World’s best coming to Sudbury for mining games – by Keith Dempsey (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2015)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The Nickel City will host the 2016 International Mines Rescue Competition. Hosted by Workplace Safety North and Ontario Mine Rescue, the event will bring mine rescue teams from around the world for the competition, which will be held from Aug. 19-Aug. 26.

Vale, Glencore, KGHM, Goldcorp and Drager are sponsoring the event.

“Quite frankly, the competition we’ll see is second to none,” Alex Gryska, Canada International Mines Rescue Competition co-ordinator, said. “If you take a look at this event, you’re going to have volunteers and full-timers (taking part), so you’ll have individuals that are in this event who are full-time mine rescue responders, so the level of capability will be extremely high.”

Hosting the International Mines Rescue Competition in Canada has been something Gryska has been chasing for years.

“I’ve been connected with the International Mines Rescue body since 2001, and my colleagues oversee mine rescue in their respective organizations, so I’ve been connected with them,” Gryska said. “Last year, when I was in Poland, (my colleagues) worked hard on me to host the event, and I then connected with my boss. Quite frankly, (hosting) this was a no-brainer. As for me, recently retired, I’m doing this because I’m so passionate about it.”

“It’s the brotherhood,” Gryska added about what he enjoys of the competition. “This brings people together. We are industry leaders when it comes to safety, so we have lots to share. From my perspective, what it’s going to do, is help people realize how we operate in Canada, in Ontario, how we do the things we do.”

Organizers are expecting this to be the largest international competition. Roughly 30 teams representing 20 countries will compete in different events including a simulated emergency scenario, firefighting, first aid and more.

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