Checking for CF: Public Safety on Ice

Minnesotans love hockey. Put a jersey, pads and a pair of skates on a public service provider and throw in a worthwhile charity, and you have a trifecta, says Andy Peter, a paramedic at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis and principal organizer of the upcoming Checking for CF Public Safety Hockey Tournament. "It can't go wrong," he says.

Peter, a transplant from Nebraska, had never played hockey and had only been on skates twice in his life--until a newborn niece was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and Peter and his wife began looking for a way to contribute to research for her condition.

"HCMC was already involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through its annual Climb for a Cure--a race up the stairs of the IDS building in downtown Minneapolis--which has a huge public safety component that raises about $200,000 a year," says Peter. "We realized we had a connection to CF through work and our personal lives and wondered if we could add a hockey tournament. When I emailed the Minnesota chapter of the CF Foundation to ask about it, they said, 'Absolutely. We've always wanted to do this.'"

At the time, says Peter, there were only a couple of public safety hockey teams around the Metro area. Within 3 months of cold calls to EMS, fire and police departments around the Twin Cities, eight teams had been organized and were ready to play.

On February 27, 12 public safety teams will gather at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, MN, for the all-day, second annual tournament. The goal this year is to raise $25,000 for CF research. Each team, Peter explains, is asked to donate at least $1,500.

"Obviously, some teams won't get that much and some will get more," he says. "We just ask that they do their best. In the end, we have to cover expenses, most of which goes to pay for ice time, but everything else goes to the CF Foundation. Last year, $3,000 went for expenses and the other $10,000 went to the Foundation."

And what do the teams get for their effort? "In public safety, the natural rivalry between agencies is always a reward for beating each other," says Peter. "Bragging rights are the biggest prize of all."

Participants in this year's competition include teams from HCMC, Healtheast, North Memorial and Allina EMS, St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments, Roseville and New Brighton Fire, Woodbury Police/Fire, Eagan P.D. and Excelsior Fire. One team is even coming from Superior, WI, Fire Department.

The tournament is free and open to the public, says Peter, but there will be contests people can pay to participate in, merchandise for sale, and drawings for prizes donated by local merchants.

"People can also go to our website at www.hennepingenerals.org for more information about the tournament, and can donate to the CF Foundation at www.cff.org," says Peter. "Both the public safety and lay communities have supported this from Day 1. Nobody ever doubted it would work, which is really cool, and it shows the camaraderie between police, fire and EMS."