Today, there are many Police & Fire multi-sport athletic programs taking place throughout the United States and around the world. The first of these was the California Police Olympics which began in San Diego in 1967 and has been held annually for over 35 years. In 2000, firefighters were invited to compete, giving birth to the California Police & Fire Games. In 1983, the California Games began planning the first World Police & Fire Games, which was held in San Jose, California. The aim of the World Police & Fire Games was to offer the same variety of sports and the same high caliber of venues, officials and athletic achievement as the California Games on a global scale.
The World Police & Fire Games is a multi-sport, Olympic type event with 10-12,000
full-time firefighters and police service officers from 70 different countries
competing in 65 sports over a 10-day period. The goal of the Games is to promote
physical fitness and sport within the Police & Fire fraternity worldwide with
the emphasis for competition based on individual or team excellence, rather than
country, state, province or department totals. This does not interfere with local
or national pride. The competition is keen, with many athletes of world class,
including Olympic hopefuls from several countries competing in sports, ranging
from Archery to Wrestling.
The first World Police & Fire Games were held in San
Jose, California in 1985. The Games are held biennially and are open to publicly
employed, fulltime firefighters and law enforcement officers around the world.
The World Police & Fire Games have been held in:
