Core Four’s dream comes to fruition

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This article was published 25/07/2023 (800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the culmination of a dream that began 17 years ago for a group of Winnipeggers aptly known as the ‘Core Four’.

City firefighters Chad Swayze, Renee Vermette and Dave Pettigrew and corrections officer Cheri Bergman put in some long days and sleepless nights to bring the 2023 World Police and Fire Games to the Manitoba capital.

The 10-day, multi-sport event featuring hundreds of local competitors and thousands more from across the country, south of the border and around the globe begins Friday.

“I’m very excited for everyone to see the games from my lens or my view. We have been dreaming about this for a long time and it’s finally coming to fruition,” Bergman said, earlier this week.

Their journey to host the games goes back to 2006 when Pettigrew put up a poster in the firehall about a local dragon boat team that would be going to the Games in Adelaide, Australia in 2007.

Swayze immediately wanted a piece of the action.

“(Pettigrew) put out a poster in the firehall saying that we were going… I thought, ‘Hey, that’s pretty cool. I’ll join the team,’” said Swayze who serves as chairperson of the 2023 host organizing committee.

A group of 10 Winnipeg firefighters travelled Down Under 16 years ago. Two years later, seven firefighters went to the next Games in Vancouver, some branching out to other sports.

Bergman, a corrections officer, heard about the Games from Vermette and jumped at the opportunity to accompany the local competitors to the 2013 Games in Belfast.

The ‘Core Four’ has attended each Games since, noticing certain host cities worked better than others. The multi-sport event could get lost sometimes when it was hosted in large cities such as New York or Los Angeles.

The group felt its home community could be an ideal fit.

“The Games have a better feeling in a city like that, versus a city of 20 or 25 million people where you can get lost in it. We kind of started to talk about this weird idea that we could actually do this in Winnipeg and it could do amazing things,” said Swayze.

He was a part of a committee in 2009 that made a strong but, ultimately, unsuccessful bid to host the 2015 Games in Winnipeg.

“What we learned from the bid in 2009 was that Winnipeg needed more hotel rooms, and since 2009, I can’t remember the number but there is exponential growth in the number of hotels. I think we’re up to 6,000 or 7,000 hotel rooms across the city.”

The other limiting factor for Winnipeg as a host was a lack of venues. That changed when the city hosted the Canada Summer Games in 2017.

It left a legacy that included the Sport For Life Centre and the Bison Butte riding trail, and the refurbishing of a number of other venues. Improvement in these two areas lead to another bid in 2017 to host the Games in ‘23.

This time, the group was rewarded.

Each member of the ‘Core Four’ has a first-hand appreciation of the Games and the experience it provides to participants.

“I think what makes these games special is that for most people it really is not about winning, it’s really not about getting a medal, it’s more just about connecting with people and having a good time. It’s more of a very happy go-lucky atmosphere,” said Vermette.

Bergman agreed, noting the friendships and connections that are made through the games are truly special.

“The camaraderie is so amazing,” said Bergman who is also on the board of directors. Her experience at the 2015 Games in Fairfax County, Va., shows the camaraderie that is a part of the very fabric of the games.

Bergman wanted to compete in hockey in the 2015 but did not have a team to join. She did some research and learned that there was a division that allowed participants from multiple countries to play on the same team, and so she players from Northern Ireland.

Eight years later, Bergman is close with everyone on the team.

“To this very day, I look forward to seeing them at the games every year, we talk regularly. Each and every teammate, not just one or two of them but the whole team. We communicate and we keep in touch and I have pictures of their kids and I know their families,” she said.

While the atmosphere is special for participants, it provides a unique experience for fans.

“For the public, this is a great opportunity to see what’s behind the uniform and the best part is it’s free for all spectators,” said Bergman. “It’s free. Come out and teach your children that there’s more to police offices, firefighters, corrections, border services, 911 operators. We are regular people and we do regular things.”

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca