Ostrava, North Moravia, Aug 16 (CTK) – More than 400 volunteer and professional firefighters from 15 countries will compete at the World Championship in Fire and Rescue Sport to be held in Ostrava from August 17 to 20, the Moravian-Silesian fire corps head Zdenek Nytra told CTK yesterday.
The men and women’s championship was to be held in Turkey, but it was moved to the Czech Republic for security reasons.
Moreover, the World Junior Championship in Fire and Rescue Sport, originally planned in South Korea, will also take place in Ostrava at the same time.
The South Korean organisers did not manage to prepare it and gave up the chance in the spring, Nytra added.
The championship opens on Wednesday with male and female junior competition in ascending the fourth floor of a training tower with special hook ladders outside the Ostrava fairground.
A part of the complex is also the Ostrava Olympic Park and the championship organisers would like to have the competition venue close to it.
“We want to introduce fire sport to the broad public,” Nytra said.
The municipal stadium in Ostrava-Vitkovice will host other competitions, such as 100 metre hurdles, a 100 metre relay race and a fire attack, which resembles the firefighters’ realistic intervention most of all. Its participants will have to roll out their hoses, connect them and transport water from tanks to the target.
The firefighters compete as individuals, but their points are summed in the assessment of teams. The absolute victory in the teams’ competition is the most valuable trophy at the championship.
Czech firefighters have been successful at international competitions. Czech juniors will be defending a gold medal, the women’s team silver and the men bronze from the previous world championship.
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