There were 50,000 people on hand to witness the opening ceremony of the World Police and Fire Games.

World Police and Fire GamesThe Melbourne

ExperienceBy Keith Livingston, Southern Region Public Affairs

T— he holding of the World Police and Fire Games in Melbourne

between February 26 and March 4 provided the AFP with an

_____ opportunity to stage an exhibition to show the AFP s lawenforcement activities to a diverse audience from throughout Australia and around the world.

Th is was the first time since its inception in 1985 that the games were staged

outside North America (previous venues had been in the USA and Canada) and it

brought to Melbourne almost 7000 competitors.

The games incorporated events that broke from traditional athletic competition,

being as varied as they were interesting.

Detective Sergeant Dennis Carr fielding questions on counterfeit currency at the AFP display held as part of the games opening day activities.

No.46 March 1995 27

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Commissioner Mick Palmer discusses aspects of the AFP’s international commitments with Detective Superintendent Geoff Lanham.

The opening day exhibition provided an opportunity for law enforcement officers from around the world to see the work of the AFP.

Among the 56 events decided at 64 venues were horse shoe tossing, angling (both fresh and salt water), body building, darts, fireman’s muster, softball, baseball, toughest competitor alive and wrist wrestling.

These events were contested with as much enthusiasm as the traditional swimming, track and field events.

Planning for the games was handled by the Victoria Police. Appropriately, the opening ceremony was staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The MCG holds a special place in Australian sporting history and with the relatively recent addition of the Great Southern Stand, it is without doubt Australia’s foremost sporting arena.It proved to he a superb venue at which to officially open Melbourne’s biggest sporting event since the 1956 Olympic Games which also were held at the MCG.

It was a quite remarkable sight to see all the athletes assembled on the grass, standing proudly behind their standard bearers and flags.

Among the competitors marching in the opening ceremony were members of the AFP from around the nation — many of whom had deferred participation in the AFP Games last October, in preference for these games.

The AFP athletes looked splendid as they turned out in white polo shirt tops — the men with grey trousers and the women in grey dresses or skirts.

The main MCG stadium is surrounded by picturesque, sweeping parkland, shaded by stately elm, oak and plane trees. Part of this area was set aside for a display of law enforcement and emergency service organisations.

An opportunity was given to the AFP to mount a static display as part of this exhibition and it provided a perfect venue at which to present the AFP to a workTwide law enforcement audience.

Planning for the display did not happen overnight. The initial plans were put in place for the exhibition centre at a meeting convened by the games organisers in mid-1994 and attended by Detective Sergeant Catherine Tosolini. Southern Region’s Assistant Commissioner John Valentin endorsed the idea and support for the concept was

28 Platypus

provided from Canberra by the AFP’s Marketing and Project Manager,Graham Sindel and Steve Jiggins, Director Public Affairs Branch.

The AFP display consisted of photographs and display cabinets showing the many aspects of federal policing with emphasis on international and local law enforcement activities.

AFP Southern Region members who staffed the marquee reported enthusiastic interest by those who visited the display.

Results

At the time of going to press, official results from the games were not available. However, it is clear that AFP members have done well in many events including boxing, bench press, decathlon, golf, karate, pistol shooting, sailing, table tennis and ten pin bowling. AFP Museum curator Adam Masters (right) was at the games exhibition to promote awareness

of the AFP Museum.

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Commissioner Mick Palmer and Assistant Commissioner John Valentin with the AFP team prior to the march onto the MCG.

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