October 2002

A police officer vaults a wall during the LawFit Trooper Challenge.

National Center for Public Safety Fitness Hosts Trooper Challenge

By Jeremy Lasich

State troopers and highway patrol officers from across the country convened at George Mason's Field House on Sept. 5 and 6 for the first annual LawFit Trooper Challenge, sponsored by the newly created National Center for Public Safety Fitness. The event challenges officers to develop healthy lifestyles and rewards those who excel in physical fitness.

Ten teams competed in a series of fitness and job-related competitive events. Each team consisted of four of its state's fittest officers, two male and two female. Participating states were Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Rhode Island team was crowned the LawFit Trooper Challenge National Champion.

Individual participants also competed. Mark Muse of the New Jersey State Police took top honors for the men, and Karen Pinch of the Rhode Island State Police finished first among the women.

Scores were based on six separate events: a bench press, a one-minute timed sit-up test, a sit and reach flexibility test, a pull-up test, a 1.5-mile run, and a 200-yard work performance/agility course. The tests have been found to be good predictors of the five major areas of fitness - aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. These tests also correlate highly with officer job performance.

The work performance/agility course was the highlight of the competition. Participants had to clear a three-foot drainage ditch, vault over a five-foot wall, ascend two flights of stairs, climb through a window, rescue a downed victim, apprehend a suspect and handcuff him, and successfully shoot a simulated perpetrator with a firearm from seven yards away.

David Bever, Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources, developed the LawFit program in 1989 in response to a growing concern for the disabling illnesses and injuries suffered by Virginia police.

Since the inception of LawFit, there has been a significant increase in the levels of fitness of law enforcement personnel who have participated in the program. Agencies have also been able to document significant reductions in workers' compensation claims and injuries resulting in lost work time. In addition, participating departments have noted that when officers have been injured in the line of duty they have recovered more quickly than those not participating in the program.

The program has been so successful that the National Center for Public Safety Fitness was created this year, with Bever as director, to expand the program nationwide.

For more information and a complete list of winners of the Trooper Challenge, visit www.lawfit.org.