Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

COLD BEERS, FIERY COMPETITORS

Brewloops welcomes FireFit competition to Spring Festival this weekend

May 24, 2019 | 5:28 PM

KAMLOOPS — Beer goes with pretty much anything. This weekend, firefighters from across B.C. will gather in Kamloops to prove that point. Brewloops has paired with FireFit Canada to put a new twist on their Spring Festival.

Firefighting can be a tough, physical job. For local firefighters Mark Brise and Shaun Davidson, staying in top physical condition is even more critical. That’s because they both compete on the Kamloops Fire Rescue FireFit Team.

“Being a part of this team is definitely a benefit to me being a firefighter,” Brise told CFJC Today. “We’re staying fit, and we’re doing things that we actually do every day. It kind of hones those skills.”

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That team has been one of the best around for the past decade, or so. During that time, the KFR FireFit Team has won several Canadian and World FireFit Championships.

Image Credit: City of Kamloops

“In 2009 we got our first [national] title… we ended up winning it five years running,” Davidson recalls. “And then we ended up being fortunate enough to win World’s as well, in 2011, 2012 and 2015.”

Now, they’re set to compete at home for the first time in a few years. Alongside the Brewloops Spring Festival, FireFit Canada is hosting a regional event in the parking lot behind Sandman Centre this weekend. It’s the first time FireFit Canada President Dale McRoberts remembers holding the competition at a beer festival.

“Sometimes it’s a standalone event, sometimes it’s [been] a fire department public relations event many times,” McRoberts told CFJC Today. “At a great site like this, and with Brewloops right behind us, you can’t get any better than that.”

Brewloops Director Tyson Andrykew says FireFit and Brewloops are a great one-two punch.

“A lot of the firefighters have said that they enjoy a beverage or two after running around in 50 lbs. of gear,” Andrykew said. “We think it’s a great marriage. It’ll be something fun for spectators to look at… and they can also come over and enjoy the entertainment we have on our side.”

And for Mark and Shaun, the chance to compete in front of a home crowd is a little extra motivation.

“Most of us have little kids now, and lots of them haven’t seen us compete,” Brise said. “It’s kind of neat to do that in front of your family.”

“The more people that are there, you know, the atmosphere just gets better and better,” Davidson said. “We’d love for a lot of people to show up and make a lot of noise and cheer us on.”

The FireFit competition begins on Saturday and Sunday morning at 10:30. The family-friendly portion of Brewloops starts pouring at 11:00 both days. The 19-plus version of Brewloops kicks off at 6:00 p.m. Saturday night.