Photog Blog | Photojournalism by El Paso Times

Serve it up

Bernardo Escoto eyes his serve during a game at the El Paso Table Tennis Club Tuesday Oct. 5. Escoto is a member of the El Paso Table Tennis club organization. Members, who range in age from 6 to 84 and are at various playing levels,  meet at the club located at 2727 Wyoming to compete and to receive instruction about playing the game.
       

Oktoberfest

The German Air Force Air Defense Center at Fort Bliss held its annual Oktoberfest celebration Friday, Saturday and Sunday on post. The celebration features German food, music, dancing and lots of "bier" flown in from Germany. The Fort Bliss event is modeled after the festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany in late September to early October and is one of Germany's most famous events. Ursula Landrie, an El Pasoan originally from northern Germany, told El Paso Times reporter Maria Gonzalez the event is a big, happy party. "You go with friends and sing, and dance, clink your beer steins and schunkel (dancing in a swaying back and forth motion while interlocking arms.)." In the photos below, the Fort Bliss Oktoberfest celebration kickoff was led by flags of the U.S. Bavaria and Germany.


(Photo above) Participants dressed in traditional German attire. (Photo below) German Air Defense Center commander Col. Volker Samanns, left, stepped back just in time as U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Keith Walker swung the mallet to tap the first keg of Oktoberfest Friday.


Participants enjoyed the beer, the dancing and the music.

Emotions of the U.S. Bowling Congress Women's Championships

The emotions ran high during competition at the U.S. Bowling Congress Women's Championships. (Top photos) Kim Smith experienced the agony of a near miss and Robin Bauer felt the ecstacy of picking up a difficult spare Thursday. Debbie Benon (middle photo) shared the joy of a good roll with those in the stands while Yolanda McQuart (sequence at bottom) used body english to encourage pins to fall and then headed to accept congratulatory high fives of teammates and competitors. Despite the high level of competitive intensity, there was also a high level of sportsmanship on display. 

         
Debbie Benon (top) shared the joy of a good roll with those in the stands while Yolanda McQuart used body english to encourage pins to fall and then heads to accept congratulatory high fives of teammates and competitors.
 
 
 
 


 
 
 

U.S. falls to Ghana, barely

Saturday's World Cup round of 16 matchup  between the U.S. and Ghana was an emotional one for fans of both teams. Fans such as Billy Murray, pictured below, gathered at eateries such as Buffalo Wings Bar and Grill to root on the team. Shouts of USA, USA emanated from fans as they cheered and agonized on every ever-so-close shot or pass near the goal in the extra period. In the end, the U.S. was unable to get the goal that would have tied the game and perhaps send it into an additional period or even a shoot out. The U.S. was eliminated by Ghana for the second consecutive World Cup. Fans seemed to feel the pain as much as the team must have.

Sun City Women's Golf Championship Winner

Golf has a reputation of being a serene game people play to relax. Former Eastwood and UTEP golfer Samantha Garza showed a range of emotions golfers go through during a competitive event. Garza was defending her Sun City Women's Golf Championship title Friday at the Lone Star Golf Course. She won with intense concentration which helped her overcome near misses on the green, an occasional errant shot and, in the end, celebrated with a fist pump as the ball settled into the hole on the final hole.

Ascarate Elementary School Egg Hunt

Students at Ascarate Elementary School grades K - 3rd were treated to an Easter Egg Hunt on the school grounds. Over 5,400 eggs were "hidden"  for the 256 students that participated in the hunt to find. Including several "Golden Eggs," that when found could be traded in for an Easter Egg Basket filled with candy and other prizes. So off they went...................

Meier Memorial Chess Tournament

International Chess Master Roberto Martin Del Campo's intensity is apparent as he ponders his next move in the El Paso Chess Association's annual Dave Meier Memorial Chess Tournament Sunday at the Airport Holiday Inn. Del Campo is rated 2,057th in the world by the World Chess Federation in their website and is a member of the Mexican Chess Federation. The El Paso Chess Association and Gustavo Maass will host the person one chess association member called "the Michael Jordan of Chess" on April 24. Grand Master Susan Polgar will play a 50-board simultaneous exhibition against five adults and five children. The association will hold a raffle April 10 in conjunction with the Maass School Chess Tournament at the Armijo Recreation Center to draw the names of the adults and children who will play Polgar on April 24.