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Friday 29 January 2021
Hot competition at combat challenge
JO RICHARDS
Double drag: Firefighters “rescue” 90kg dummies in the Nelson Marlborough Provincial Fire Brigades Association Firefighter Combat Challenge held in Takaka on Saturday. Photo: Jo Richards. JO RICHARDS
Firefighters from across the region assembled at Takaka’s Junction Green on Saturday to battle it out in a trial of strength, speed and sheer determination. The Nelson Marlborough Provincial Fire Brigades Association Firefighter Combat Challenge was hosted by the Takaka Volunteer Fire Brigade (TVFB) and attracted a total of 34 male and female competitors from Christchurch, Blenheim, Richmond, Wakefield and Motueka, as well as the local Golden Bay brigades. In combat challenge, firefighters race
against each other and the clock to complete a sequence of tasks collectively revered as the toughest two minutes in sport. Imagine this: Put on 10kg of thick protective clothing, plus helmet. Strap on a 25kg compressed air tank and respirator mask which makes breathing like sucking air through a straw. Start by running up three flights of stairs carrying a 19kg folded hose, before hoisting a 25kg coiled hose up from ground level. Now sprint back down, pick up a 4kg sledge hammer and bash a 73kg beam known as “The Kaiser” along a 1.5m track. Next, run through a slalom course, collect a charged hose and
extend it around 25m before knocking down a disc using the water jet. Finally, pick up a lifelike 90kg dummy and drag it 30m without looking backwards. Feeling the burn yet? Top challengers can do all this in around 80 seconds. Saturday’s event got underway with legendary master of combat, Christchurch Airport senior firefighter and long-standing member of the New Zealand team, “Uncle” Tom Reid, briefing competitors. Tom is also a member of the international Lion’s Den fraternity – an elite status awarded for outstanding performance in top competition.
But he was not the only Lion’s Den firefighter at Saturday’s event; father and son Neil and Kyle Gardiner of the Takaka Brigade are also members of the exclusive club. As well as battle-hardened combatants, Saturday saw a number of first-timers including locals Ethan Harwood, William Barham and Sam Goffriller. Firefighting is very much a family affair in Takaka – father and son, Ben and Oliver Gray, were also on the TVFB team. Just after 10.30am, the first pair of competitors lined up at the base of the tower for their individual heat. Continued on page 7
From the team at Ray White Golden Bay
Inside:
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THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 29 JANUARY 2021
Dog trials history
Food column
Artificial reefs
ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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