Last modified Wed., June 04, 2008 - 05:36 PM
Originally created Thursday, June 5, 2008

Fun at the MWR Sports Zone

By MCSN Kenneth Abbate, Periscope staff

Dealer MASA Bobby Yamashita cuts the deck while Rob Nevers counts out his chips. Poker tournaments are held every Thursday at 7 p.m. Entry fees are $20 with a mininum of five players to play and a maximum of 28 players due to table spaces. Pots are divided between the top two finishers, with the winner getting 75 percent of the pot and the loser getting 25. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.

Whether you're hanging out with friends in town or driving down to Jacksonville, liberty can end up becoming a very tiring and expensive experience. Kings Bay's servicemembers have another option however. The staff at the NSB Kings Bay Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Dept (MWR) has a no cost alternative way to watch the big game or just hang out on a Friday night.

The Big EZ Sports Zone opened its doors last spring and is equipped with eight 42" plasma TV's, a 101" flat screen TV, satellite radio and TV, ping-pong tables, two dart ranges, two foosball tables, an air hockey table, four poker tables, and a basketball shooting game. It also includes a similar assortment of food and beverages as the Big EZ.

According to MWR staff members, the Sports Zone was designed to add a more interactive establishment for the Marines and Sailors to use.

MASN Mark Sabatino exhibits the proper shooting technique while playing hoop fever at the Big EZ's Sports Zone. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.

"The main reason is to give the Sailors and Marines a sports bar type establishment to hang out in without having to travel or pay too much," said Sports Zone Manger Ann Myhre.

The Sports Zone caters to adults mostly 18 and up, but also hosts a family day and teen night that allows children to come and enjoy a movie and games.

"The Sports Zone is mainly for adults, but we would like to try and make it for everyone, which is why we are holding family day and teen night so that families can enjoy the facilities as well," Myhre said.

The Sports Zone holds several different tournaments throughout the weekdays starting with foosball on Mondays, ping-pong on Tuesdays, and darts on Wednesdays, with other tournaments such as basketball, air hockey, and jousting and sumo competitions coming in the future. One of their biggest tournaments they have is a Texas Hold'Em Tournament, which is held Thursdays at 7 p.m. The poker tournaments can accommodate up to 28 participants. Each tournament must have a minimum of five participants and each one must be 18 or older to play. Entry fees for the tournaments are $5 each except for poker tournaments, which are $20. The pots are divided up among the first and second place finishers, with the winner getting 75 percent and the loser getting 25 percent. Aside from the tournaments, the Sports Zone provides the Sailors and Marines a chance to watch certain pay-per-view events such as wrestling and boxing.

MASN Jeff Nitzsche concentrates on his dart throwing technique while Military spouse Heather Abbate prepares to throw her dart. Dart tournaments are held every Wednesday at 7 pm. Entry fees are $5 with a mininum of five players needed to play. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.

"We will be having fight night as part of a regularly scheduled event and hopefully put on a cookout for the patrons to enjoy," said Myhre. "Also, the TV's are open for anyone to watch when Oscar's is full, so long as it is appropriate."

Even though it is fairly new to the Big EZ, the Sports Zone has seen improving attendance and hopes to improve even more during the summer events.

"We have had low attendance for a lot of the tournaments, but are still going strong on days like Tuesdays and Thursdays which are because of pool, ping-pong and poker," said Myhre. "The patrons tell us that they like it a lot and always tell us how they are addicted to the basketball game."

For more information on the MWR Sports Zone, call MWR at 573-2363.

Customer service representative Elvin Jose shows off his DJ skills at the Sports Zone. Future events that in the works include karaoke night and even an American Idol wannabe night. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.

Customer service representative Yuleska Curington cleans up the Sports Zone before patrons arrive for afternoon events. "It's a nice place to hang out and go to when you don't have a car and live in the barracks," she said. Curington has been working at the Sports Zone since its opening in April. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.

MASA Adam Johnson takes advantage of the 42" televisions that the Sports Zone has during his time off to keep up with his favorite sports teams. Photo by MCSN Kenneth Abbate.