Greenbelt Elementary School Rafael’s Race

October 20

Rafael Martins was a student at Greenbelt Nursery School and Greenbelt Elementary School. He was born with a rare disease called VATER syndrome and passed away on October 20, 2009 while he was in 4th grade. In 2011, the teachers, parents, and friends of the Greenbelt Elementary School started a race in honor of him. It is called Rafael’s Race and it raises funds to support student field trips. This year, the second annual Rafael’s Race took place on October 20.

Rafael’s Race is on October 20.

Greenbelt Tennis Association David Craig Tournament

October 13

Greenbelt Tennis Association (GTA)’s annual David Craig Singles and Doubles Tournament took place over several weekends in September and October. On Saturday, October 13, I observed the final match of the tournament, the men’s doubles final.

The Greenbelt Tennis Association started in 1966, and brothers James and Thomas Harbaugh were two of the founders. The association organizes tennis playing socials (the first one is in May and the last one during Labor Day weekend), tennis ladders, and several tournaments each year. The first tournament takes place around Memorial Day and the last is the David Craig Tournament in September and October. Currently GTA membership is free for Greenbelt residents, but there is a $5 entry fee per tournament for members.

Greenbelt Senior Softball Team

August 15

The Greenbelt Senior Softball Team is for men 60 and over and women 55 and over. It plays in Division C of the Baltimore Beltway Senior Softball League (BBSSL), and its season is from April to August. During the regular season, on Monday and Wednesday mornings, the team plays doubleheader games and its home field is at Watkins Regional Park . These photos are from two playoff games on August 15 at Cedar Lane Park in Columbia, Maryland.

Phil Olson pitches for Greenbelt.

SIDS 5K Run at Greenbelt Lake

September 9

The mission of the annual SIDS 5K Run/Walk is to “to raise funds for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) research and support for families, and to help fund free Cribs for Kids for Infants at Risk & Teen Parenting programs in Prince George’s County.” This is the 9th year of the event, and except for the first year, when it was held in Baltimore, the run and walk have taken place at Greenbelt Lake on an early Sunday morning in September.

Run/Walk for SIDS banner at Buddy Attick Park by Greenbelt Lake

Greenbelt Pooch Plunge

September 8

Each year the outdoor pool at the Greenbelt Aquatic and Fitness Center opens from Memorial Day to Labor Day. On the Saturday after Labor Day, after the outdoor pool has closed for the season, dogs have their turn to enjoy it for one morning.

Greenbelt Park Bike Races

July 11

Every Wednesday evening from early May to late August (except the week of the Fourth of July), cycling enthusiasts gather at Greenbelt Park to compete in a series of bicycle races. Now in its 33rd year, the Greenbelt Park Training Race Series is a USA Cycling sanctioned event and is run by Route 1 Velo, a USA Cycling sanctioned club in the Washington, D.C. area. The first race starts at 6 p.m. and on average, 60 to 70 cyclists show up every week.

Three times during the summer, a special Lance Armstrong Junior Race Series (LAJRS) race is held for boys and girls from age 10 to 12. Here Iain MacKeith (age 10) practices before his race.

Greenbelt Swim Meet

July 4

The Greenbelt Municipal Swim Team is for swimmers between the age of 5 and 18 and is a member of the Prince-Mont Swim League for Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. Swim meets are held in the summer in June and July with teams in the league, and home meets are at the Greenbelt Aquatic Center. This summer a home meet was scheduled for June 30 but it was canceled after a string of violent storms swept through the Washington region, leaving the Greenbelt Aquatic Center without power. The meet was then moved to the Fourth of July, Independence Day.

Greenbelt’s opponent in this meet is Whitehall Pool and Tennis Club (WPT) from Bowie, Maryland. Greenbelt is wearing green and black and Whitehall, blue and white.

Family Fit Night

July 6

Family Fit Night is a quarterly youth program offered by Greenbelt’s Recreation Department. The description in the city’s Recreation Activity Guide reads: “GET ACTIVE! Join family and friends for a night of fitness activities that will get you moving. Hula Hoop Dance Challenges, hot shot drills, jump rope endurance, inflatable orb racing, and much more! Families with children ages 5-16 are welcome. Greenbelt, an official Let’s Move! City, created the Family Fit Night program in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity. All participants are eligible to enter a raffle for Recreation Department prizes. Location: Springhill Lake Recreation Center Gym; Date: Friday, July 6, 2012; Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm.”

This display at the entrance to the gym lists various activities offered by the Department of Recreation, from seasonal celebrations to artful afternoons, visual and performing arts programs, and sports events. On the table the white sheets are for people who want to keep track of their scores in tonight’s 7 activities.

Greenbelt Nursery School 5K Race

May 19

Every year in the spring the Greenbelt Nursery School organizes a Tortoise and Hare 5-kilometer race that is also a fundraiser for the school. Runners start and finish in front of the tennis courts by Greenbelt Youth Center and complete two laps around Greenbelt Lake. They then gather at the Nursery School for post-race awards and snacks. This year there is also a 1K Family Fun Run.

This is a USATF certified flat loop course that begins and ends at the tennis courts by the Youth Center. Runners then run around Greenbelt Lake clockwise twice, and there is a water station at Buddy Attick Park. The advance registration fee for the 5K race is $25, and race day registration is $30. The 1K Family Fun Run costs $5.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day in Greenbelt

April 28

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is observed every year on the last Saturday in April. At 10 am local time, practitioners all over the world gather and celebrate the health and healing power of Tai Chi and Qigong. In Greenbelt, for a number of years, students of Taj Johnson have celebrated this day with a group practice in front of the Greenbelt Community Center.

Taj Johnson has practiced Tai Chi and Qigong for thirty years. He practices Yang, Wu, and Chen style Tai Chi and Wu Dang Qigong, and he has studied under Xiaoling Liu, a Wu Dang master originally from Shanghai and Dr. Lee Guotin, originally from Hong Kong. Both now live in Maryland. Johnson has also been teaching Tai Chi and Qigong for more than two decades and on Saturday mornings he teaches in the Greenbelt Community Center. For today’s World Tai Chi and Qigong Day celebration, he has brought his students from Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland to join his Greenbelt class members.