MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Three local Marines participated in a friendly kayak competition at Nakayama Lake Oct. 2 and 6 in support of a national-level kayak competition, which took place Oct. 6.
The national-level kayak competition was part of the 66th National Sports Festival being hosted throughout Yamaguchi Prefecture Oct. 1 - 11.
Capt. Peter vergenz, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 assistant operations officer, Warrant Officer William Beuck, MALS-12 quality assurance officer and Lance Cpl. Andrea Lyday, a Marine Aircraft Group 12 intelligence specialist, volunteered to participate in the community event.
“The Marines’ participation is characteristic of what makes Iwakuni special because we have the Marine Corps air station here,” said Naomi Takehara, Iwakuni City National Sports Festival promotions coordinator, through a translator. “Maybe most Marines don’t get to come out here to this remote area. (Their participation) has a mutual benefit. It’s inspirational for the community having the Marines participate in this. It also gives back to the Marines and sailors, because they get to enjoy more of what Iwakuni has to offer.”
Nakayama Lake is approximately 50 miles southwest of the station.
Iwakuni City announced the nationallevel kayak competition in its publications.
The city also asked the community if anyone wanted to participate in a friendly competition before the official kayak race. The air station was asked if any service members wanted to participate alongside the local community.
Takehara said these types of events encourage people to communicate with each other and allows them to learn everyone needs to work together for the benefit of the community.
The participants gathered at Nakayama Lake Sunday to familiarize themselves with the course and practice their kayaking skills before the day of the competition. Approximately 20 locals, as young as 12 and as old as 60, participated.
“(This completion) allows people to get together, make friends and associate,” said Beuck. “The community learns what the Marine Corps is and what we can offer.”
Beuck said the interaction was important on a local level because we share the same community and was also important on an international level because we share an economic and political dependence.
“On the large part it’s just to get to know people and learn about other cultures,” said Beuck. “The more we know about other cultures the more we can understand the differences and the similarities and appreciate them.”
For several of the community members participating in the friendly kayak competition, it was their first time kayaking. Although that was true for Lyday, she said she still had a good time. She has been aboard the air station for approximately two months.
Lyday said she got what she was looking for out of the competition, which was exposure to a new culture and new experiences.
“(The Japanese) are different but it’s a good different,” said Lyday. “They seem to be genuinely happy all the time. They are always smiling or laughing about something.”
The National Sports Festival is hosted every year in a different prefecture of Japan. This is the second time in 66 years Yamaguchi Prefecture has hosted the festival. Approximately 22,000 people have registered to participate in the festival as athletes or staff members.
Sixteen cities and towns within the prefecture are scheduled to host 37 different sports ranging from tennis competition to hockey and fencing.
In celebration of the 66th National Sports Festival being hosted here, fireworks are slated to be launched every night at the Kintai Bridge at 8 p.m. until Tuesday.
There is also scheduled to be a series of cultural programs at the riverbank near the Kintai Bridge area from 12 – 9 p.m. Saturday.
The demonstrations are scheduled to include samurai rifle performances, traditional Japanese dancing and taiko drum demonstrations.