest of the military academies having graduated its first class in 1959.  

 The Air Force Academy sits at the foot of the Front Range of the Southern Rockies.  The campus appears as a  fortress, elevated
above the ground and surrounded by wall on at least two sides.  Inside, the buildings are low with the exception of the Cadet Chapel. 
 
 The academy buildings are low to the ground and are placed around a perimieter which forms a large open space area.
 
 Every cadet is an athlete.  Recognizing the importance of sports in building character and leadership,
cadets participate in either  intermural or intercollegiate sports. 
 
 
And to facilitate athletics, there are several wonderful facilities:  Cadet Field House -- which includes an ice hockey arena, basketball arena and
an indoor track -- Falcon Stadium, Cadet Gymnasium and outdoor facilities are pictured below.
  

The most striking campus building is the Cadet Chapel.  This is a building 150 feet high, built of aluminum, glass and steel
with 17 spires (no significance to the number of spires). ".....the Air Force Academy Chapel is an all-faiths house of worship
designed to meet the spiritual needs of cadets. It contains a separate chapel for four major religious faiths — Protestant, Catholic,
Jewish, and Buddhist — plus an all-faiths room used by Muslim cadets and available for members of the other faiths as well.
There are two main levels, with the Protestant nave on the upper level and the Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist chapels as well
as the all-faiths room located beneath it. Each chapel has its own entrance, and services may be held simultaneously without
interfering with one another."  (From the Air Force Academy Chapel Fact Sheet)


Inside the main level chapel.  Furnishings, pipe organs, liturgical fittings and adornments of the chapel were presented as gifts from individuals,
organizations, and donations from Easter offerings made at Air Force bases.
  

A stop at Colorado Springs.

While in the area, a short trip down the road is Colorado Springs, a thriving city of approximately 500,000 that has been named
"Best Place to Live" and "Best Place to Retire" in many publications.

Pikes Peak looms over the area.  It is 14,110 feet above sea level and is the 31st highest peak out of 54 Colorado peaks.  Pikes Peak is the
farthest east of the big peaks in the Rocky Mountain chain, which contributed to its early fame among explorers, pioneers and immigrants and
made it the symbol of the 1859 Gold Rush to Colorado with the slogan, "Pikes Peak or Bust".
 

Pikes Peak peaks down Pikes Peak Avenue between buildings in downtown Colorado Springs.
 

Downtown statues give tribute to the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo which started in 1938 and continues today.  This year the rodeo takes place July 8-11.   Before going to the rodeo in July, you can stop at  Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Museum of the American Cowboy which boasts that it is the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of rodeo and its star, the rodeo cowboy.
 
 

 

Now on to the Meet

Part 1 - The Scene
Part 2 - On the Track
Part 3 - On the Field
Part 4 - Fun on the Sideline
Part 5 - The Wave
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