Competition 2019: A Cooling Oasis in the Concrete Jungle

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by Elizabeth Bouchard, PCI #905-B/EMSCI #213-B
University of Guelph (ON) Campus Community Police
IPMBA Treasurer

Dedicated in 1974, the 4.5-acre Water Gardens is an urban park that was a gift from the Amon G. Carter Foundation to the citizens of Fort Worth. It is a popular place for residents and visitors to gather and enjoy a respite from city life. Those who read the article, “The Great British Menu: It’s a Sinch for Lynch” in the final 2018 issue of IPMBA News might find it strangely coincidental that it was not only used in the filming of Logan’s Run (starring Tom Lynch’s crush, Jenny Agutter), it was also the site of the 2019 IPMBA competition.

Created by architect Philip Johnson, the Water Gardens is described by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (tclf.org) as: “angular, polygonal forms of concrete, water, and vegetation (that) shift and undulate across the park. The series of walkways, pools, terraces, and a central plaza create varied spaces that are open, closed, sunken, raised, private, and public. The three main pools celebrate different characteristics of water. The Quiet Pool features a sheet of water falling down into a still, sunken pool surrounded by bald cypress, while the Dancing Pool boasts forty aerating fountains. The highlight of the park is the Active Pool, where water rushes down steep, stone steps to a roaring gorge forty feet below.”

Alternatively, the park is described on Wikipedia.com as “a cooling oasis in the concrete jungle of downtown”. However, the packed field of 54 participants in this year’s competition might have a different take on the Fort Worth Water Gardens – grueling!

Being one of the lengthier courses in recent IPMBA history, it tested the competitors’ fitness along with their bike-handling skills. Designed by Dayton (OH) Police Department’s Jeff Brown and Saint Paul (MN) Police Department’s Jason Bain, the course made excellent use of Johnson’s “angular, polygonal forms of concrete, water and vegetation” as well as the “varied spaces that are open, closed, sunken, raised, private, and public”.

Spanning nearly the entire length of the park, the course wound around all three water features and was comprised of some tight technical lines while taking advantage of the park’s many, many, many sets of stairs!

Starting at the back side of the park’s concrete “Mountain”, competitors took off down a series of stairs, splitting cones along the way. Some tight corners warmed the competitors up for a hair-raising tight turn right at the top of the Active Pool, giving them a bird’s eye view of the waterfall as it plummeted forty feet to the chasm below.

Competitors then descended more stairs into the central plaza, where they were cheered on by the crowd as they tackled a tricky teeter-totter that claimed a few victims. A long pull up a ramp and then down yet another set of stairs led riders to the sunken Dancing Pool. There was little chance to enjoy the pool’s famed cooling mist as they were faced with more tight turns, a railroad tie obstacle, and a technical stair ascent.

After a sprint around the Quiet Pool’s cypress trees, competitors finished the course in the blazing Texas heat (“it’s a dry heat”) by climbing a series of stairs that led them back to the “Mountain”. It surely must have felt like they had climbed a real one as they crossed the finish line!

The top three competitors were the only individuals who came in under the 2:10 mark. Jerry Profeta of Frisco (TX) Police Department was the fastest this year with a blistering time of 2:04:43. He was followed by Brian Cantele of West Hartford (CT) Police Department with a time of 2:08:07. Brian has only improved with age; last time he competed, in 2006, he was the top third finisher behind Jason Schiffer and – you guessed it – Tom Lynch.

Rounding out top three was Jacob Coyle of Castle Rock (CO) Police Department with a time of 2:09:31. Not coincidentally, Jerry and Jacob were the top two finishers in the age 30-39 bracket, while Brian clinched the top spot in the 40-49 age group.

On the women’s side, emergency medical services were well-represented, or was it vice-versa? The top competitors were: Aimie Charron of Cypress Creek (TX) EMS with a time of 3:30:03; Rachel Ramos, also of Cypress Creek EMS, with a time 4:19:30; and Christine Guidry of New Orleans (LA) EMS who finished in 4:21:33.

The fastest team time of 10:29:27 belonged to Hint of Maple Syrup, comprised of Philip Moya, Brian Shannon, and Eric Place, all of Albuquerque (NM) Police Department, and the mysterious hint of maple – Mario Deschamps of the University of Guelph (ON) Campus Community Police.

Ken Wang, Dario Moreno, Joshua Storm, and Jerry Profeta of Frisco (TX) Police Department comprised team Frisco A, who made a good show of things with a total time of 10:33:07.

Coming in third place was team Goat Wives from Tennessee with a time 10:49:09. The Goat Wives, who might have had the best team name of the year, were comprised of John Canter of Memphis (TN) Police Department, Thomas Turner of Knoxville (TN) Police Department as well as Austen Schlecht and Jacob Coyle, both of Castle Rock (CO) Police Department. Inquiring minds want to know: is the name inspired by the Tennessee fainting goats, or the acronym G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time)?

This was the second year of the e-Bike Category, and the field increased to include three participants: Romain Taupier of Trek Bicycle Corporation and IPMBA e-Bike Task Force Members Erik Pearce of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Clint Sandusky, retired from the Riverside Community College (CA) Police Department. As Erik remarked, “e-Bikes love stairs”, so perhaps the Water Gardens were the ideal venue to test the mettle of the e-Bikes being ridden by the contestants as well as the competitors’ e-Bike handling abilities.

Congratulations to all who participated! The IPMBA obstacle course competition, while designed to put public safety cycling skills to the test, is not just for the top-tier riders. Riders at all skill levels are encouraged and welcome to join the fun and vie for medals and bragging rights.

The competition would not have been a success without the efforts of the many volunteers who acted as course developers, marshals, time-keepers, and spotters – and of course, the always entertaining emcee, Bobby Sellers. Many thanks to you all!

Next year, the conference shifts to Jeff Brown’s home turf of Dayton, Ohio. He claims that 2020 will be his swan song for competition course design; while we certainly hope that’s not the case, we’re excited to see what emerges from his diabolical mind!

2019 Competition Results

— Individual Competition —

Female Under 30
Rachel Ramos, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 4:19.30
Sarah Euliss, Guilford County (NC) EMS: 4:29.03

Female 30+
Amie Charron, Cypress Creek (TX) EMS: 3:30.03
Christine Guidry, New Orleans (LA) EMS: 4:21.33

Male Under 30
Nathan Becker, College Station (TX) PD: 2:17.09
Kyle Fisher, Lehigh University (PA) PD: 2:25.53

Male 30-39
Jerry Profeta, Fresco (TX) PD: 2:04.43
****First Overall****
Jacob Coyle, Castle Rock (CO) PD: 2:09.31
****Third Overall****

Male 40-49
Brian Cantele, West Hartford (CT) PD: 2:08.07
****Second Overall****
Allen Daniels, Bowdoin College (ME) Office of Safety and Security: 2:12.18

Male 50-59
Mario Deschamps, University of Guelph (ON) Campus Community Police: 2:35.02
Eddy Croissant, Tampa (FL) PD: 2:49.10

Male 60 Plus
Rance Okada, Westminster (CO) PD (ret.): 2:53.13

— Team Competition —

Hint of Maple Syrup: 10:29:27
Mario Deschamps, University of Guelph (ON) Campus Community Police: 2:35.02
Philip Moya, Albuquerque (NM) PD: 2:26.02
Eric Place, Albuquerque (NM) PD: 2:53.22
Brian Shannon, Albuquerque (NM) PD: 2:35.01

Frisco A: 10:33:07
Dario Moreno, Frisco (TX) PD: 2:57.00
Jerry Profeta, Frisco (TX) PD: 2:04.43
Joshua Storm, Frisco (TX) PD: 2:18.28
Ken Wang, Frisco (TX) PD: 3:12.56

Goat Wives from Tennessee: 10:49.09
John Canter, Memphis (TN) PD: 3:26.07
Jacob Coyle, Castle Rock (CO) PD: 2:09.31
Thomas Turner, Knoxville (TN) PD: 2:48.03
Austen Schlecht, Castle Rock (CO) PD: 2:25.28