First Responder Mental Health Games recap

Kelowna

2025-05-20 11:47 PDT

It was a morning filled with laughs, camaraderie and fun but had a serious underlaying theme as the third annual First Responder Mental Health Games took place last week at Stuart Park downtown Kelowna.

The Games were part of Mental Health Week across the country in which the theme was Unmasking Mental Health. Living with mental health can force people to live behind a mask and the heavier the stigma, the heavier the mask becomes, and the more isolated we feel.

First responders are exposed to trauma more than most people, so being able to take part in a fun event was a way for the participants to recharge on their day-off with some friendly competition.

Teams were made up of four participants from four first responder services including the RCMP, Kelowna Fire Department, Emergency Health Services (EHS) and Bylaw. Each organization entered two teams to compete in four different timed events with the quickest team being named the winner at the end of the competition.

The morning began as each organization’s senior leadership team participated in the truck pull. The Bylaws Ford Ranger was the vehicle of choice and each team had one opportunity to pull the truck across the Stuart Park ice rink surface, racing against the clock. The RCMP leadership team was declared the winners, pulling the truck across in 17.9 seconds and were awarded the highly sought after boot trophy and bragging rights for the year.

Following the truck pull, the Games began with a Bylaw event in which each member of the team hopped on a bike, maneuvering their way through a figure eight pylon course. The Fire Department team Hot Mess were the quickest through the course and jumped out to the overall lead.

Next up was a RCMP themed event in which team members were required to wear a heavy body armour vest and carry both a duty bag and carbine. Each participant needed to run across half of the ice rink surface, around a pylon and back again with the clock running. Hot Mess was again the fastest team through the course.

The EHS event was next and was brand-new to the competition. Each team of four was required to do this event together, racing to a patient, putting them on a clam-shell stretcher, then carrying them up the stairs and around the Stuart Park bear statue, before coming back down the stairs. At the bottom they needed to treat the patient by attaching a neck brace, attend to a leg wound and supply them with oxygen, before carrying them to the hospital finish line. The EHS team Medic Mavericks completed this event with the quickest time, but Hot Mess still carried the lead into the final event.

The fire department hosted the last competition which was also a full team event. Each team member had a specific role in which they would either roll out one of three hoses, before one of them attached a nozzle to the hose to spray water. The team members then had to work together to drain the hose and re-roll them up. Not surprisingly the two fire department teams were the quickest, as Hot Mess won their third event.

In the end, the times were added up, and Hot Mess was crowned the winner of the First Responder Mental Health Games, completing all four events in just under nine minutes to win the trophy. The second fire department team, Calendar Crew finished with the silver medal, while the RCMP’s Real Cops finished third. This is the second straight year the fire department has won this friendly competition.

The RCMP would like to thank all the participants, volunteers and organizers of this event along with Creative Trophies and Gifts for donating the trophy and the Salvation Army for providing lunch to the participants.

Planning for next year has already begun and the RCMP are determined to get back into the winner’s circle.

According to the World Health Organization in 2019, 970 million people globally were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depression the most common. Mental health conditions can cause difficulties in all aspects of life, including relationships with family, friends and community. They can result from or lead to problems at school and at work.

You are not alone; the Canadian Mental Health Association can help. Their mission is to ensure that all people in Canada experience good mental health and well-being. Visit their local Kelowna location at 504 Sutherland Avenue or you are welcome to call them for assistance under no judgement at 250-861-3644.

Group photo of all participants of the First Responder Mental Health Games