Who’s the Best Warrior of them all?
A week of grueling activities undertaken by law enforcement officers concluded today with the most demanding challenge that tested the wherewithal of the participants. Both the Coastguard and the B.D.F. took part in the challenges that coincide with the twelfth anniversary of the Coastguard. Endurance, physical fitness and mental acumen were elements required throughout the week. A winner emerged today; News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
This morning, several teams of BDF and coastguard officers participated in the final leg of the Best Warrior competition. After a series of grueling challenges, including a log race and a heavy chain sprint, these men were subjected to an obstacle course that pushed them to their mental and physical limits. Ardel Avila, a member of the Coast Guard Special Assignment Group, is one of the few participants to successfully complete the exhaustive encounter.
Ardel Avila, Belize Coast Guard
Ardel Avila
“It’s been a real hell of a week. We went through obstacles that you couldn’t have just described it because it just fatigued the mind, fatigued the body and just took a lot out of each and every single one of the individuals on the team. It was very vigorous, it was a tight competition, however, we came out on top. We came out victorious and we just plan to defend our title again next year.”
The annual challenge is an open invitation for members of law enforcement to take part in the activity. The games began on Tuesday, in commemoration of the coastguard’s twelfth year in existence.
Elton Bennett
Elton Bennett, Organizer, Best Warrior
“It’s the fifth annual Coastguard Best Warrior Competition and it also signifies the coastguard’s anniversary, our twelfth-year anniversary which was the twenty-eighth of November. So the competition started on the twenty-eighth of November, marking the coastguard’s anniversary. We started off with six teams and five of those teams completed the competition. We had four coastguard teams and two invited teams from the BDF. Six events over a four-day period and very tough events.”
Punishing indeed. The last event following the obstacle course is a rope climbing challenge. Very few completed this task and as you can see, at least two men were down for the count and needed medical attention.
Ardel Avila
“I won’t say it’s that difficult because for us to be a part of our unit, you have to do additional training which endures fitness and teamwork, as well as mental work capacity. For this it was a hard one, you had to prepare. You had to prepare both [mentally] and physically for this one. It isn’t one that is very easy. Out of the whole coastguard, the proportion of people that attempt it is a very small proportion and you have to have the real audacity and mind to say that you’re going to complete it because it isn’t hard any at all. It isn’t hard, [at the same time] it isn’t easy any at all. You just have to put your mind to it, whatever you want to achieve, you have to achieve it nothing comes easy.”
Perhaps the highlight of the entire challenge is this training area for the officers, complete with monkey bars, a wall and a high ladder. It’s built to break down any challenger at the end of the first two races.
Elton Bennett
“It’s an obstacle course designed to build confidence at the start, but it has been expanded to be an obstacle course where you do different events leading up to that final crucible activity. As you’ve seen, we did activities with the log races and running around with the chain. That is designed to wear down the team in its physical ability to continue, then you are set free to go on the obstacle course. It includes wire entanglement, crawling through and running over obstacles, going up to the high point on the ladder and then finishing off with the rope climb. As you’ve seen just now, the most physically demanding activity at the end of the day. As you’ve seen the guys struggle to get up that rope after such vigorous events.”
At the end of the challenge, Team CSAG emerged victorious, capturing the coveted title. It is the hope of the Belize Coast Guard to see the participation of the Belize Police Department in future Best Warrior activities.
Isani Cayetano reporting for News Five.
