PHILIPSBURG--The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps hosted its anticipated civilian contest “Beat the Marines SXM-Challenge” at Walter Plantz Pier on Saturday.
The competition was held in connection with the 351st birthday of the Royal Dutch Marine Corps. Since 1665 the Marine Corps has stood for Unity, Strength and Commitment. Dutch Marines all over the world celebrated this special day in a way that was in line with their values.
Competing were Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST, Coast Guard, VKS, Marine second team “Fossils,” Crossfit, Strijders, French St. Martin Gendarmerie taking part in the competition for the first time, Crossfit 2 all ladies team and Learning Unlimited Preparatory School teachers. No group was able to beat the Marines in the physical challenge, but second place winners CrossFit SXM came close.
The challenge included an amphibious cross on the Great Bay beach sand and water in which six persons per team equipped with kayaks needed to go through an obstacle course, followed by paddling a certain distance along the coastline along Boardwalk Boulevard.
The goal was to set a competitive time for their team under 20 minutes. The Marines came in first with 16:08 minutes; Crossfit SXM had a time of 17:46.
Lieutenant Bakker congratulated the nine teams for taking part in this year’s competition and said he looks forward to more service groups participating next year. The idea behind the event is to bring people together and show that more can be accomplished with a group of people instead of just one person.
