Closing Ceremony video

BBC Northern Ireland reported from the Closing Ceremony on Saturday evening at Titanic Slipways:

What a Closing Ceremony!

 

By Volunteer, Anne MacOscar

The atmosphere was electric at Titanic Slipways on Saturday night as a huge crowd of athletes, family members and volunteers turned out at the Closing Ceremony of the 2013 World Police and FireGames. A fantastic evening was had, celebrating the success of the Games, reliving memories and officially handing over the ‘Flame of Hope’ to the hosts of the 2015 World Police and Fire Games, Fairfax.

I arrived at Titanic Slipways just before 6.30pm and already there was huge crowd gathering, everyone wanting to secure themselves a good vantage point to watch the fantastic closing ceremony which lay ahead. Despite the best efforts of the rain early on in the evening, the people in attendance did not let the weather dampen their spirits. Instead they donned the blue ponchos, provided by the organising committee, and got the party started…and what a party it was!

    

Much to the excitement of the crowd, The Red Arrows flew over the Titanic Slipways to officially mark the start of the 2013 World Police & Fire Games Closing Ceremony at 7.30pm.

This was followed by the parade of volunteers – representatives of the 3,500 volunteers who helped to make the Games such a huge success. There was no doubt that during the parade the most enormous cheer of the evening was for the home team, Northern Ireland.

Throughout the ceremony, Sandy Row Falcon Cheerleading Squad and the Open Arts Community Choir blew the crowds away with spectacular performances, including a rendition of ‘What have you done today to make you feel proud?’, dedicated to the volunteers. There was also video footage of the volunteers hard at work throughout the Games and of the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run team on their journey throughout Northern Ireland, in the lead up to the Games.

When the time came for Belfast to hand over the World Police and Fire Games flag to the hosts of the 2015 Games, Fairfax, Minister of Culture Arts and Leisure, Carál NiChuilin was on hand to do the honours.

The Flame of Hope then entered the slipways, carried by a Special Olympics athlete and a member of the Law Enforcement Torch Run team. They handed the torch over to a representative from Fairfax and so its journey to its new home began. It received a fabulous send off from the people of Belfast, whose sadness that the Games were over was almost forgotten when the 2015 organising committee invited everyone to Fairfax!

The Closing Ceremony truly was a spectacular event to mark the end of the 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Belfast. During the 10 days of the Games, medals were won, friendships were formed, marriage proposals were made (4 in total!) and best of all, the people of Belfast definitely delivered the friendliest Games ever! It was fantastic to have been involved - wishing all the athletes, their family and friends and all of the travelling volunteers a safe journey home.

Ice hockey is, by far, my favourite sport EVER!

By Volunteer Nicci Gregg

On Friday night I made a new discovery about myself.  Ice hockey is, by far, my favourite sport EVER.  I am ashamed to admit this but this was my first ever ice hockey experience, and what a first it was.

I arrived at the Odyssey Arena to watch the bronze and gold medal games for the +35 division.  As I entered the arena the competitors for the first match (bronze medal) were warming up , Canada RCMP were about to take on St Petersburg Dynamo.

As a newbie to the ice hockey scene I was a little clueless and no one told me that it may not be a good idea to sit directly behind the goal net area.  As the Canadian team took turns to practice shots, the ones which missed the net came flying towards me and crashed into the screen in front of me making my heart stop a few times.  It was after this that I knew I was in for a good night.

After a swift move of seat I settled in to enjoy the game.  One of my favourite things about this event was the atmosphere, the arena was filling up with adoring ice hockey fans (over 4,000 attended, with some 50,000 spectators for the tournament as a whole!), music was blasting and everyone was in great spirits, then the match began.  Ice hockey is made up of three periods per match, each lasting 20 minutes.

My first impression was, wow this is fast.  I literally could not take my eyes away for fear of missing something.  There was a goal attempt every minute from both sides.  St Petersburg were the first to score at just 17 seconds into the match which was followed by their second goal just minutes later.  Canada came back fighting as they scored their first goal and quickly gained a lot more possession enabling them to eventually even the score to 2-2.  However, just 16 seconds later St Petersburg took back the lead scoring their third goal making the score at the end of the first period 3-2 to St Petersburg.

After a two minute break it was straight into the second period which was a little slower with Canada scoring their third goal with 1.29 minutes left, evening the score to 3-3. This must have put some fire in their belly as they scored another two goals in the last minute of this period, bringing the score to 5-3 to Canada.

Going into the third period St Petersburg got their second wind and scored their forth and fifth goals, putting the score at 6-5 to Canada.  With their competitors hot on the heels, Canada came back fighting with a memorable goal in the last 20 seconds of the match making them the bronze medal winners with a score of 7-6.  The growing crowd cheered as the Canadian team collected their bronze medals.

Now for the match everyone was waiting for, the gold medal game.  Russian Home Affairs Ministry were taking on the Helskini Fire Department.  At this stage the crowd had doubled and so had the atmosphere. The teams were brought onto the ice with music, disco lights and roaring fans.

The first period got off to another quick start with Russia scoring their first goal within 10 seconds, holding possession they scored another three goals ending the first period in the lead 4-0.  It was very clear at this point that the Russian team meant business.  I was so impressed by the skill and speed of both these teams, the skating was excellent to watch and both teams had a great competitive spirit about them which made the match unmissable.

Into the second period Helsinki put up a great fight but were unable to stop Russia from scoring a further two goals.  The shots from Russia were so powerful, lots of praise must go out to the Helskini goal keeper who stopped plenty of them, as well as the amazing defence.

The third and final period was excellent.  In true Northern Irish fashion, the local Belfast crowd were fully behind the underdogs from Helskini, chanting their names and cheering them on every step of the way and when the team scored their first goal (bringing the score to 6-1) the crowd gave the biggest roar of the night so far.  The unstoppable Russian team continued on to score two more goals ending the period with a final score of 8-1.  Russia were victorious gold medal winners.

As i work for the ice hockey event sponsors Coca-Cola I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to present the silver medals to the Helsinki team who all gave me some lovely hugs and friendly greets and i handed them their medals on the ice one by one.  Russia followed, picking up their well deserved gold medals.

I was amazed by everything at the ice hockey event.  The skill, the speed, the referees who jumped over the puck every two seconds, the atmosphere, the crowd, the cold…everything.  This sport most certainly has a new super fan in me.

This is my last blog for the 2013 WPFG and It was been a great experience, I have met so many lovely people and so many talented competitors.  Until next time.

New Zealand wins Rugby 7s & Garda take women’s title at WPFG Belfast

By Volunteer Rebecca McConnell

After two days Rugby 7s action at Queens Sport (DUB), it was time for finals day to determine the 2013 WPFG men from the boys, and women from the girls.

All the matches took place on the Arena, meaning the spectators could enjoy the match whatever the weather under the roof.

It started off dry and warm as the semi finals took to the pitch. After some tight matches and many tackles on pitch, North Vancouver and Welsh Fire made it into the Division 2 final whilst Garda and PSNI won their respective semis in the over 35s league. The Garda’s secret weapon were their wacky socks as each member of the team sported colourful and unusual socks. According to their coach “It’s to make old men feel, young!” A bit harsh when the team is only over 35s!

There was drama during the first women’s semi as the Ambulance needed to come on pitch to assist a Canadian (East) player who took a bad fall during a tackle against the Garda team. As well as St. John’s Ambulance volunteers coming to her rescue, the Italians sent a member of their support team, an orthopaedic surgeon to have a look too. Because of losing a player, the Canadian East didn’t have enough people to continue the match, so the Garda won the semi. In the second semi, team USA lost to Canada West. Later the officials decided to play what should have been a Bronze medal match as a friendly.

Team USA took the bronze and Garda went on to beat Canada West 33 points to nil. To say they were ecstatic to win gold would be an understatement! They were loving it and even had the champagne ready to celebrate on pitch.

Team USA had a PSNI officer helping them out and she was delighted to go home with a medal. “I wasn’t even entered two weeks ago so this is just amazing to have a bronze medal at my home Games. I definitely want to take part in the next ones in 2015.”

The male Garda team also had success beating local team PSNI in the over 35s final 41-5 to take another gold medal with them across the border. Welsh Fire won division 2 title beating North Vancouver Fire 38 points to 10.

In the men’s division 1 final, it was a close encounter between New Zealand Fire and HM Police Service. NZ won the first try and despite taking a 17-0 lead at half time, their coach still shouted ‘dominate’ to spur them on. They had won gold in New York Games in 2011 so were keen to defend their title. In the end, despite resurgence from the British Police team, New Zealand defended their title winning 17-14. Once again, they showed their dominance and strength by performing the Haka to the packed crowds at the DUB.

Logan Martin, captain of the New Zealand Fire team, “Man we’re thrilled! We lost twice on the first day here so it was good to come back and then peak at the right time. It was well worth the trip to Belfast! It was awesome!”

Awesome was a word I heard a lot this week. It was the word a Californian used to describe her pre-Games tour of Ireland, even in the rain, and it was the word I would use to describe the spirit of the Games. As a fellow volunteer said to me this morning, “It’s not just the competitiveness the games are played in that is so impressive, it is the spirit. It is simply fantastic. In terms of the rugby, it is a fraternal brotherhood across the world and it shows in the WPFG too.”

As I left Queen’s Sport, a little saddened that it was my last shift with #wpfgsocialteam, the celebrations for many of the teams had just begun at the bar inside. On driving out of the car park, a guy in a Paris Fire shirt waved to me, he was looking a lift back to his team’s hotel, because his legs were tired and sore. ‘Please,’ he pleaded. Naturally as a volunteer in the ‘friendliest games ever’, I obliged resulting in me leaving not one, nor two, but three Italian fire men back to the Ramada Hotel! They had all swapped shirts with each other during the Games, hence the Paris Fire top. Unfortunately my iPhone’s battery was flat otherwise that would have been a picture to treasure from the Games.

Failing that, I will just have to remember the parting words from the guy in the back who when getting out of my Seat Ibiza said, “Thanks, Rebecca. You’re perfect!” A wonderful and unexpected finish to a brilliant and thrilling few days of volunteering!

Final day of Toughest Competitor Alive

By Volunteer Nicci Gregg

Thursday was the third and final day of the Toughest Competitor Alive (TCA) event and the turn of the mixed doubles and 4-person teams to show off their various talents and skills in eight different stages of the event which are as follows:

5k Run

100m Sprint

Shotput

100m Swim

Rope Climb

Bench Press

Pull Ups

Obstacle Course

With so many different phases to this event the athletes taking part certainly need to be the totally package with exceptionally diverse physical skills.

If you missed the other days for the TCA event, check out Kat's blog which sets the scene for the first day where she saw the women and 50+ Men compete for the highly sought after TCA title.

The day started with the first three disciples of the event (5k run, 100m sprint and shot put) taking place at the Bangor Sports Complex.  The competitors then travelled by bus to the Bangor Aurora Centre to begin their swimming challenge which is where i joined the festivities.

As I arrived at the Aurora I settled in to watch the competitors doing their warm up for the 100m freestyle swim race.  I sat amongst the competitors friends, family and supporters and got talking to the brother of a member of Team Spain who told me that his "brother has trained seven days a week for a whole year for this competition and is going for the gold".  This Spanish determination became even more clear when the race kicked off as i watched three members of Team Spain win all three phases of the swimming challenge, with Sweden following closely behind.

The spectator area at the Aurora was filled with smiling faces from all over the world and encouraging cheers in all sorts of languages, but when local man Roy Allen stepped up to represent Team Northern Ireland the pool filled with cheers and few 'Keep er lit' chants came his way.

The fastest time in the swimming came from Fernando Felipe of Spain with a time of 1:08:80.

After the swimming competitors, volunteers and spectators all made their way to the sports hall, also within the Aurora complex to watch the rope climb, bench press and pull ups, with the weight lifting competition for the WPFG also taking place in the same hall the atmosphere was electric, not to mention loud.

First up was the rope climb challenge.  Competitors had to climb a 20ft rope which had a disk at the top covered in black soot, the officials check the competitors hands after the climb for black marks to ensure they touched the disk, the fastest time wins.  All competitors took turns on two ropes, cheering each other on when it was not their turn. I watched closely and once again noticed it may be a close call between Spain and Sweden.  There was only one female who attempted the rope climb, and I must say, she put the boys to shame, you can watch my video by clicking here.

On to the bench press and pulls up section of the day.  Competitors took turns at lifting a weight which they had previously set for themselves and for pull ups they had do as many as they could with their chin touching the top bar each time.  Once again, Sweden stood out to me here with Max Norwood showing off his determination and recieving endless cheers from the whole crowd.  Local man Steven Morrison completed a total of 29 pull ups and once again got the biggest cheer of the day.

At 2pm, the athletes, volunteers and spectators made their way back to the Bangor Sports Complex with the final challenge of the day ahead, the obstacle course.  Back at the BSC the spanish team entertained everyone as they had brought their own portable iPod player and played traditional spanish music while they did their warm up, this of course put everyone in a fantastic mood, the sun shinning down on the field didn't hurt either.

The obstacle course consisted of, monkey bars, tyre steps, wall jumps, net runs and many other things (these are not the official terms, but its how I can be describe it).  The course had a gladiator style about and believe me, these athletes certainly are like gladiators.

One by one the competitors took to the final stage of their busy day for their last chance to be named the 'Toughest Competitor Alive'. Here are the results.

My next and final event will be the Ice Hockey on Friday night, stay tuned for my final blog.