European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 a the stars and stripes Friday december 13, 1991 even without Usa eur army crowns champions by Rob Staggenborg staff writer in the two years following Usa eur s decision to a its sports championship program the army european championships have proven that life indeed goes on. But Given the current restructuring of Power from the command level to the area support groups the dec s life May be coming to a close. Rewind Hack to november 1989. Usa eur sports was Riding a High. Then almost without notice the Hammer fell. Hard. In one sweep of Gen. Crosbie e. Saints Hammer the sports championship program which for years had flourished was erased from the budget. A we Are going to emphasize sports and recreation Down at the Community and unit level Quot Saint s director of the Community and family support Agency at the time col. Ken Gingras said. The intent Usa eur said was a to increase Soldier participation enhance morale and physical fitness and build unit cohesion and Esprit by placing the primary focus of organized sports Competition and recreation programs at the unit and Community  the outcry was almost vicious. Letters were written phone Calls made angry sighs were uttered. At the eleventh hour a group of sports directors gathered in Frankfurt to discuss what could be done to keep the championships alive a without the Usa eur cachet. Thus the army european championships were born. It resembled the Usa eur championships in that it gathered the major command champions who then competed to decide who was the Best in their respective sports for the army in Europe. Saint s decision opened the door for commercial sponsorship. Before the championship organizers were Given a set budget to stage the event. Now in return for some publicity sponsors would lend financial support and offer prizes for the winners of the event. A the dec is alive and Well a said Don Claycomb who was the Usa eur sports chief when the a fell. A ask the athlete what difference there is Between the dec and when Usa eur ran it and i bet they say there s no difference at All a said v corps sports director Joe Mulligan one of the dec organizers. A if there is no difference then it is just As or More successful than a Usa eur  in theory the unit level sports program was designed to get soldiers involved in at least two unit sports. In reality overzealous company commanders hell Bent on heeding the cinch sword overshot Saint s directive and ordered their troops to play More than the allotted sports. It was a mandatory fun a As the army adage goes and the troops resented it. Now in the shadows of the Force reductions Saint s vision is working. Unit level sports for soldiers not interested in trying out for a varsity level sports team Are easily accessible. A the company level program is As Good or even better than it Ever has been a Claycomb said. As for the dec athletes at the varsity level still get their championships. With the ass taking shape the dec May turn into a tournament of the respective ask champions. A when you re talking about winning it All a whether its an dec a ally or a Usa eur a All there really is no difference Quot he said. A whether you Call it dec or Usa eur it s the soldiers who still  a the dec is a pretty healthy  Claycomb said. A it s surviving people Are doing it and footing the  Quot the dec i d say on a whole was a Good substitute for the Usa eur program a said Jim Brown the Usa eur sports director. Tomorrow enterprising communities sports Boom under army a new system. Creates amps l Emmett Lewis or. No matter what the event is called Kaiserslautern Santhony Thomas maintains the same level of  hurts individuals athletes says amps Dave Casey two time interservice Champion Erin Majury of Wiesbaden hits loss of Community support for her sport. By Rob Staggenborg staff writer the Fate of the individual sports is Bleak with budget constraints and Lack of command support on the horizon Usa eur s top women a Tennis Champion and Safe s top racquetball player said. Tennis skiing Power lifting racquetball. Cross country and volleyball which arc commonly categorized As the a lesser military sports a will face a future filled with uncertainty. And As the budget a continues to fall those varsity sports programs May face extinction in the Wake of the draw Down and base closings. Erin Majury the army european women a open and interservice Champion said there really is no Usa eur Tennis program m. A you have to go to the sports offices yourself just to find Nerc the tournaments Are. They re not coming to you a she said. Quot its kind of disappointing to me As to How we had to find them ourselves. We even had to find the phone numbers ourselves make hotel arrangements everything. It seemed like they did no to really  Lou Souther the air forces Premier racquetball player and an interservice Champion said the air Force s program could be gradually phased out within the next few years. A the signs Are there. They re cutting Down the air Force training Camp for one. Who knows what the coming season will bring if Thev even have a season a a Souther of Rhein main a is both a five Lime air Force and armed forces Champion. He is also the defending Safe Champion a title he a won six limes. A 35-year-old master sergeant. Souther was ranked nationally in the lop 15 of the american Amateur Racquet bail association and finished third in the National tournament in 1985. Thai was when the service was receptive to a top notch racquetball player. Things have changed. A if you want to play in a tournament you have to find it youself fund it yourself get there yourself get Back yourself and if you re Lucky the air Force will give you the weekend off to do it. If you have weekend duty then you la have to take leave or request the time  but in the United kingdom the individual sports programs have not been overshadowed in the Wake of base closures. . Sports conference director Tom Colacchio said Quot those programs Are alive and Well at this Point in time. In racquetball. For instance we be re instituted league  but Majury a specialist assigned to a military police battalion in Wiesbaden and a two time interservice Champion agreed with Souther. Quot for the dec tournament the Only accommodation offered to us was a Van. We had to pay our own room and Board Quot she said. A you re supposed to be representing your Community and everything and it s really frustrating because we re doing the Community kind of a  the All air Force team usually picked based on performance is now selected through resume submissions. For a player like Souther who a resume resembles a novel in its thickness that poses no problem. For younger players with a lot of potential but not a lot of credits it All but eliminates them from Post Safe Competition. Many athletes who play individual sports find joining local German italian British and Spanish clubs the Only Way to hone their games. In Germany the most successful Tennis players join clubs on the local Economy where the Competition is tougher and tournaments Are offered. Other than the corps championships and the dec for the army and the conference championships and the Safe championships for the air Force Tennis players have no military sponsored Avenue to hone their games. A they have two Tennis tournaments a year a the corps tournament and then the dec tournament and that a it Quot Majury said. A i joined a German club so i can focus my attention on my own performance. I really done to think about the army tournament  with larger programs like boxing basketball and football bringing More publicity to a unit than does an individual Tennis player or racquetball player local commanders often View Tennis for example As recreation not a sport. Therefore some commanders show Little support for these athletes