Archive for July 8th, 2012
Sport for charity
Yesterday my blog featured a couple of fundraising cycling events. Today I bring you a charity soccer match and an unusual tug-of-war.
Guns-n’-Hoses
In Salt Lake City, yesterday, a charity soccer game took place between the city’s policemen (the Guns) and fire-fighters (the Hoses). The annual event raises funds for a variety of charities, including supporting the families of officers and firemen killed or injured in the line of duty. This year, special emphasis was placed on helping the families of the Ogden police officers who were shot earlier a few months ago, including one who lost his life (Jared Francom). As Guns n’ Hoses creator, fire-fighter Jay Stevens, says poignantly: “The father’s no longer there to raise money.” The match was a lively one: men who normally work closely together in the course of their work, and are great friends, fought hard, and the result was a close one. The Hoses eventually beat the Guns 2 to 1, and were rewarded with a 6-foot trophy.
Airline Pull
Meanwhile, in Edmonton, Alberta, also yesterday morning, a rather different sport was taking place. A team of Canadian fire-fighters set a new record, while raising $1,200 for the Edmonton Fire Fighter Burn Treatment Society, by pulling a 68,000-pound Boeing 737 jetliner 300 feet in 43.72 seconds, beating last year’s record by 0.28 seconds. Second place in the Alberta Aviation Museum annual Airline Pull was taken by the Solicitor General’s ‘Sheepdogs’, at 51.72 seconds. Teams of 20 competitors pay $200 to enter the event, in which they race against the clock to pull the airliner along a ramp at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport, while a volunteer pilot sits in the cockpit, to steer and operate the brakes. The event has been described as “a unique opportunity to interact with an airliner” in a way that’s “fun…exciting to watch” and that raises funds for a good cause.
