You had me at... Dec 12

Back in December and then again for a bit in January I stayed with Steve, an airbnb host - the one who lives in the fancy hotel. Steve is a fireman. Here in Victoria, the volunteer firemen have competitions, or “comps” as Australians call them. Steve is part of a comp brigade, so Saturdays he goes off to a comp all day, unless there's a brush fire in the area and they have to put it out. The comps run all summer – that is, November through March. 

In my early conversations with Steve about the comps, they struck me a bit like a lumberjack tournament but with fire-fighter specific tasks. So instead of climbing trees with spiky cleats, they climb ladders. Instead of running on top of logs in water, they run carrying hydrants. I don't know if anyone makes a chair out of a log with a fire axe, but you get the idea. Here's a video I found on YouTube that explains a bit more about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unSu4Q1xt-s

Like any respectable sporting series, there are specific comps where the points add up to an overall season championship, and there are comps that get you into the Victorian State Championships. Not every firefighter is part of a competition brigade because it takes quite a lot of time. They practice 4 hours every Wednesday night and then travel to comps all over Victoria on weekends. “It’s good for your fitness,” Steve said. And since I’ve never seen him take the stairs any way but 3 at a time without getting winded, I’d say it’s true. 

Sometime in December, after a 30 minute discussion about it, including an invite to come and watch some weekend, Steve said to me, “Have I sold you on it yet?” 

My response, “You had me at ‘firemen.’”