This weekend Drumheller has the rare opportunity to see some of Canada’s finest firemen and women take on the toughest two minutes in sports.
    The Drumheller Fire Department is hosting a regional     FireFit Championship event on September 9-11 in the shadow of the World’s Largest Dinosaur. Organizer Deputy Chief Duane Bolin says registrations are picking up.
    “It was a really slow start, but in the last 6-8 days teams are really starting to sign up,” said Bolin.
    There is a chance that spectators will get to see some of the best competitors from across the country because the next week, the national championship is being held at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. Bolin says they are seeing competitors from as far east as Halifax to Kamloops to the west, and from Fort McMurray in the north.
    “We could get some last minute registrations from down east, we’ll see,” said Bolin.
    The local department is also very active and has 10 individual racers taking part. He would like to see participation from surrounding departments.
    “I always say come out and do the team relay and see what it is like. If you like the relay, next time try the individual course,” said Bolin.
    Before the real athletes take to the course, Drumheller has the chance to see some average Joes take on the course.
    On Friday evening, the weekend kicks off with the corporate challenge. This is a chance for locals to form a relay team and compete head to head on the official course.  The corporate challenge participants have the luxury of not wearing the heavy turnout gear or Scott Air Pack.     
    Bolin expects there will be 12 teams taking on the course, representing a number of local community members, organizations and businesses.
    The competition starts at 5:30 p.m. and each team will get two runs, with the top teams competing for the prize.
    This is a great taste of competition, but the real athletes come out on Saturday.
    Opening Ceremonies are at 10:45 a.m., and the first individual competitors hit the course at 11 a.m.  While they call it the toughest two minutes in sports, the top competitors’ times are below 1:30.
    The team events will be held Sunday. There is a relay event with 3-5 competitors taking on the course, as well as the 2-man X3 relay.
    “The X3 Relay is where you do the whole course with two people and you do an oxygen bottle swap on your Scott Air Pack in the middle of it,” explains Bolin.
    An Awards Banquet for the competitors takes place at the Cretaceous Conference Room on Saturday night.

    This Saturday, Branch 22 Drumheller of the Royal Canadian Legion is celebrating 90 years of serving veterans and the wider community.
    This is the 90th year of the Alberta Northwest Territories Command, and is also 90 years of the Drumheller Legion.
    On November 15, 1926, the Drumheller Legion received its charter under the official banner of “The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League.”  However, according to the Hills of Home, its roots go back to 1918, after World War I when it began operations as the Great War Veterans Association.
    From 1926 to 1956, it continued its affiliation with the British Empire Service League, and then was known as a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
    In 1928, it built its hall on Centre Street, where it remains today. After World War II, it was extended. In 1967, the basement with a kitchen and main floor on the west side was added.
    One of the Legion’s greatest legacy projects was built in 1937. A.J. Briggs approached The City of Drumheller for a donation to construct a Cenotaph. A plaque bearing the names of those who fell was taken from Council Chambers and turned over to the Legion, and CNR allowed the Cenotaph to be erected on Centre Street next to the former railway station. Then in 1971, the Cenotaph was moved to Centennial Park along the Red Deer River, and now is on Veterans Way in front of the Badlands Community Facility.
    All the while, the Legion continued to serve veterans and the community.
    “I think the community thinks the Legion is an old boys club, they don’t realize there is youth involvement,” said past president Deb Bolduc. “We support sports and there is an important youth Track and Field program. The Legion supports the Cubs, the Scouts and Cadets, and those kinds of programs.”
    “The Legion is here to help the community as much as we can. Most importantly our veterans,” she said, adding, “People think that just because they are not a member they can’t come into the Legion, and that is wrong.”
    She explains that the Alberta Northwest Territories Command has also turned 90, and to mark the occasion the local branch is inviting the community in.
    “We are hosting for District 9,” said Bolduc. “We are hosting a Community Open House to get the community to come in and seen what the Legion is about and what we have done in the past.”
    The Open House is Saturday, September 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and includes kids activities, beef on a bun and displays on membership, and the Poppy Fund, to name a few.