On Wednesday, May 8th, several local first responders competed in the second annual First Responder Olympics, hosted this year by the Kelowna Fire Department at the main Firehall on Enterprise Way during Mental Health Week.
Six teams of four first responders from the Kelowna RCMP, Kelowna Fire Department, Emergency Health Services and Kelowna Bylaw Services participated in several fun athletic events to retain bragging rights amongst the first responders. Participants raced against the clock as each organization submitted their own relay themed event including, bike competitions and a vehicle pull.
This competition is an excellent way for first responders to bond and interact in a fun, non-work related atmosphere. “We typically only see each other during emergency situations, so this a nice way to actually meet and bond with each other in a less stressful environment and even share some laughs,” said organizer Cpl. Babak Dabiri.
This event is in it’s second year after the inaugural event was hosted by the RCMP last year and was designed to be held during Canadian Mental Health Week. First Responders can be exposed to a variety of stressful and traumatic events on a daily basis and holding an event like this allows the participants to collaboratively decompress through fun exercise, even it’s only for a couple of hours.
Following plenty of laughs and questionable sabotage (still under investigation), the Kelowna Fire Department finished in the top two spots, while the defending champions from the RCMP finished third within mere seconds of the top spot.
