³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾

Our Urban Junior Championships take place in Horsham this weekend, and the countdown is on to next month’s inaugural CFA-VFBV Firefighter State Championships at Mooroopna.

One of CFA’s longest and proudest traditions is its Championships, which have been an integral event on the Victorian firefighting calendar since 1873.

From inception the Championships were a way for brigades to demonstrate their skills to the Victorian communities as well as improve their operational skills and capability.

With intra-brigade training becoming more popular, the Championships evolved into a state event, becoming more than just about firefighting skills. Now there are 40 Urban competitions and 22 Rural competitions held across the state every year.

We expect more than 1,500 people will descend on Horsham this weekend for our Urban Juniors. With more than 70 teams and 40 brigades represented, this event provides a great opportunity for juniors to meet other juniors as well as learn about teamwork and demonstrate their firefighting skills.

There will also be information available on youth programs, member health and wellbeing, volunteer recruitment and brigade life.

This year our Rural Senior and Junior Championships and Urban Senior Championships will be held together for the first time. This allows us to transform the event into a celebration of CFA, with families and the broader community invited to attend.

It also allows us to build on the strong foundation we have by adding in new features and events including this year where we have new appliance and women-only events.

There will also be opportunities for our people to take part in training exercises and find out about the latest equipment and trucks under development, access health and wellbeing services, and hear the latest thinking on the services we provide to our communities.

Guests and participants will not only experience thrilling competition, but there also will be family-friendly entertainment, food, and market stalls across an 18-hectare site.

More than 4,000 people from across the state are expected to attend the weekend and it’s expected to be one of the biggest regional events of the year in the Greater Shepparton area.

Our Championships are a great way for us to reflect on and respect our past as well as demonstrate our community spirit and focus on the future. Above all they allow our people to meet and get to know other members. This comradery has real value when participants meet again on the fireground.

Good luck to all the competitors at this year’s events. If you aren’t participating, I encourage you to support these events by attending if you can.

Of course, these events cannot run without support from right across CFA and the VFBV. Thank you to everyone who has played a part and supported this new-look event, but more importantly for supporting and showing your pride in CFA.

We hope to see you at the Champs.