Atlanta-Area Police & Firefighters Headed to Los Angeles for International Competition

Dallas, Georgia – August 2, 2017 – Beginning on Monday, August 7th , 2017 Firefighters and Police Officers from around the world will converge on Los Angeles, California to compete in an international Public Safety competition. The event, known as the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG), is held every other year, and is an Olympic-style competition with 12,000 athletes from more than 70 countries competing in 60 different sports. In order to be eligible, athletes must be active or retired Law Enforcement officers, Firefighters, Corrections/Probation officers, Border Protection, or Immigration/Customs officers.
This year, two Atlanta-area public safety personnel will be competing. Police Officer John Goworek and Fire Lieutenant Steve Mapes will be representing their Departments in the Ice Hockey event. Goworek is a 12-year Officer with the City of Marietta Police Department, and Mapes has served Paulding County Fire & Rescue for 22 years. Both are WPFG veterans. Mapes won a silver medal at the 2013 Games in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Opening Ceremonies for the WPFG will be held on Monday August 7th at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum, which was built in 1923, has hosted thousands of sporting, cultural, and political events including the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and again in 1984. It was named to the list of United States Federal Historic Landmarks and has also hosted two Super Bowls (I and VII), one World Series (1959), a Papal Mass and visits by three U.S. Presidents: John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Beginning in 1985, the World Police & Fire Games history spans 32 years. WPFG was originally founded in the United States and has been hosted in Australia, Spain, Canada, Sweden, and Northern Ireland. In 2019 the WPFG will be held in Chengdu China and moves to Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2021.
This year’s games run from August 7-16, 2017 and will be held at nearly 100 sporting venues across the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Additional information can be found at www.la17WPFG.com or at https://www.facebook.com/WPFGFederation/.