World Police and Fire Games 2015: WPFG Dates, Location and Event Schedule

Fairfax County, Virginia, plays host to the 2015 World Police and Fire Games. According to the official website, 12,000 athletes from approximately 70 countries will be in action. Friday marks the opening ceremony at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.

One unique aspect of the initial ceremony is that the event is offering complimentary ticket vouchers. The Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia will be the site of closing ceremonies, as the slate of Olympic competitions runs from Friday through July 5.

With 1,600 medal events across 53 venues, though, there is a ton of action to keep track of. It's far easier to skim over the overview of the complete schedule at Fairfax2015.com.

Ice hockey, basketball, flag football, baseball and tennis are some major sports played. There's even paintball among the more obscure events bound to draw an even greater array of fans.

CBS 1067 radio host and Washington, D.C. fireman Kevin Shafer ought to be able to provide a unique perspective on the Games and expressed his excitement in anticipation of participating:

All events are open to the public, so there is plenty of access to be had, which is quite unusual for an athletic spectacle that attracts so much attention and a massive amount of entrants.

Some clever joke can be made about the extraordinary transparency of the World Police and Fire Games and their location being so close to the nation's capital. Let's just leave that to the imagination and stick to the sports.

Although the spirit of these Games is meant to be fun in nature, there's still going to be plenty of competitive fire on display. According to Northern Virginia Magazine, this is the second-largest international sporting event only to the Summer Olympics.

The publication logged what Fairfax County 2nd Lt. Bruce Blechl had to say about hosting the Games:

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You have the athletic competition. That's one thing. But it's also the camaraderie and the fellowship associated with the Games itself, which is the biggest draw. You can pull up next to someone in Sweden or anywhere in Europe and you realize you still face the same challenges worldwide. It's getting to learn best practices and policies and how people do this same job maybe a little differently in their approach and what benefits your department or even the community overall.

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What Blechl refers to is indeed a fascinating aspect of the Games. As opposed to the actual Olympics, where athletes dedicate their lives to their craft, the athletes in these Games are upholding societal morality by day or night and finding time to keep themselves in exceptional physical shape otherwise.

Part of staying fit can come with the job description, but the diversity of law enforcement across the globe has to create some captivating dialogue amongst the competitors. The best part is the fans can listen to these different perspectives up close thanks to the Games' accessibility.

The World Police and Fire Games combine amateur athletics and professional guardians of safety to generate an unmatchable dynamic. With leaders like Blechl fostering the latest edition of this biennial event that originated in 1985, the Games seem to be in good hands once again.