IWAKUNI, Japan - Unaccompanied and single servicemembers participated in the Single Marine Program’s “Minute to Win It” contest Oct. 23, 2012, here at the Hornet’s Nest.

The contest consisted of events such as a pretzels event, which required participants to put as many pretzels on a straw as possible in one minute without the use of their hands, and several other events.

“We put on the ‘Minute to Win It’ challenge, where participants competed in various timed challenges,” said Pamela Young, SMP Hornet’s Nest operations assistant. “We hold it about once a month and we alternate the events. It is fun for the servicemembers, though it is hard to get them interested at first, but, once it gets going, we tend to draw a crowd and everyone has a good time.”

Lance Cpl. Paul Guevara, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 avionics technician, won the contest.

“The event kind of interrupted my workout, but it was worth it,” said Guevara. “I had a lot of fun, especially with the Oreos event, where we had to put an Oreo on our forehead and somehow get it into our mouth without using our hands.”

Each participant’s view varied on whether a particular event was more difficult. For instance, one person was better at using a straw to move candies into a cup by using only a suction effect with their straw, than another participant was.

“My favorite event was the elephant’s trunk one, where we had an orange in a stocking swinging from our head and we had to knock cups over, definitely a lot harder than it looks, but definitely a lot of fun,” said Guevara. “Overall, I am glad I did it, and I would be extremely happy to be involved in something like this again in the future.”

The "Minute to Win It" competition began slowly, with most participants signing up last moment. As soon as it began though, the laughs and crazy antics of the events drew a crowd from those in the Hornet’s Nest.

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