World Police and Fire Games Bringing Thousands of Visitors to Fairfax County

More than 12,000 local heroes from across the globe will converge in Fairfax County later this month for the 15th edition of the World Police and Fire Games.

The games will begin with opening ceremonies at RFK Stadium on Friday June 25 at 6 p.m. They’ll conclude with closing ceremonies at Wolf Trap National Park on Sunday, July 6 at 6 p.m.

Participants will have the opportunity to compete in more than 60 different events to be held throughout Fairfax County. Fairfax City will host the most events during the 10 days of action with 25 events throughout the city. George Mason University will host 11 events, and will also provide lodging for more than 1,000 competitors. The city of Reston will host 10 events at and around Reston Town Center.

For a full list of events including dates and locations, click here.

The arrival of the games will also create a spike in the local economy thanks to increased tourism during the 10-day window. The Games’ official website estimates that nearly 30,000 family members and friends will accompany the participants to the games, and that more than 60,000 hotel nights have already been booked in relation to the Games.

Local businesses, like Fairfax Athletics (FXA) Social Sports, stand to benefit. The company has been asked to coordinate four events at this year’s games — flag football, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball and dodgeball — and president and founder Jeremy Purcell believes FXA’s involvement in the games could boost business.

“While many competing teams will travel from around the country, and actually, from around the world, a lot will register from right here in the Washington metropolitan area,” Purcell said in a recent news release. “We’re hoping that once these teams get to experience flag football, volleyball and dodgeball – the FXA way – they might sign on as regular competitors. Regardless, it’s a great way for us to become involved in this spectacular event while also giving back to our first responders who do so much for us all year ’round.”

Tysons Corner Center is involving itself in the games as well, hosting a handful of events as well as a festival on the Plaza on Saturday, June 27, honoring the arrival of the games as well as Fairfax’s first responders.

Ted Britt Automotives is the official fleet provider for the games, something that may benefit business but that Ted Britt’s owner say is an honor to take on.

“Ted Britt is proud to support fire and law enforcement workers and Fairfax County,” said Gardner Britt, Jr., President of Ted Britt Automotive Group. “These Games celebrate and honor those who put their lives on the line every day. It is inspiring to see these athletes work so hard to represent the brave men and women who keep us all safe.”

But these games are also rooted in tradition.

Established in 1985, the biennial games have been held in all over the world in places like Stockholm, Sweden; Barcelona, Spain and Melbourne Australia, and participants have made lifelong friends from across the planet through these games.

One past participant, Kevin Tuohy of Mission Viejo, California, admitted he loves the camaraderie of the Games. After serving in the armed forces and as a firefighter for more than 30 years, Tuohy has a lot in common with his former competitors (he admitted he’s somewhat aged out of the physical competitions against first responders in their physical prime), and he’s enjoyed sharing the relationships he’s built at the Games through the years.

“It just means a ton to me. It allows me to stay in touch with communities I’ve lived within the last 35 years,” Tuohy said. “I’ve already had contact with friends all over the country about these Games. They all want to reunite because they know I will be there and I know they will be, too.”

Tuohy will be continuing another tradition at the Games this time around, a tradition he shares with the friends he’s made through the years.

Tuohy’s business, Adrenaline Challenge Coins, makes challenge coins that follow a military and first responder tradition dating back to World War I. As legend has it, the coins once saved the life of an American soldier during the war after he was captured by Germans.

The soldier held the coins secretly, and they were the only thing left in his possession when he escaped Germany for France. It was in France that he used the coins to prove he was indeed an American and not a German spy, and he was allowed to live.

The coins are now used to bond fellow soldiers or first responders. When someone possessing a challenge coin slaps a coin down on the table, every other person at the table with a coin then must do the same. Anyone without their coin on them has to buy a round of drinks, and if everyone has their coin on them, the challenger must buy the drinks.

These challenge coins are now collectors’ items as well, and Tuohy will be on hand selling challenge coins commemorating these games. The proceeds will be donated back to the games, and Tuohy takes great pride in that.

“It’s just something we’ve always done,” Tuohy said. “It gives us a purpose.”