April 19, 2016 - In just over 90 days, Thunder Bay will be welcoming law enforcement, fire, emergency and protective services personnel from across North America to the 2016 Can-Am Police-Fire Games.
Presented by tbaytel, the Can-Am Games will take place July 16 to 24, 2016.
Organizers of the Games are looking to secure 500 volunteers for the event to assist with sporting events, venue set-up and take down, facilitating hospitality and transportation services, and many other tasks.
To date, around 200 volunteers have registered, both locally and from other communities, which is consistent with the Volunteer Committee’s expectations at this point.
"We are happy with the response from the community thus far and excited that volunteers have applied from across Ontario,” says Sharon Bak, Games Volunteer Committee Chairperson. “We hope individuals and groups will continue to step forward to support our everyday heroes and help us reach our goal.”
Those interested in volunteering can register by visiting www.thunderbaycanam.com or calling 807-625-3434.
The 2016 Games will feature many exciting events for the community to watch. Participants will be competing in over 30 events across the city. The 2016 Games will feature many sports being hosted as part of the Can-Am Games for the first time including the “Toughest Paramedic Alive” competition, bocce, cross-fit and an Aquathlon (swimming & running).
“We thought it was important to involve paramedics in a bigger way in the Games so we created the Toughest Paramedic Alive competition,” says Sports Committee Chairperson Sharon Komar. “Our Sports Committee also added a few other new events to the mix that are popular amongst our local first responders and law enforcement agencies.”
The Aquathlon is like a triathlon—only without the cycling. Athletes will swim a 1 km loop in Boulevard Lake and then run 5 km around the lake. The Toughest Paramedic Alive (TPA) consists of a series of paramedic tasks. This event was created by two local paramedics.
Teams of two must maneuver through a 10-stage obstacle course. The event is timed with time penalties applied for infractions at every stage. A Hazardous Material Identification and a stair-chair removal are two of the ten components.
Competitor registrations are being received on a steady basis. So far, registrations have been received from athletes in 19 different provinces and U.S. states. Competitors from Argentina, Australia, England, India, Sri Lanka and the Ukraine have also signed-up.
Representatives of the Thunder Bay Police Association and the Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association were acknowledged today for their generous financial contributions to the Games.
A full listing of the events and more information is available at www.thunderbaycanam.com.
