World Police and Fire Games finish a success in Winnipeg

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This article was published 07/08/2023 (813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Medals were won and friendships were made and maintained at the 2023 World Police and Fire Games that wrapped up over the weekend.

Over 8,000 athletes, friends and family members, coaches and officials travelled to Winnipeg for the multi-sport event, which wrapped up Sunday.

While the chance to compete and, hopefully, stand atop the podium was incentive enough for many to take part in the WPFG, the chance to catch up with old friends and make some new ones was far more rewarding for participants.

Rianne Vanderburg is a Calgary police officer and competed in jiu jitsu. Vanderburg has competed at a number of jiu jitsu competitions but never at the WPFG — until this year.

The atmosphere in Winnipeg was unlike anything she had experienced before.

“Even though you’re competing against these girls, you’re still on the same team. We’re all police so it’s a different type of connection,” said Vanderburg.

“All the first responders supporting each other …we’ve just met and I feel like if I saw any of them again at a different competition, you would know them like a friend.”

Philipe Edwin made the trip to Winnipeg all the way from Brazil. Edwin, a firefighter in his home country, coached the Brazilian competitors in the jiu jitsu, karate and boxing events throughout the week. He agree the feel of the Games is a uniquely special one.

“Everyone has to be here to see the energy. It’s something crazy, the cheers and the yelling, everyone has to come,” he said on the final weekend.

Laurie Greenidge is a retired corrections officer from Kingston, Ont., and has been competing in powerlifting at the WPFG since 1999. Greenidge keeps coming back because of the people he has met over the years.

“You make friends with not just Canadians but (with people) from Sweden, Germany and all these other countries and you see them every two years. It’s always nice to reconnect and I enjoy that part of it, you know getting to see the guys again,” he said.

WPFG chief operating officer Mike Edwards said the feedback was overwhelmingly positive during the nine-day, 60-plus event sports extravaganza.

“We’ve been hearing nothing but positive feedback from volunteers, our business partners, our corporate partners, the athletes …they had nothing but great things to say,” said Edwards.

“They were unaware there were so many great things about Winnipeg — and those are Canadians and non-Canadians alike. There was a lot of unknown, especially coming from the international side, Winnipeg isn’t Ottawa but it now is to these athletes, and that’s a great takeaway.”

Edwards said the amount of personal stories and acts of kindness from volunteers, competitors, and local Winnipeggers was heartwarming.

One highlight occurred during the biathlon last Tuesday.

“There was an athlete at our biathlon who did an extra lap just because they didn’t want a fellow athlete (who) was a senior and a little bit behind…. to do the lap alone. He just stayed with him and kept him company,” Edwards said.

“It’s the personal stories that have made the difference in these Games and have really stood out to me.”

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca