AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Posting No. 4

An important clarification on access to the Lion’s Den Invitational of the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge at the AT&T Classic Cotton Bowl - AT&T Stadium. All Challenge competitors will be provided free entry along with a Spirit Pass (Standing Room only ticket) that will allow access to the stadium and to be part of the pre-game flag unfurling activity. 

Unfortunately, friends and family will have to pay $50 for access to the special events plaza. This is not your normal Challenge in the Home Depot parking lot. The gates are outside of the event and we are inside the gated area. The game is already sold out. The cheapest seat on the secondary market is $250. There may be tickets available through other sources, but we do not have any special access other than through our official roster. So, please do not show up and think that you’ll be able to waltz in the door. 

If you have never been to a Cowboy’s game (and this is a bigger deal), be prepared for some gridlock and sold out everything. And, unless you want to walk with your gear bag about 2 miles, pay careful attention to the upcoming instructions on how the shuttle service will work. The acres of parking will be packed with tailgaters. 

All of the event volunteers must be vetted and we’re reserving the slots for those WCXXII competitors who may not make the cut but want to work the course. That’s the least (and unfortunately the most) we can do. 

Other Amenities

There will be special gold medals for the first place finishers only- provided by the AT&T Cotton Bowl. Also, a special commemorative tee shirt for the Lion’s Den Invitees.  

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic - Posting No. 3

Today was a good day. We met with the Cotton Bowl organizing committee and went through the logistics, time lines, and all that. So, here’s the latest. We will roll in on the 31st and set up in preparation for media challenges and demonstrations. The Arlington FD will provide coaching and assistance for the many entities that want to have a go at the Challenge course.

Lodging
We are working on lodging and bussing. The first hotel that we’ve made arrangements with is the Comfort Suites. This will likely appeal to our sponsors. While we got a killer deal for the timeframe, with tax, it’s going to run about $150 per day. They do pickup at both DFW and Love Field. Plus they have a nice gym and great breakfast. If you’re looking for an upscale place this is it. I’ll have the contact information shortly. We’re looking to book perhaps as many as 50 rooms in a moderately priced and convenient location. And as mentioned earlier, a manifest of available racks in the adjoining fire stations.

The Game
Lots of interest in attending the game. So, our Challenge Competitors will be given “Party Passes” which will allow entry - with a caveat. First, friends, family and strap hangers will have to purchase the wrist band for $50. The second part is that you'll get to help unfurl the 100 yard long American Flag at the start of the game. This will require the assistance of 250 people. We’ll ask that you wear your helmet and bunker coat. We’ll have a place to stash your gear during the game.

The 100 Yard Long American Flag

Here’s some snap shots from the visit to the AT&T Stadium today

Engineer Adam Evans, AFD Engine 14

Post-Cotton Bowl Meeting Sightseeing: Paul Davis and Adam Evans

The Start: The Final Word

The Mil-Spec, Nuclear Hardened ALGE timing system

At this year’s Challenge Advisory Board (CAB) meeting, Saturday morning, the 26th at the Stratosphere, the topic of the start system was addressed. Over the span of the past year, and longer, I’ve covered this protocol in my BlogSpots. As the old adage goes:“When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember your original mission was to drain the swap“ - the change effected some two plus years ago- was to allow competitors a more natural start, versus the crouched one with fists on the pads. 

The design was expanded to determine false starts with a fail-safe, computer monitored system that was based upon drag racing.  A couple of things happened that no one liked. The start itself turned into a contest, where we encouraged people to see how close they could get to the edge before incurring a five second penalty. We call this the law of unintended consequences. The other downside was after spending thousands of dollars, this finicky system required a knowledgeable electronic technician to trouble shoot the numerous problems.

Despite our promises to not make changes during the season, we would have failure at the most inopportune times, resulting in our having to resort to other methods for the start. We did not have the luxury of being able to put everything on hold while we shut down the races. For example, in Hermosa Beach, after working on the system for hours, and effecting a fix, when next powered on, the system failed. We did a work around, and that fixed failed. So, I can share the frustration when you have to make two changes within a single competition. The alternative was to call off the event in order to satisfy those who believed that this was some trivial annoyance that could easy be dealt with. 

So, after all of these problems, I made the decision to retreat to the simpler, more stable system of going with the siren. We have abandoned the drag racing start. The brains of the current system has always been the Alge computer that costs upwards of $15,000. It’s the same one that’s used all Olympic and World Championship track events. In Las Vegas, the transformer for the Alge did a melt down and while we scrambled for a replacement, we had to resort to whistles and handheld stop watches. 

One of the CAB members opined that this was costing Competitors 1.5 seconds. I immediately challenged this baseless claim with data. Everyone one of our course officials has been vetted with the use of a stopwatch. We are typically within hundredths of the display times. So that is a frivolous claim. Within an hour of the meltdown, we had a replacement transformer and were back in business. 

This is not a professional sport. But, out attention to the details is consistent with measurement at the highest levels of any sport. From this point forward, the siren will be the start of the clock. Competitors who touch the high rise pack before the siren will incur a 5 second penalty. You may adjust the high rise pack forward or back, but it will not be curved when placed on the mat. The starter will step on the pack to ensure compliance. We have virtually eliminated the false start penalty for trivial movements of the feet and those who incurred a false start penalty earned it.

World Challenge XXII Redux

All week long, I was making mental notes about things that I wanted to mention in my Blog. So, to recap:

1. The Venue: you can’t beat walking across the street to race. A perfectly flat course. Pretty incredible weather. And totally cheap rooms. I had comments about the hose pull that ranged from “hardest ever” to “didn’t even notice.” The black top had been finished with a special paint for a racketball tournament. Perhaps that added to the friction. But it was the same for everyone. Did we luck out on the windstorm? Those 70mph gusts took a dumpster across the parking lot and right into our Chevy pickup, breaking the fender and a tail light.

2. Jeannie Allen: Incredible to see Jeannie- and the inspiration that is so infectious. Makes all of your daily issues seem pretty inconsequential. The out pouring of support, especially at the Lion’s Den was a testimony to the incredible people who make up this amazing fraternity. Look what the rest of the fire service is missing out on.

3. TV: My earlier post below provides some mandatory reading about how TV works within our sport. But, absent the ≈1 hour network down time (not our fault), I got a lot of atta-boys from viewers around the world. For 84¢ per day, not a bad deal. We were streaming at 44mbs - which is full on 720p, HD quality. (That works out to be way less than 1¢ per minute.) All of the content is up there still and you’re free to capture your run and repost wherever your heart desires.

4. Lion’s Den: Many thanks to John Granby and the folks at Lion for a great evening event. No one went home hungry. And what a great new crowd of inductees!

5. Our Over-seas Visitors: Holy Cow. What a blast! They are definitely stepping up their game. I can’t wait to get back to see how things are going to go in France this year. Loved the red, white and blue wigs! Thanks so much for making the trip.

6. Robert “Jake” Jacobsmeyer: Engineer extraordinaire of the Las Vegas FD. With Jackie’s assistance, this team jumped through hoops for months. You can’t believe all the nit-noid stuff that they had to deal with. Like, every time we come to Las Vegas, there’s some new permit. The latest was an unexpected $1K out lay for the generator inspection. Jake took it all in stride. And a shout out for the Mayor and the Fire Chief showing up.

7. The Walk On: Belinda Shuttlesworth has got this dialed in! Thanks everyone for making this a visual desert! Mayor Goodman was in awe of the range of competitors.

8. Our Announcer Team: Mike Word and all his energy, with assistance by John Kraft -spelling Mike so that his voice would last to the end; Jim DeGrandpre who was there before the sun came up and after it went down. Maria Prekeges- with all of her energy in capturing guys in the end zone - breathless.

9. Randy Huntington: My bad- scheduling Randy’s presentation at 4:30 when the Thursday crowd went on till 7P. But, Michael shot all of it and will be editing the PowerPoint presentation so everyone can view it. I now know how Mike Powell broke Bob Beamon’s long jump record. It was a pleasure to have side ringside and engaged Randy’s incredible powers of observation on all things Combat Challenge.

10. C.A.B. Meeting: This will be a separate, upcoming recitation of the 90 minute meeting Saturday Morning at John Granby’s room.

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Posting No. 2

This is the first invitational list for the Cotton Bowl event.  Due to the concentrated schedule of having individual and relay runs occur nearly simultaneously, competitors will only be able to participate in one or the other. All competitors who are alternates are posted with a * by their number.

We will be contacting everyone on the list, but if you're already certain either way, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Open

1 Shaun Henderson Oakville Team Levitt Safety

2 Jeff Leonard Hayward Fire Department

3 Claude Belanger Groupe Solution Sinistre Longueuil

4 Jamie McGarva Westshore Terminals / Delta

5 Louis Boiteau Hamilton

6 Justin Couperus Hamilton

7 William Gates Team USAFA

8 Ian Van Reenen Lambton College

9 John Betts Wendy’s of Fredericton

10 Ryan Hallam Wendy’s of Fredericton

11 Bruce Fields Winston-Salem Fire and Rescue

12 Mike Melton Alameda County Fire

13 Aaron Makkinga Shell Scotford ERT

14 Scott Minty Bruce Power

15 MacKenzie Briggs So - Flo

16 Ian Pringle Brampton Fire Demons Team Starfield Lion

17 Joseph Waggett Missoula Fire

18 Drew Huerter Brampton Fire Demons Team Starfield Lion

19* Cory McGee Whiteman Crash Fire Group

20* Matt Ciolfi Team Edge- North Vancouver

21* Beau Gunter Team Tuscaloosa

22* Reid Taylor Westshore Terminals / Delta

23* Ryan Rickards Westshore Terminals / Delta

24* Mike Brown Kamloops Fire Rescue

25* Brian Klassen Barrie Fire

26* Don Clarke Kamloops Fire Rescue

Relays

1 Team Horry Hy-Conn

2 Lambton Relay

3 Carlsbad Fire Dirty 5

4 Oakville Fire Team Levitt-Safety

5 Westminster Combat

6 Montgomery Blue

7 Team Baconator

8 Hamilton Fire

9 Kamloops Fire Rescue Team New Gold

10 Brampton Demons Team Starfield Lion

11 Sherbrooke Innotex ST

12 Mr. Restore

13 Waukegan Fire Over 40

14 Winston Salem Young Guns

15 Team So-Flo/Ridebackwards

16 USAFA

17* Team Westshore Terminals Delta

18* Sc Johnson

Females

1 Amber Bowman Central York Fire

2 Carla Penman North Vancouver district

3* Jacqueline Palmer Las Vegas Fire & Rescue

4* Lindsey Ingram Winnipeg Fire Dept.

Over 50

1 Mark Millward Westshore Terminals / Delta

2 Al Ertzner Fort Calhoun fire

3 Malcolm Hills Edmonton

4 Cyril Fraser Halifax Regional Fire

5* David Steele Las Vegas Fire&Rescue

6* Lonnie Lewis Team Chesterfield, VA

Over 40

1 Bob Russell Whiteman Crash Fire Group

2 Darren Van Zandbergen Oakville Team Levitt Safety

3 Darren Hillman Windsor/Tecumseh Team Parker Construction

4 Joachim Posanz TFA Team Goettingen Germany

5 David Bowman Charlotte Fire Dept

6 Brad Johnston Darlington Nuclear FD

7 Bob Murray Team West Edmonton Mall

8 Patrick Kraft Team USAFA

9 Rick Stephens So - Flo

10 Chris Cerci Peters Township Fire Department

11* Daniel Garner Pittsfield Fire Department

12* Jeff Readman Team West Edmonton Mall

This just in from Jeannie Allen

     I'm thoroughly enjoying a two week chemo break and especially a full week in Vegas at the World's Firefighter Combat Challenge Competition. It's been a week of humbling surprises. My relay team made up special IBTC  t-shirts to sell to help raise funds for my never ending medical expenses and travel fee's. They are FLORESCENT yellow and are very noticeable. What a great act of compassion and thoughtfulness.  And then to add to the shock, I showed up on Monday for preliminary races and was surprised to see a team walking around with fluorescent pink t-shirts with "Running as One for Jeanie Allen" printed on the backs. WOW!!!  A Canadian Fire Dept. from New Brunswick did this up special in support of my fight, and I was truly humbled and so appreciative. 
Little did I know I hadn't seen anything yet. 

Friday night was Lion's Den Awards attended by HUNDREDS of firefighters and their families. This Canadian Team decided to pull another surprise on me and announced that they were raffling off their Team shirts and that all proceeds donated would go to help support my cancer fight. These hundreds of brothers and sisters, most who had never met or heard of me before this week, reached deep in their pockets and made me absolutely speechless at their generosity. I made an impromptu speech in gratitude, but I don't know what I said as I was truly in shock and crying. 

I am a single Mom living on disability and limited part time work, trying to support my family, and still fight the fight. I just want to live long enough to raise my kiddo's. The funds are truly a prayer answered. Now, besides travel expenses for medical treatment, I can also consider some natural treatment options and relieve major financial stress. Rest assured to all the generous, anonymous supporters, the funds will be spent with thoughtful intention on how to get the most out of every penny. 

I've outlived my prognosis by 8 months, but treatment options are getting more and more scarce. It's darn scary to think about so I am persistent in focusing on what I can do, and appreciating my physical health whatever that is, and living every day as the gift that it is. 

When this cancer vacation is over and I return home tomorrow, I will be right back to facing the immediacy and harsh reality of trying to find another treatment option to keep this cancer at bay. 
But I have TONIGHT left to play in Vegas......

On a side note, the competition was fabulous in the Female Firefighter Relay division. The Itty Bitty Titty Committee Relay Team ran strong and came away with a hard earned third place finish in the 22nd World Firefighter Challenge competition.  It was SO MUCH FUN racing with my favorite gals and reconnecting with old and new friendships. Now it's time to put the racing behind us and EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY!! 

 Finally :)
And you know what they say.. "Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas":) !

TV and the Firefighter Combat Challenge

For ten years we enjoyed the largess of ESPN. By that I mean that through a barter (we give them content, they gave us time), we were able to showcase the skills and talents of our American Heroes.

Then came poker. Poker had money and purchased time slots that ESPN used for barter purposes. I completely understand the business model. Why give away time when you can sell it?  ESPN is not PBS. They are owned by Disney who has shareholders that expect a return on their investment.

The Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge® is not a professional sport. By definition, a professional sport would pay sufficiently so that one can make a living at it. It has never been our intention to detract from our mission- to promote physical fitness and the public persona of the American (and now world-wide) firefighter. It has never been about enriching specific firefighters. The moment we start offering cash prizes, fire chiefs will shut us down in a New York minute.

TV was a huge enhancement of our sport. But we simply do not have the budget to produce broadcast TV. For the past two years Webcasting included everyone. We had very impressive numbers- and that was without any promotion. The cost for this production was borne entirely by On Target as an un-budgeted line item. Unlike a one-hour ESPN show that may capture a dozen athletes, Livestream allowed everyone a chance to be seen. I heard nothing but positive comments from everyone who tuned in.

For two years I flogged a concept to every broadcast outlet- called “Can You Take the Heat?” I couldn’t sell this anywhere. Even had an audience with Mark Burnett. Interestingly, his new show, Stripes for Stars is exactly the same story arc with the exception that his show is set in a military environment.

It’s clear that the American market loves their firefighters. Especially when their day isn’t exactly going well. That doesn’t necessarily convert into firefighters as entertainment. We boast a number of world-class athletes. Some have even been in the ranks of professional sports.

Contemplate for a moment the backlash that would ensue when publicly supported fire departments are sending firefighters to a competition where cash prizes are given out. We will not stand in the way of anyone who wishes to excel and pursue their dreams for fame and glory- and even cash. It’s just not going to happen within the scope of the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge. We’re about the collective fire service- raising the bar for everyone.

Now, at World Challenge XXII we’re back on TV. CBS Sports will be carrying a two episode show. The conditions of the copyright prohibit us from distributing content for free, since they’re airing the show with advertiser support. We provided daily coverage, live. And for only $5, you can purchase the entire week’s content. All of the content has been archived. We’ll provide you with information about how to watch it within the next few days.