World Police and Fire Games | |
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Status | active |
Genre | sports event |
Frequency | biannual |
Location(s) | various |
Inaugurated | 1985 |
The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world. The WPFG Federation is an arm of the California Police Athletic Federation (CPAF), an American non-profit organization.
The Games attract approximately 10,000 entrants, slightly fewer than the Summer Olympic Games, and exceeding the third position holder, the Commonwealth Games. In the early 2010s, The United Kingdom hosted all three events consecutively; the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, followed by the 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and ending with Glasgow, Scotland, hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games - the first time all three events have been hosted by the same nation consecutively.
The host city of the 2015 World Police and Fire Game was Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States, with venues located around the Washington metropolitan area.
The California Police Olympics were first held in 1967. The concept evolved over the years and led to the creation of the World Police & Fire Games Federation—a non-profit organization, run by the Californian Police Athletics Federation—in 1983. Two years later, in 1985, the first World Police & Fire Games were held in San Jose, California, USA, with nearly 5,000 competitors.
The largest WPFG games to date was held in New York, New York, USA with over 16,000 athletes in attendance, from 59 nations.
The most successful and best organised was in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2013. It was described, by the President of the World Police and Fire Games Federation, Mike Graham, as "the friendliest and best Games ever".