The 15th season of the Firefighter Combat Challenge (FCC) has definitely had its fair share of thrills. And while each Challenge has its own unique and amazing tales to tell, they also build on the previous year’s feats.
Event Horizon
The last regional event of the 2006 tour, the U.S. National Championships in Clayton County, Ga., takes place Oct. 13-14, and it promises to be one of the most exciting events of the year. Last year’s Grand National Champion, David Bowman of the Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department, is atop the individual male leader board, with Drea Sweetman of Team Paul Davis Restoration of Miami-Dade in the lead on the women’s side with 85 points. Lonnie Lewis of Team Red Eye Express leads the Over 40 division with 102 points, and Michael Anderson, a member of Team Paul Davis from the York (Pa.) Fire Department, is the leader in the Over 50 division with 130 points.
Aside from the individuals, the FCC teams are tearing it up this year as well, especially the team from Ft. Gordon, Ga., which leads the Grand National Championship’s team with 117 points and the male relay division with 145 points. For the women’s competition, the Women of STIHL from Virginia Beach, Va., competing in their inaugural season, are running away with the female relay title with 120 points.
The 2006 tour has also witnessed some wonderful moments throughout the year, from the return of Team Bluff City and Juliet Draper of Team Firejock, who holds the current female individual world record, to the tandem world record set by Brandon Cunningham and Byron McDonald of Team Paul Davis Restoration of Owensboro, Ky., with a time of 2:43:58.
Location, Location, Location
To add to the prestige and excitement surrounding the competition, cities across the country have opened their doors to the FCC for the first time this year. Beautiful cities such as Virginia Beach, York, Pa., Brandon, Miss., Seattle, Westminster, Colo., and Tyler, Texas, provided great entertainment and hospitality for all the competing firefighters. Not to be outdone, cities that have hosted the FCC in previous years, such as Deerfield Beach, Fla., Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Fremont, Calif., reminded everyone why the tour keeps coming back for more every year. Each locale has welcomed the FCC with open arms and made the competitors feel right at home. As the tour approaches its finale, there remain a few great cities yet to be traveled to, including Erie, Pa., Elkton, Md., Augusta, Maine, and Evansville, Ind.
With the plethora of fierce U.S. competitors, this year’s National Championship will surely provide many more riveting storylines and memorable surprises.
And if you’d like to witness the thrills and excitement of the FCC in person, be sure to attend the FireRescue Conference and Expo, Nov. 10-12, in Las Vegas, where finals for the relay and tandem competitions will be held, as well as the World Challenge XV finals.
