2007 SARSCENE Games
Victoria, British Columbia

A beautiful autumn morning greeted competitors, judges, and volunteers supporting the 2007 SARSCENE Games, on Wednesday October 17th at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia. The jewel of Victoria's southern waterfront, Beacon Hill Park offered a backdrop for the Games which was steeped both in history and natural beauty.

Photos by Jae-Sang Park and other contributors

• The Competitors
• The Challenge
• The Champions
• Those who made it all happen
• St. John's 2008

The Competitors

Eight teams from across Canada were represented this year, with volunteer teams predominating. Two teams also came all the way from Ireland and the eastern United States, bringing a welcome international dimension to the 2007 competition:

The judging staff was also diverse, including SAR specialists - both volunteer and paid professionals -- from across Canada and beyond. A full list follows. The Auxiliary Communications Service of the Victoria Emergency Management Agency provided seamless communications as well as the games command post, and the British Columbia Ambulance Service was on standby for medical emergencies.

Volunteers from the province's Emergency Social Services also supported the Games by managing the distribution of boxed lunches. As always, the Games would not have been a success without the hard work of many, including volunteers from the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association and several other agencies who set up the stations in the pre-dawn hours, and cleared the site at the end of a long day. Their efforts are gratefully acknowledged. A full listing can be found here.

The Challenge

The four-person teams were assessed on their performance through six stations. In 2007, these events were:

1. Survival Skills

A Search and Rescue (SAR) team dispatched to a rural or wilderness area must be prepared to provide basic survival support both for themselves and for the lost persons they hope to find. In this year's event, teams were assessed on their ability to construct an improvised shelter, a ground-to-air signal, and a small heat fire to boil water. Teamwork, innovation, and efficiency were also assessed during the event.

2. Navigation

Back-to-basics: Competitors had to successfully negotiate two navigation courses, and Victoria's 20 degrees East declination, using only compass bearings and paced distances. At the end of each course, both elapsed time and accuracy were measured. This turned out to be quite a challenge for those used to operating in the Global Positioning System (GPS) environment!

3. Emergency Scene Management / Medical

When a SAR team arrives at the scene of an incident, members must be prepared to manage it through to the rescue phase, or until other expert resources arrive. In this event, teams were challenged to manage the aftermath of a light airplane crash involving multiple casualties. In addition to the assessment and treatment of casualties, teams were also evaluated on their consideration of scene safety, their teamwork and organization, and their ability to report on their casualties' condition.

4. Skills Relay

This relay-type event challenged teams with a quiz of general SAR knowledge; individual and team knot-tying exercises; and a line-throwing event. Precision and accuracy in line throwing is an important skill, particularly for those involved in marine, ice, cliff, and swift water rescues. Whether it involves heaving a towline to a disabled vessel or a rescue line to a person in the water, a rapid and accurate throw is required. Otherwise, wind or sea state may quickly widen the distance beyond which a hand-thrown line may be effective. Skills aside, this event provided good entertainment as team members cheered one another on!

5. Search Management

Decisions made at the early stages of a search can dramatically affect its course and outcome. Sound initial planning and structuring are critical to success, but are often challenged by limited time, partial case information, and uncertain resources. In this event, teams were presented with a search scenario, and then evaluated against a variety of criteria as they developed an initial management and response strategy.

6. Detection (Visual Search Effectiveness)

Accompanied by a judge, each team member had to scan the terrain on either side of a defined search path through dense woods, identifying any objects of interest observed in their visual sweep. Clothing, personal effects, refuse, and mannequins were planted along the course. The competitors set their own pace to complete their search, but scoring was based on highest efficiency - i.e. the best ratio of time to the number of items detected.

The Champions

All of the teams returned enthusiastic and professional performances over the course of the day, with only a narrow point spread separating several competitors.

Overall medals were awarded as follows:

First place:	Photos by Jae-Sang Park and other contributors
	Gulf Islands National Park Reserve "Tsunami" British Columbia
Second place:	Photos by Jae-Sang Park and other contributors
	La Sûreté du Québec, Montréal Division
Third place:	Photos by Jae-Sang Park and other contributors
	Irish Coast Guard

The 2007 SARSCENE Games also featured a special prize for the best overall performance by an all-volunteer team. In recognition of their 4th place finish, Coquitlam SAR Two received four land mobile transceivers from ICOM Canada. The National Search and Rescue Secretariat is very grateful for this generous support.

Coquitlam Search and Rescue Two, Coquitlam, British Columbia

Those who made it all happen:

The SARSCENE Games could not happen without the work of many. A big thank-you to all the teams and judges who supported the 2007 SARSCENE Games, particularly for your energy and enthusiasm; your dedication of time and resources; and your willingness to share your SAR skills and knowledge with one another.

Judges/Evaluators/Designers

3 Wing Bagotville Ground SAR Team 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Comox BC Adventuresmart Program BC Ambulance Service Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, Pacific Region Canadian Forces Air Command Comox Valley SAR Edmonton Office of Emergency Preparedness Emergency Response Institute, Canada Foothills SAR Hamilton SAR Group, New Zealand Justice Institute of British Columbia Ladysmith SAR Ontario Provincial Police Parks Canada Public Safety Specialists Rossland SAR Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada Sirius Wilderness Medicine Victoria SAR Washington State Emergency Management Division

Photos by Jae-Sang Park and other contributors

Supporting agencies and organizations

British Columbia Ambulance Service
British Columbia Emergency Social Services
British Columbia Search and Rescue Association
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt
City of Victoria Parks Division
Coquitlam Search and Rescue
Victoria Emergency Management Agency & Auxiliary Communications Section

St. John's 2008

Who will take the SARSCENE Games Cup home in 2008? Stay tuned for next year's event in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, scheduled for Wednesday October 15th, 2008. Check back with the National Search and Rescue Secretariat website for more information on dates, times, and how to register your team as October 2008 approaches.

Back to SARSCENE 2007