In less than two months Martensville will be hosting the annual Buster Days celebration. Although it seems far away due to the cold white stuff still sticking around, organizers are hard at work ensuring that this year is as successful as previous ones. A new addition to the weekend celebrations this year is the Saskatchewan Regional FireFit Championships, which will take place Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd.
The Firefit Championships, which first began in 1994, consist of numerous challenges that are commonly used by firefighters in emergency situations such as; a stair climb, 42 pound hose hoist, tower descending, beam hammering, 140 foot sprint, victim rescue and more. These trials are done in order to showcase each firefighter’s skill and fitness level and has often been referred to as the toughest two minutes in any sport. The intense event is all done while firefighters are in full gear, including their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
The Martensville Fire Department is looking forward to the opportunity to bring this incredible challenge to the community and have been pushing themselves as hard as possible during training exercises to ensure those running the difficult course will finish with a competitive time. This will be the first time that the FireFit Championships have been hosted in Saskatchewan in many years, so the MFD is honoured to be able to showcase this event in Martensville. With firefighters from across the province signed up to compete, it will be sure to bring in a large number of visitors to the community. “This is a big event for Martensville and something new for Buster Days, so we hope that we get the support from the community to come out and see what these firefighters can do,” MFD Chief Kurt Dyck said.
“Planning is well underway, and we have a number of volunteers already lined up. We still plan on doing the pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, participating in the parade and then we will begin the FireFit event at noon on Saturday,” Dyck explained. The individual competition will take place on Saturday, with the team challenge on Sunday. Currently, there are several Martensville firefighters already signed up; however, even the ones that are not already signed up to participate have been taking part in the grueling training exercises. “Everybody has run through the course and it has been a great way to unite us even more so as a department. It has brought us all closer and it gets the team spirit going,” added Dyck. The members of the MFD began training early, as they are pushing themselves to get a good time at the event. “It is one of those personal challenges where you push yourself as hard as you can to see what kind of time you can get. It is a tough course, especially if you are looking to complete it in a good time.”
Leading up to the event, the MFD is looking for local businesses that would like to either sponsor the event, or donate a prize item. There are several sponsorship opportunities available, which range from $500 to $5,000. All businesses that sponsor the event will receive various means of recognition leading up to, during, and following the Firefit Championships. Those interested in supporting the event can contact firechief@martensville.ca.
For more information about Firefit and what it entails, visit www.firefit.com. For updates from the MFD, you can follow them on Facebook under ‘Martensville Fire Department’.
