The 2011 World Police and Fire Games: A terrible disappointment

Here is a copy of my letter that is being sent throughout the WPFG organization, as well as to the Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management (a department in the NYC mayor's office):

To whom it may concern,

I am a professional firefighter/paramedic and competitive road cyclist that recently participated in the 2011 World Police and Fire Games that were hosted by the city of New York. To say that they were an atrocity is an understatement. This event saw nearly 17,000 registered athletes from around the world. I can honestly say that I have never been a part of an event that has been so disorganized and mismanaged. While it’s true that the weather (Hurricane Irene) had an effect on the games, the issues listed below are completely human in origin, and could have been either avoided or corrected if any attention to detail had been put forth. I am embarrassed to have been the hosting country for these events, and I have apologized to several international competitors on the behalf of New York City, although it is clearly not my responsibility to do so. This unfortunate outcome reflects poorly on the World Police and Fire Games organization, New York City, and the United States of America. I am personally considering not attending future WPFG events, and I can only imagine that international competitors are of the same opinion.

The credentialing system was a joke. Prior to the opening ceremony (for months), we were told that athletes and guests WOULD NOT be allowed to enter any WPFG venues unless credentials were presented. We were required to pay for guests’ credentials. NOT ONCE were we required to show them, and the majority of the time, athletes and guests were not even wearing them. Also, if the events are free and open to the public, why were our guests required to pay to be credentialed? It was a complete waste of money for us. We were also assured that by taking care of our credentials via the internet prior to arriving at the Javits Center, we would be “Fast Tracked” through registration. Some athletes waited as long as 4 hours to be “Fast Tracked”, and one of my teammates even had to return another day. This process needs to be fixed prior to the next games.

The disorganization was evident weeks, if not months before the opening ceremony. The cycling events changed venues and dates multiple times, and  the official schedule did not come out on time as promised. The WPFG Connect Platform  and the Facebook page were riddled with comments from competitors who had already paid a great deal of money, and then were finding out their sports had changed dates/times a mere two weeks prior to the start of the games (at the time, this had NOTHING to do with the weather). To compound the issue, volunteers had still not received their assignments or locations/times even as of the opening ceremony.

Once the opening ceremony was held, events began to be listed as “canceled”, understandably, due to the weather. After the storm had passed, slowly we received information about new dates and venues for events.  The time trial was the first cycling event to take place, which was held at it’s original location. This location was unsafe and unfit to serve as a time trial course. There were weeds growing out of cracks in the pavement throughout the course, and the turns had sand on them. Clearly, no attention had been given to preparing the course prior to having bicycles race on it. Start times were changed without notifying athletes, and the bus that transported athletes from the Javits Center to the venue was 2 hours late, causing an enormous confusion at the start. Expensive bikes were carelessly stacked onto a trailer, causing damage to several of them. To make matters worse, no official timing system was used, causing some athletes to either receive incorrect rankings, and one of my teammates was not scored at all. One of the event coordinators actually took an athlete’s personal time that was recorded using his own bike computer as an official time. The worst part of the time trial was the fact that there were NO restrooms present. ELDERLY SPECTATORS AND YOUNG CHILDREN WERE FORCED TO SQUAT IN THE BUSHES TO RELIEVE THEMSELVES. This is embarrassing for everybody and unacceptable.

During the criterium, we were notified the day before about the new venue. The event coordinator from the mayor’s office stated in a casual conversation that the WPFG knew about the change 4 days prior. This is a serious lack of communication, especially since the beginning of the race was delayed approximately 1 hour because the police force on Coney Island was not ready to secure the street for the event. Cars were towed from the course, although there was no signage or prior warning that a race would be taking place. This is not fair to the owners of the cars. Another frustrating issue concerning the criterium  is the fact that an “out and back” format was used for the course – different from any criterium that any of the athletes had ever been a part of, and certainly not a typical criterium course. Thirty minutes prior to the start of the race, the officials still did not know where the course was going to be. We even had a “false start” of sorts, when the officials began the men’s “open” class, but then the racers were forced to stop by the local police captain, because he was not ready to begin, which delayed the race ANOTHER 25 minutes. These delays and multiple starts are detrimental to athletic performance, as nutrition and fuel are very closely calculated to insure maximum performance. I would like to inform you that my teammates and I worked extremely hard during this race, and performed well, however, there have been no official results posted for that event.

The cycling road race that was held in Central Park on 9/2/11 was a complete failure. First of all (and once again), the race was delayed for over an hour while the organizers worked to secure the course. Secure is a loose term here, as the course was anything but closed (to begin with, the police officers in the park had no idea that there was a bike race that day, and thought that we were there to get in line for the Mary J. Blige concert. Who has the right mind to schedule these two events on the same day at the same venue??). The race was given a 0600hrs start time, but we were sharply advised after registration that the race could not begin until sunrise. If that is true, why would we be given a start time that is at least 30 minutes prior? To compound my frustration, I was nearly hit by a garbage truck that veered onto the race course, the fitness path users intermingled with the race packs, and there was a collision involving the racers and a pedestrian that resulted in injuries and damaged equipment. The road race started so late that the men’s “open” race was shortened 12 miles, which seems minor considering all the other issues, but it is still unfair to make that change at the last minute. Once again, my teammates and I worked very hard during this race, and to date, there are still incomplete results for this event.

After the chaos that was the racing on Friday, I decided to attend the cycling road race that was held on 9/3/11 as a spectator, to see if there were any improvements. Although the race started much more smoothly, I witnessed several activities that would be considered cheating, including racers using “aero” bars (a 9% speed advantage over drop bars), and male riders (not wearing bib numbers) pacing and “pulling” a female racer that was competing. Due to the lack of supervising during the race, these things went unnoticed, and are not fair or acceptable for any competition, especially for games of this magnitude.

To date, full results for the cycling events have still not been published. An email that was sent from the email address of the WPFG, stated that “we are not professional athletes, although some of us like to think we are”. This is an arrogant, rude, bold statement. This statement is clearly made by a non-athlete who does not know what it is like to train for 2 years for an event (also, considering there WERE, indeed, professional, semi-professional, and retired professional athletes in attendance). Athletes that attended these games trained and prepared day and night, through illness and injury, and spent a great deal of money not only in preparation, but in attending the events, only to have comments like the one above made. To not fully or adequately score an event is unacceptable. First, second, and third places are NOT the only ones that matter. Every athlete needs to know how their efforts have paid off, especially on an international stage. I personally feel that I wasted my entire competitive season in preparation for the 2011 WPFG, and at this point, I may never know how my performance measured against my colleagues from around the world.

I would also like to address the behavior and comments of Mr. David Somerville. He behaved and spoke unprofessionally and rudely each time that I encountered him.  At one point, while I was racing at Friday’s road race, he became involved in an argument with my wife. An act that my wife is willing to dismiss, but is still worth mentioning, as it is not the behavior that a representative of the WPFG should display. He also continuously made comments that undermined the importance of properly scoring an event such as, “I don’t know why somebody is bothering me about 15^th place” or “The hard part is done now, we’re only going to score first, second, and third place”. He also laughed at the lack of organization when it was mentioned by competitors , and refused to answer questions regarding the reasons that events were not being scored fully/properly. Clearly, Mr. Somerville does not take the sport of cycling seriously, and should not be included in future WPFG cycling events.

Overall, the 2011 World Police and Fire Games were a negative experience for me. The mission statement on the WPFG website stated  “to provide the best possible sporting venues combined with world-class officiating”. What a complete sham. I truly hope that you can understand my disappointment, as I targeted these events for 2 years, only to have them handled as a joke by those in charge of organizing them. It only takes a glance at the WPFG Connect Platform message board, or the Facebook page to see that the majority of the athletes that were in attendance, regardless of sport or discipline, were disappointed and are angry. The World Police and Fire Games and  the city of New York should be ashamed and embarrassed, and a formal apology is warranted.  A city that bid to host a games of this magnitude (and knew YEARS in advance) had plenty of time to prepare for it, complete with contingencies in place, and the WPFG organization should have overseen the operations more closely. Both parties KNEW and advertised that this would be the largest games ever, but treated it (and the athletes) as if they were unimportant and second-rate. I may never attend another WPFG event, and I will be more-than-willing to share my experience with others.

Sincerely,

Jason Stottlemyer

Firefighter/Paramedic

Athlete #3669