Competition 2015: Devious Design

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by Mike Harris, PCI #1125, Mill Creek (WA) Police Department, IPMBA Treasurer

The 25th IPMBA Conference Competition was held at A. J. Chandler Park in beautiful downtown Chandler, Arizona.

The park is the centerpiece of the business district, which is home to many dining and shopping establishments as well as community events. The Chandler Art Walk was in full swing the evening of the competition, which brought some extra spectators.

After a short parade through downtown, the competitors arrived at a challenging and flowing course designed by the Chandler Police Department’s devious competition design team, headed by Officer Kyle Jordan.

The park provided the design team with a variety of visually interesting and challenging obstacles around which to construct the course. They maximized the potential of the site by incorporating fountains, bridges, swales, and sculptures into the design.

After the course was deemed safe and the customary walk-through and safety briefing was complete, the event got underway.

Competitors launched from the starting gate, first entering a winding cone course leading to a set of stairs. Not surprising due to the southwest desert climate, the drop from the stairs was onto a sandy surface, which is always a bit tricky.

The competitors continued to weave their way around cones and over a mini-bridge, up a ramp, along a sweeping curve in the grass, back down a ramp and once again over the mini-bridge. That mini-bridge was constructed over a fountain with a potentially difficult gap to navigate on both sides. Then, a seemingly innocuous tight serpentine lay in wait, ready to trip up even the most skilled riders, some of whom initially missed it and were compelled to follow the dreaded order to “go back!”

Several more sinuous cone sections, a figure eight, and a set of stairs led to the second half of the course. There, the builders had positioned a deviously designed ramp, the likes of which have never been seen in the IPMBA Competition.

At the top of the ramp was a table-top that gave the appearance of having a big drop to the ground, but at the end, the top dropped down like the second half of a teeter-totter to return the rider to the course.

Unofficially known as a “drop bridge”, it was promptly dubbed the “Workers’ Compensation Memorial Bridge” by Allan Howard, one of the original board members serving as spotters to help ensure that no-one got hurt.

After the drop bridge, the competitors continued down a set of stairs into the other half of the course, where a mini pump track and teeter-totter lead back to the stairs and up to the finish.

As always, the competition was a fierce battle to the end. Much to everyone’s surprise, no-one under the age of 30 attempted the competition. What is up with that? Perhaps the fact that the older generation has taken top honors for the past few years caused some concern with the younger crowd. Hopefully in the future, we will see the under-30 crowd at least attempt to unseat the older riders in the group.

Not coincidentally, the top four riders in the public safety category were all over 30 years of age. This year’s first place winner was also a first time attendee and first time competition rider – Jacob Coyle (age 32; Castle Rock CO Police), who had the winning time of 1:51.43. In second place was Roger Pfister (age 45; Kantonspolizei Bern, Switzerland) with a time of 1:53.01. In third place was Evan Coward (age 33; Asheville NC Police) with a time of 1:57.77. Rounding out fourth place was Matthew Karnowski (age 35; Saint Louis MO Metropolitan Police), at 2:03.87.

Rebecca Carlile (age 39; Cypress Creek TX EMS/Waller County Sheriff’s Office), was the sole representative of women in public safety cycling . Despite some mechanical issues, she finished with a solid 3:36.06.

The team competition was as brutal as ever. Team “Anteater” took the first place ribbon with a time of 10:04.93. In second place was team “Hypoxic”, with a time of 10:51.07. Third place was captured by “Three Cops and a Medic”, with a time of 11:20.64.

In the open category, it was a race between the owner of Volcanic Bicycles, Eric Kackley (age 46), and new Volcanic employee Robert Mooney (age 38). Robert’s time of 2:07.73 bested Eric’s time of 2:18.08. Maybe not the best way to start one’s employment…but that serpentine may have had something to do with it.

Medals were awarded during the awards ceremony held at the Chandler City Hall Mezzanine. We were honored that founding board members Allan Howard, Kirby Beck, Tom Woods, Joe Martin, Gary Gallinot, and Stu Bracken handed out the medals and that they each shared a story about the early days of IPMBA.

Congratulations to the riders who participated in the competition this year. We look forward to the 26th Annual IPMBA Conference Competition in Asheville, North Carolina.

Younger generation take heed: Evan Coward won’t be eligible to win!

Competition 2015 Results

Individual Competition

Female 30+
Rebecca Carlile, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 3:36.06

Male 30-39
Jacob Coyle, Castle Rock (CO) Police: 01:51.53
****First Overall****
Evan Coward, Asheville (NC) Police: 1:57.77

Male 40-49
Roger Pfister, Kantonspolizei Bern: 1:53.01
****Second Overall****
Scott Bixby, University of Buffalo (NY) Police: 2:04.37

Male 50+
Mitch Trujillo, Boulder (CO) Police: 2:09.84
Eddy Croissant, Tampa (FL) Police: 2:11.55

Team Competition

Anteater: 10:04.93
Matthew Karnowski, Saint Louis MO) Metropolitan Police: 2:03.87
Mitch Trujillo, Boulder (CO) Police: 2:09.84
Clint Sandusky, Riverside Community College (CA) Police: 2:15.16
Rebecca Carlile, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 3:36.06

Hypoxic: 10:51.07
Jeff Taylor, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 2:09.86
Bobby Sellers, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 2:11.71
Eric Barnes, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 2:26.79
Joe Kiff, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 4:02.71

Three Cops and a Medic: 11:20.64
Mike Hudspeth, Guilford County (NC) EMS: 2:10.51
David Millican, Denton (TX) Police: 2:21.27
Clint Webb, Denton (TX) Police: 2.58.64
Donnie Carr, Denton (TX) Police: 3:50.22