From July 28 to August 6, firefighters from Ritchot and Niverville will compete with athletes from around the globe in the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG). The WPFG are the second largest Games in the world, surpassed only by the Summer Olympics.

For the first time in the Games’ 40-year history, Winnipeg will play host to thousands of WPFG competitors, as well as their fans, family, and friends. The participant record for the Games is currently held by the 2011 event in New York, which drew more than 16,000 athletes.

The WPFG is held every second year and bring together law enforcement, firefighters, and police officers from more than 50 countries around the globe.

In total, 67 different sporting disciplines are offered by the WPFG.

Ritchot Firefighters Get Their Game Face On

According to Ritchot’s deputy fire chief, Paul Houle, 2023 is the first year that volunteer firefighters became eligible to enter the Games.

For the first time, therefore, nine of Ritchot’s 60 volunteer firefighters, including Houle, will compete for high level stakes.

Houle has been with the Ritchot fire department for 20 years. For his day job, he works for the federal government as an explosives inspector.

For almost the same length of time, Houle has been actively involved in the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), participating in handgun competitions both locally and nationally.

It stands to reason then that Houle’s WPFG sport of choice would be Police Action Pistol (PAP).

“It’s basically firing a handgun in a course [with] multiple targets,” Houle says. “It’s a game of skill in that you need to know which direction to go and which targets to engage first.”

Recognizing that it’s a police-dominated WPFG sport, he’s mentally preparing himself to be the butt of some good-natured jokes from his competitors. With 150 spots available for PAP entrants, he’s not getting his hopes up for a big win.

“I’m looking forward to not being last,” Houle muses. “I’m in this for fun and I think it’s going to be a good time.”

Without question, one of his biggest concerns is the outdoor aspect of the WPFG competition—at least, if the heat continues.

“Because it’s largely a mind game, the heat is going to have an impact on me,” Houle says. “I don’t do that well in the heat. I’m thinking that the competitors from Saudi Arabia will do very well!”

Houle may have some advantage, though, since he’s competing in the over-50 age bracket.

Sylvain Lemoine, a Ste. Agathe resident who works for Canada Customs at his day job, is registered to play in the hockey competition along with teammates from the Vancouver police department.

“One of the guys on our department [heard from] someone on the team saying that they needed a couple of more players,” Lemoine says. “So they asked me to play.”

Lemoine has been playing hockey for as long as he can remember. He currently plays in Ste. Agathe’s local league.

His Vancouver team, entered as division three competitors, will play over a five-day period at the Hockey for All Centre, formerly known as the MTS Iceplex.

Lemoine has never met any of his Vancouver teammates and doesn’t expect that he will meet them before his first game. Part of the thrill of this experience, he says, is meeting new people.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime—so I figured, why not?” says Lemoine.

Matt Wilson, also a Ste. Agathe resident, has volunteered with the fire department for just over two years, allowing him to just clear the WPFG’s participation requirements. When not volunteering as a firefighter, he works for Manitoba Hydro.

Wilson’s WPFG sport of choice is cornhole, which he describes as a good old-fashioned game of beanbag toss. His two-person team includes fellow Ritchot fire department member Marc Chateau.

Wilson’s cornhole experience to date, he says, is limited to backyard and tailgate parties.

“I’m not sure what I’ll bring to the game, but I’m just hoping to have some fun,” says Wilson. “If this goes well, maybe I’ll go cornholing somewhere else in the world.”

Wilson and Chateau will compete at the Winnipeg Convention Centre throughout the event.

Ste. Adolphe resident Marcel Courchaine is the only Ritchot competitor entering the over-60 age bracket of the Games. He’s served with the Ritchot fire department for 43 years and works a day job in the IT department at the University of Manitoba.

Courchaine is entered in the road cycling category. His race will take place on August 2 in Birds Hill Park.

For younger entrants, he says, the race will span a 40-kilometre stretch. Since he’s entered as a senior, the distance will be scaled back somewhat.

Even so, Courchaine isn’t concerned. He’s been an avid cycler for the better part of 35 years and has completed up to 60 kilometres in a single stretch. This summer, he hopes to challenge himself to a 100-kilometre ride.

Training for a worldwide competition like this comes naturally to Courchaine. In the summer months, he cycles about 40 kilometres per day, five days per week. Inclement weather isn’t a concern, but he says that wind direction and speed can definitely change the outcome of his ride.

“The wind is always a factor,” Courchaine says. “So if we’re going in a circle, it’ll probably be a lot easier than if it’s in just one direction.”

Either way, he’s keeping his expectations realistic.

“There’s people coming in from Europe that cycle 10 or 11 months out of the year,” says Courchaine. “So I’m not there to win. It’s about participating and to have fun.”

All in all, Houle’s excited about the level of Ritchot’s participation in this year’s Games. His department has someone entered in every age and gender category.

Deidre Perron is entered into the open-water swimming category, and Jaren Madden, Jordan Weir, and Mario Mendes are all registered to play hockey.

A few Ritchot members will also be volunteering at the event.

Each entrant is responsible for paying their own way, Houle explains, so they’re not relying on the RM to subsidize them.

“There’s an expectation that all of our members will meet a certain level of physical fitness to continue to be firefighters,” says Houle. “That’s very important not only from a performance aspect but from a personal safety point of view. We don’t want someone having a heart attack on the fire ground or be unable to do their job effectively. So what this has done for some members, me included, is it’s kind of heightened their interest in working out leading up to the Games. I’ve seen at least one of the members run a lot this summer.”

Niverville Firefighters Ready to Rumble

Just two of Niverville’s volunteer firefighters will be competing in the WPFG in Winnipeg this year. It’ll be a first for both of them.

David Aitken is employed full-time with the Winnipeg Police Service. For Aitken, curling was a natural choice since he’s been playing the game from a very young age. As an adult, he curls with teams in both Niverville and Winnipeg.

Aitken’s WPFG team consists of Winnipeg police colleagues who have been competing together for many years.

“We’re assured five round robin games and then playoffs, if you make it,” says Aitken. “I think we have a fairly good chance. We’ll see.”

His confidence is likely warranted since his team took third place in the 2023 Canadian Police Curling Association (CPCA) championships in Quebec.

“The gentleman that won the CPCA [championships] this year, Dale Hockley out of B.C., is coming [to the WPFG],” Aitken says. “He’ll be good. And then I know that there’s a couple of firefighter teams.”

Chris Rideout works for the Winnipeg Fire Department during his regular hours and volunteers on Niverville’s department in his off-time.

Rideout has known about the WPFG for quite some time, having been invited to participate in the press conference when Winnipeg was announced as the host two years ago

Rideout will be playing hockey on a team from Ukraine.

“Basically, all of the guys on my crew were playing for a team out of Winnipeg already and there’s just so many [players needed], so I didn’t get a chance,” Rideout says.

Sometime after, however, his department was contacted by the Winnipeg WPFG coordinator. Some of the Ukraine players were unable to secure visas to come to Canada, allowing Rideout and a handful of others to answer the call.

The Winnipeg and Ukraine members have already made contact with each other.

“We’ve got a WhatsApp group with a translator, although I think two of them speak English,” Rideout says. “We’re hoping to get together before [our first game], but we’ll see what happens.”

The mixed team will play one game per day for three consecutive days starting on Friday. Regular games are scheduled for the Hockey for All Centre.

Rideout says that if things go well, he can see himself participating in future WPFG events around the world.

“This is a great opportunity to meet other people and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”