I wanted to take a moment to write a thank you to all the hard working volunteers who, year after year, show up and make our East Kootenay Mines Industrial Safety Association (EKMISA) Mine Rescue Competition such a success.
I know for many of the competitors it is the most stressful day of their year, but it must be a huge effort for all the organizers, judges and actors to try and have it all run smoothly. I’m always impressed at the depth and realism of the events and awestruck by the effort that must go into building and resetting these scenarios five times during the day.
Screaming victims, confused bystanders and complex problems await us at every station and none of that would be possible without people willing to give up a great deal of their own time to come out and support us. I know I speak for every competitor when I say that my hat is off to you folks, and your work is appreciated.
I wanted to single out Johnathon Gail for his bench event this year. Mine Rescue people are certainly traditionalists and I know he faced a lot of criticism for his decision to create a different format than we have seen in the past. It was a brave move and I think most will agree it was the highlight of the day. I’m sure it was a crowd pleaser to watch and for us competitors, a rare opportunity to see each other work and struggle and to cheer one another on. The displays of inter team encouragement and the crowd of competitors lining the final push to the finish line for the Line Creek team, hollering support and well wishes, were a sight and feeling I will never forget.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered, helped, participated or even just came down to cheer us on.
Trevor Fairweather