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24th Annual Community Cup
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Carla Durina and Dave Trimble didn’t know each other before last month.
But sometimes, a single gathering with several purposes can quickly transform two strangers into good friends.
“We met at the Canfield Fair booth. Now we’re friends for life because we’re cuppers,” explained Durina of Canfield, referring to their participation Saturday in the 24th annual Youngstown Area Community Cup at and near Mill Creek MetroParks’ James L. Wick Jr. Recreation Area on the West Side.
The YMCA of Youngstown hosted the gathering, which kicked off Aug. 8 and ran for several weekends before wrapping up Saturday.
Events included bocce, swimming, basketball, golf, bowling and volleyball, noted Julie Walker, a cup director. Saturday’s lineup featured a 10-kilometer relay, time-prediction walk and bicycle events, an obstacle course and a tug-of-war, along with awards for the top finishers in the red, white and blue divisions.
Twenty agencies, businesses and companies formed teams for Saturday’s events, Walker added. Those included Farmers National Bank and first-timer Data Recovery Services LLC of Youngstown.
Also directing the competition was Jennifer Quinlan.
“I feel pretty awesome,” a tired but festive Durina said after having bicycled four miles in roughly 14 minutes, which took her up one of the park’s most challenging hills.
Durina is a practice manager with ValleyCare Health System’s Physicians Services Department; Trimble is a vocational-care manager for Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland, which ValleyCare operates.
Both also were part of the community cup’s Team ValleyCare.
“I feel good. I’m happy I was able to finish it,” said Trimble, who admitted being more used to playing a few rounds of golf than long-distance bike riding, but who, nevertheless, pedaled six miles in about 46 minutes up several difficult hills.
Joining the two was an exhausted but satisfied Drew Ginnis of Struthers, who works in business development for Hillside. He rode eight miles in 52 minutes after having run a mile in eight minutes, five seconds.
After a short rest, Ginnis, Durina and Trimble traded in bicycling for what next awaited them: an obstacle course that stretched nearly the length of the nearby football field.
Competitors were challenged to run with an end of a rope in one hand and a Frisbee in the other, then quickly pick up another rope end and run with it in the opposite direction. Afterward, they were given three tries to successfully jump a rope five times.
Next, they had to carry each of three batons and place them in a basket while holding a Frisbee, toss four beanbags as part of a cornhole challenge, zigzag through 10 red flags and kick a football for a field goal.
The competitions also encouraged increased teamwork and camaraderie among co-workers and others while promoting the value of health and fitness, Walker explained, adding that some businesses offered incentives to those who participated.
Walker also thanked the volunteers for timing events and providing other assistance. That included the Youngstown State University women’s basketball team for monitoring the basketball competitions, she said.
For more information about the community cup or to take part in next year’s events, visit www.youngstownymca.org and click on the link for the cup.