Combat Challenge ’09: Tour hits Europe before coming to exciting conclusion next month
Story & Photo by Paul O. Davis, PhD

It’s sometimes difficult to imagine that it was 19 years ago that the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge was launched with fairly humble beginnings at the drill tower at the Maryland Fire Rescue Institute (MFRI). Now with interest spanning the globe, all eyes are directed to the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, where more than 750 firefighters will descend for 5 days of highly competitive racing and high stakes bragging rights in mid-November. The Jostens Championship Ring, our “Super Bowl” icon of excellence, is a prized possession of those who’ve expended hundreds of intense training hours to take them to the top of their game.

Before closing the record books on this season, there are some interesting statistics and facts that demonstrate, once again, that the markers have been moved up a few more notches. At every venue, we’re seeing more and more new players. The local Good 2 Go (G2G) training program has been a very popular clinic, generating kudos for first time Challenge competitors or those who just want a sense of what it’s like to run the Challenge.

Additionally, the interest in the Challenge has transcended North America; in fact there are now licensed Challenges in several countries and this past month marked our third Berlin event. Held on the plaza of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, representatives from Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, France, Slovenia and Germany put on an incredible show of athleticism, wowing thousands of tourists and residents.

Although this is a sport where dark horses have never before emerged, Team Black Fire (TBF) from New Zealand may be a stealthy candidate for the title. Under the direction and coordination of Team Captain Rob Holah, the Kiwis have been sponges for all things Challenge. To date, no one has yet demonstrated a secret silver bullet, but TBF has taken their training to new levels, embodying the latest in exercise science and biomechanics.

Then, there are the guys from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who shared with me some of their very sophisticated training modalities. And I’m convinced that the FCC guys are getting it. By that I mean we’ve finally turned the corner from our 1RM bench-press mentality to functional training based on the concept of power and specificity. Adding 75 pounds to your PR certainly makes you stronger, but it doesn’t make you faster. This has prompted one of our new T-shirt monikers: “It never gets easier, you only get faster.”

The 2009 U.S. Tour will have been held 24 times in 20 states with more than 4,000 participants. Two new states have been added this year: Arizona and West Virginia. Even in this struggling economy, our census continues to grow, demonstrating the huge importance that firefighters are placing on personal fitness—the only proven solution for premature death and disability.

Our Relay tournament will boast 64 slots for the open male category, and eight each for the Over-40 and Women’s division. Without a doubt, as an athletic attraction, the Relay Competition rivals anything that you’ve ever seen in amateur or professional sport for athleticism and sheer intensity. With more than 25,000 people visiting Fremont Street each day, there’s standing room only, and the noise is deafening.

Interested fans can logon every week between now and the end of the season, and daily during the World Challenge for video shorts on our FFCC.TV Web page. And we invite everyone to take advantage of the incredible, fire sale prices that are being offered at our host’s hotels. The hospitality of the Las Vegas Fire Department is unmatched and the camaraderie of the world’s most fit firefighters is a fraternity unlike any other.

Dr. Paul Davis received his PhD from the University of Maryland, College of Human Performance. A former firefighter/paramedic, he is a renowned expert on the subject of physical fitness and employment standards in the public safety sector. His ground-breaking research was the basis for the creation of the Firefighter Combat Challenge.