If you’re interested in boosting your fitness, building friendships, and representing the Coast Guard, then read on.
The Coast Guard is looking for members to apply to join the Armed Forces Sports Program, which offers active-duty members the chance to represent the Service and compete with the other branches on the national and international stage. The Coast Guard competes alongside the Navy on All-Navy Sports teams against the other branches — except in rugby and golf, where the Service fields its own teams. Athletes can compete in a wide range of team and individual sports, with and alongside elite military athletes on the global stage.
Hear From the Athletes
A 2012 Coast Guard Academy graduate, LCDR Ian King is an information technology officer on an industry fellowship at Microsoft. He’s also a Coast Guard triathlete who has represented the military on the global stage.
King took up triathlons in high school, and his love for the combined competition deepened at the Coast Guard Academy. Armed Forces Sports was a natural next step. King thrives off the camaraderie. He loves that sports are “an objective measurement of who is the very best at what they do.”
The highlight of his Coast Guard athletic career (so far) is the 2023 Military World Championships. But it’s not just his strong individual performance that brings a smile to his face. He takes immense satisfaction and joy from being a part of a team that finished in 3rd place and earned a coveted spot on the podium.
There’s another benefit King has seen off the field. Participating in Armed Forces Sports, he said, has “1000 percent” enhanced his leadership and teamwork skills. “I’ve been able to use [sports] as a mentoring point for other Coasties,” he told MyCG. Plus, he says, it doesn’t hurt to be training for triathlons with the new Physical Fitness Test in place.
LTJG Brielle Pearce shares King’s passion for fitness. She grew up playing multiple sports in a competitive family. Athletics have always offered her a chance to bond with family and forge new friendships. While Stationed at Base Miami, she often trained with her parents after work, biking with her father and swimming with both her mother and father. “It’s become almost like a family training plan,” she said. From playing on the Coast Guard Academy soccer team and club Water Polo squad to representing the Service as a triathlete, she’s seen similar benefits as King has. Pearce says her time in Armed Forces sports has improved her teamwork skills. “Even though triathlon seems like it’s maybe an individual sport,” she explained, “we were all there to win as a team.”
Ultimately, King and Pearce have taken different paths in the service, but they agree that great friendships come from Armed Forces Sports. Pearce counts some of her teammates from her most recent competition as good friends, forged by a bonding experience over a packed weekend.
King recalled that due to the nature of his work, he’s been stationed in smaller outposts with fewer peer shipmates than the average Coast Guard members. But sports have allowed him to find community wherever he’s been stationed. Many of his fellow athletes are now “some of [his] very best friends.”
The triathletes have two pieces of advice for aspiring athletes. First, King said, focus on your job performance and communicate with your command about how training demands could impact your unit. It’s easier, he explained, for commands to endorse participation for strong performers.
Second, Pearce recommends contacting the coaches, who have developed an FAQ for new athletes.
Ready to join?
If you’re interested in seeing what sports are offered, when competitions take place, and how to get involved then check out the Armed Forces Sports Events Calendar. If you have any questions, please contact CWO-3 Kelly Johnston.
If you or someone you know is an elite, collegiate, or Division I-level athlete, Coast Guard Sports wants to hear from you! Please fill out this form to share your information with the program.
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