A group of Prince Albert cadets will take on select members from Prince Albert’s fire, police, and ambulance services in a friendly competition to raise money for those in need.
Cops vs Cadets: The Hunger Games pits members from the PAGC First Nations Cadet Corp and Royal Canadian Air Cadets against representatives from the Prince Albert Police Service, Prince Albert RCMP, Parkland Ambulance, and the International Association of Firefighters Local 510. PAGC Justice Director Rick Sanderson said they’re glad to have local emergency services personal take part.
“We used to have yearly competitions against the local police,” Sanderson explained. “We just called it cops versus cadets, and this year we decided to expand it and invite all emergency services to take part in it. It gives our kids a chance to be exposed to certain careers, and then to get to know the people on a more personal level also.”
The First Nations cadet corps has 52 members from Prince Albert, Red Earth Cree Nation, and Sturgeon Lake. They’ll join emergency services personnel to compete in volleyball, dodgeball, an egg toss, and a blindman race, where one person will have to give their blindfolded partner instructions on how to retrieve items and bring them back to their home base.
The team that finishes all four events with the most points will be crowned Hunger Games Champion.
“The main part of it was just to get the kids exposed to the different careers and to have some fun with these guys,” Sanderson said. “Then we figured we’ll just throw in a little charity on it to there to help out our food bank.”
During the leadup to the event, cadets and emergency services personnel raised money to purchase food hampers for the Prince Albert food bank and pre-approved families. The group that raises the most money will win the Christmas Spirit Cup.
Admission is by donation. Organizers have asked for canned/non-perishable food or toys.
Sanderson said there are a lot of Prince Albert residents who could use a helping hand around Christmas. He’s hopeful the event will help fill that need.
“There’s a lot of need for the food, for sure,” he said. “Our office is just down the street from the food bank and you can see the lineups there all the time. We’ve got to get the food in their hands somehow and so I figured the best way was dry goods for admission, and get each team to raise some funds for hampers they can use.”
Cops vs. Cadets: The Hunger Games begins at 6 p.m. at the Prince Albert Grand Council Urban Services Gym on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
