COATICOOK, QUEBEC | Have you been seeing more people working out at the gym lately? And selling caps and tees?
They may be policemen or firemen getting in shape for the 1999 World Police & Fire Games to be held at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium - the same stadium where the 1912 Olympic Games were held.
One of our local Sûreté du Québec police officers has been training to compete in Stockholm - but it will take many hours of fundraising to finance his trip to the games.
And it will mean many hours of training to compete with some 12,000 police offices, customs officials, prison officials, and firefighters from around the world who will be competing in 68 different sports in this 8th World Games.
SQ officer Nöel Bolduc of the Coaticook MRC SQ detachment plays on one of the two hockey being organized to compete in the games, and he is the only participant from the Townships. Other members of these elite teams are from across the province.
I asked why he was so determined to attend the games. "I've heard so much about these games and decided this was the year I was going to be a part of them."
It will cost each participant of the games $1000 to fly to Sweden, and $1300 in hotel accommodations once there.
Other expenses for the hockey players are uniforms, and if you have a child involved in hockey, you know just how much that can set you back.
Bolduc was an outstanding hockey player in his youth, and even went on to play for the Magog Cantonniers Midget AAA team during the 1980-81 season. During these 44-games, Bolduc accumulated 27 assists and nine goals.
At the games, there is no contact, just clean, hard-playing, fast-action, puck-chasing fun.
Because of his borderline age, Bolduc could play for either of two teams being formed - 35-years and up, or the open class, but has decided to play in the first.
Today, he plays a couple of games a week, and coaches his son Kevin's Atom A team.
These world games were created by the California Police Athletic Federation in San José in 1985, and attracted 5,000 firefighters and law-enforcement officers from around the world. Since then, the World Police & Fire Games have been held every second year.
In 1997, the SQ sent two hockey teams to participate in the game held in Calgary. One team lost only one game, and brought home the bronze.
Montreal SQ officer Gaétan Guimond, mastermind of the hockey teams, says "It's a lot of fun."
According to game organizers, the aim is to encourage these men and women to engage in physical exercise and to participate in various types of sporting competitions. This will be the first time the games are held in Europe. [EDITOR'S NOTE: If you want to help send Officer Bolduc to Sweden, you can e-mail Karen Eryou for details.]
© 1999 Karen Eryou/Log Cabin Chronicles/1.99 |
Officer Bolduc can write you a speeding ticket or sell you a new cap or a tee-shirt
Even if the games are still eight months away, Bolduc has been undertaking some daily training, has lost some weight, and is currently a part-time salesman, pedaling tee-shirts and ball caps at $15 a pop in order to help finance his way to Sweden.