NEWRY — Jay 1, one of two teams from the Jay Fire Department, won Sunday’s 24th Annual Firefighters’ Race at Sunday River Resort. Jay 1 beat out the team from Wolfeboro, N.H, by just 0.71 seconds.
Ten teams from around New England competed in the event, which helped raise money for Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation. This year, Maine Adaptive and Sunday River have opted to donate the race’s proceeds to the Lieutenant Walsh — Firefighter Kennedy Memorial Fund, in memory of the firefighters who were lost in last week’s Boston fire.
For the event, teams of five firefighters in full gear raced down a giant slalom course, toting 50 feet of fire hose. Teams included both skiers and snowboarders.
Jay 1 won the race on the Lower Tempest Trail with a time of 26.73 — more than 10 seconds faster than last year’s winning time of 38.71 seconds. Jay Fire Department finished second last year to the Newry Fire Department.
Sunday’s race also included teams from Chisholm, Rumford, Auburn, Bethel, Hopkinton, N.H., and Farmington, Conn.
The crowd-pleasing Eat the Heat Chili Cookoff took place immediately after the Firefighters’ Race. This event included chef teams from restaurants at Sunday River Resort and in the surrounding Newry and Bethel area, as well as the Farmington, Conn., Fire Department.
The 2014 Chili Cookoff was judged by a panel of media celebrities, including MaineToday.com Editor Shannon Bryan, WGME’s Jeff Peterson, WMTW’s Steve Minich, Bob Witkowski of Portland CVB, and longtime Maine Adaptive volunteer and Cookoff Judge Herb Gross.
Judges’ scores combined to award first place to Cilantro Burrito Bar, which is owned by Cho Sun and located in Sunday River’s South Ridge Lodge. The runner-up award went to the Suds Pub team from Bethel, and third place was awarded to the Grand Summit Hotel’s new restaurant, Camp. Camp also won this year’s People’s Choice Award.
Maine Adaptive’s 29th Annual Ski-A-Thon, which also took place this weekend, has exceeded expectations and raised more than $328,270 in pledges. The group is still accepting pledges, so that number will continue to grow.
For a video of the 24th Annual Firefighters’ Race and Chili Cookoff, visit http://vimeo.com/90471477.
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- Firefighters from around New England team up for this fun annual event at Sunday River Resort to help raise money for Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation.
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