Jim Cooper's Orange County; Police Olympics

Jim Cooper's going Scotty is made possible by grants from the Harry and Grace steel foundation providing charitable assistance to deserving organizations in the areas of health education and culture. Why signal landmark incorporated developer of Southern California real estate and builder of Landmark homes by Robert Half an account Thames providing permanent and temporary accounting financial and ADP personnel and by Disneyland Park an important part of Orange County for over 30 years. Whether it's kickboxing or arm wrestling are both growing top notch athletes will be competing against each other again in the southland. When Orange County hosts the 20th annual California police Olympics. In this largest amateur athletic competition in the world second only to the recent International Olympic Games 6000 police officers will converge on Orange County. It will be the biggest. California police and let the games in the 20 year history of the organization. Starting Monday June 23rd through June 29 the 6000 police officers from every part of California will battle for top honors in 44 events and

25 venue sites all in Orange County. The months of training are now ended. The police athletes are tune for the competition. It's time to sound the call to action. Let the games begin. The athletes shown are not competitors from foreign nations as seen in the recent international Olympics. They're not subsidized by any foreign government in training for a grueling competition in the forty four

Olympic events schedule. They're sworn police officers who train on their own time and who pay for all their own sports equipment. They come from among five hundred thirty six big and little California law enforcement agencies traveling at their own expense from all over the state. These shots are from last year's competition in Oxnard. This event is being hosted by the police associations of Newport Beach and the University of California Irvine chief sponsor for the six day event of the Irvine company. Peter Ueberroth former Olympic Committee president is honorary commissioner for the police Olympics. Fifty thousand spectators are expected at the many busy competition sites in Orange County. There will be no charges for spectators at any of the events. Fifteen of the 44 events will be at the UC Irvine campus including three nights of the popular boxing competition next Tuesday Thursday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.. 5000 spectators are expected at the outdoor boxing area near the baseball stadium at UC Irvine on Saturday June 28 finals in basketball soccer

track and field and police service dog competition will also be at the university campus. Eight different user oriented nonprofit organizations in Orange County will benefit from all the proceeds from arm wrestling and karate at the Sheraton Newport hotel to basketball a few blocks from Ronin and Irvine high school to all the other Olympic events. There's something for everyone next week at the California Police Olympics. And now let's get to this very exciting Olympic experience that we're all in for. Sergeant Robert Harrison has been a police officer with a Newport Beach Police Department since 1976 see the Newport Beach police department chairman of the 1986 police Olympics commission that oversees the entire event. This is his third year being involved with the Olympics. Lieutenant William Miller has been with the UC Irvine Police Department since his promotion to sergeant in 1976. He was previously with the San Diego University of California P.D. with another initially volunteered for the police Olympics as a sports venue coordinator. Currently you've been selected to fill the position of UC Irvine chairman of the 1996

police Olympics. Jerry McGraw I've been a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Department for 13 and a half years he spent his entire career with the Newport Harbor Patrol. He's 38 years old and has competed in Crewe cross-country swimming and the triathlon in 11 out of the last 13 years. This year he'll compete in the triathlon crew swimming and cycling events. Charlene Hess is a vice and intelligent detective for the city of Orange in 1984. She competed in her first state Olympics in Sacramento. Last year she competed in the one thousand fifty one thousand eighty five police Olympics in Oxnard and took six place in the triathlon this year she will compete in the triathlon in the 800 meter bicycle sprint. The 10 mile criterium and the 25 mile road race. It's a very exciting time we're all in for here in Orange County. Sergeant tell us about what the logistics are to putting on in the event of this magnitude. It's something having been involved with it for about the last three three and a half years it's really exciting for all of us have been competitors for several years and really it's the best kept

secret in the state. You get 6000 people together in 44 event something which will appeal to any specific sports interest and no one ever knew about it. You go to a city and compete to empty stadiums and in a very good level of competition to take shots and I mean terrific that it's quality competent it's representative of what it is the basketball competition the boxing softball track and field all are just high quality competitions all we want to do this year was to get the public involved get the spectators about there so they can enjoy it with us. So that's the message to you to make it a sort of a county wide event if you like maybe having a celebration of everybody in the county not just the people involved but then you have people work with the volunteers and to come out watch take part in celebration ability a lot of cooperation from corporations and organizations and to have people to minister response from that community as are a sponsor. This shows that they've been very cooperative they're a bank that in the end she's been very supportive of that. Primary sponsor for the Olympics and from the big companies on down to the smallest feet. I just really good response. We're

real pleased with the support in the community with the public communication network TV we hope will be there at the local newspapers. Been real supportive should be state white paper because some of these are state to state competitors many of them champion Normally we have competitors from all over the state in the years that I've gone to the Olympics I've gone from San Diego to Eureka in different years for the different events. Charlie and I have to ask you how do you find the time to do that and I think an important and important part I'd like our viewers to know is that the police officers who take part in this do all of their training on their own time pay for their own athletic gear and now they also do their travel at their own time so how do you have time after your eight hour shift to do all this. Sometimes it's not easy especially in my job because I don't have set hours I don't work eight to five I can work any hour any day so. Lot of times I try to get up early and get a good thirty mile ride in before my day starts and I alternate to events every day and then try to do all three events at least on one or two

days throughout the week. Again can you give the typical day if you are able to get in the exercise of overdoing the bicycle like I get up at 6 in the morning it would if I get up about 5:30 and I do a 30 to 35 mile ride through the mountains and then I would come back and I would go to work then after work I would run 6 to 7 miles and then I would swim a mile after that where you had the bike where you know where the bathroom Silverado in tribute go I'll toil out towards the base area. Oh that's a beautiful area and that's very nice right. Cows and horses and clean air out there so I applaud you for all that commitment then. Jerry what about your situation my situation is pretty much the same. Other than that I normally work an evening shift from Toward midnight so I have basically my whole daytime hours to to try and train will be a typical day and I will normally swim in the morning and then alternate either cycling or running later on in the day and two or three days a week I will do all 3 events and then when you when you say cycling I want to ride normally anywhere from 20 to

45 miles and I. Will go from hard days to easy days once an easy day only 25 miles 20 20 miles or more that sort of thing would be an easy day and at an easier pace and then some days you go harder paces for broader distances or for longer just I applaud you also for your dedication to not taking care of yourself and it's a tremendous out of this occasion. Will I do this on your own time. I mainly do it for the enjoyment and before I got involved in the triathlons I was was running and I had competed in swimming and I just have always tried to keep relatively physically fit. But tell me about that and the reaction of the police department I mean what is something like five hundred five hundred thirty six thousand one hundred thirty six departments all over the state of California. And what kind of reaction to ripples effect is this have all to all the departments all over the state this year has been real pleasing to see we did a million and done a lot of work within the profession itself to get out people who hadn't participated before who had had participate in a long time so I think we have representatives probably from well over 450 of the departments that then some of the smaller ones can't

send people because there's you know a lot of patrol that sometimes they only have 12 or 15 or 18 people that even some of the small ones they are going to a lot of the smaller departments. That's that's amazing. You find a lot of the smaller departments UCI has been very rigorous. Well represented in a place where because over the years we took an inventory of the officers that were there and we can down there where probably. Over 30 or 40 percent of the officers at UCI over the past three or four years have been involved in limb picks and taken a medal even though were were small at UCI state wide where were large with that 365 sworn officers that which has been one of the reasons we could afford to participate as a as a host association. We're drawing from our other campuses for support in running events and also working the advanced timers and for judges and for logistical people you know a lot of support that way from a little a lot. We've had a lot of community involvement. We've got phone numbers both at the campus and

that the Newport station for volunteers to to call for working in different venues. Tony what would you like to say to people who maybe you've never seen this you know people who might want to get interested in it what would you say to them. I think my first impression of the police Olympics is the only time I've ever seen a professionally run bicycle race where a person had a bad accident and other people in the race stopped to help them. They were more concerned about helping someone else than getting to the finish line and that's the kind of camaraderie that the participants have in the police officers have it's their attitude that sportsmanship is incredible. It's just really wonderful. You are a woman in what has always been a male profession this is true. What about the women competent competitors are there some good women compared No yes. Definitely there's a lot and there's more every year either the first 84 was the first year that cycling was offered to women as an individual group and each year we're seeing the numbers grow more and more and I like to see the other other women come out so that there are

more each year than they feel. Yes and some of these events you will be competitive competing in a race in which every man also is not true. Yes you know what happens in that are you still are judged on the women's and on the women's rights the medals are still given within the women's group themselves. There's must be a tremendous personal benefit. I just think you too because after the year you drive you're out. What are the cause of that weight lifting what power lifting power lifting. Must be a tremendous benefit to you just personally and what's the big payoff for this. But OK up really for this year isn't so much the sports all over the central focus. What we wanted to do was to bring it to the community and work with the community to give us a chance for the people we serve to see us in another life. I think too often we get interviewed as has just been uniforms or enforcers or givers things like that not seen as people and a chance to work with six or seven hundred volunteers to have people come out and see us this is family people and supports him and his competitors and something that's what he said Arlene said was an

excellent sport and you would you agree with that. You have been a tremendous example good sportsmanship. I think it's not always been that way and in that is probably the most important thing and I think it also gives people from from other agencies to dance to get to know each other we've gotten to know a number of other groups from competing against them. You know some of the law enforcement people in Orange County are now concerned about recruiting and encouraging more young people to go into law enforcement. I think this is there's nothing better as a positive image of law enforcement that some of these tremendous athletes are dead what do you think about that. Surely. I mean. I'm talking to a recruiting standpoint too from people I think it's a benefit of police work. It's an encouraging factor to see the young people come out and be involved in the sports programs and I think it within the departments that baseball teams in other sporting events helps the people to work together within their own departments for training. He's one of the nice things about this bill is not correct that

all of the money you're getting you don't you don't charge anyone to come to see it but you will generate some money that the money will generate would be from selling. It's from for God we're going to ask anything from the competitors each paying entry fee to enter the Olympics that's one of our main funding sources. But one of the things I want to have our viewers know is that eight or nine different youth groups will all been writing the proceeds another which is not going to anything just apartment it was set up and designed this year as a to promote the the youth of our community. Also the university an involvement through the athletic scholarship fund and through the poison control center at the Medical Center we try to designate every city and so that would represent the community and the focus has been primarily on you. Yes. I'd like to have our viewers know what some of these groups are and preventing from assessment treatment services center two boys club Boys and Girls Club a very fine

Newport Mesa Boys and Girls Club where many of these different kinds of groups in fact Orange County police Olympic's police employees associations UC Irvine athletic scholarships from the U.S. medical point and Colton are all of these different youth groups are going to benefit from that and you I mean you meaning a police department going to any of the money that writes the associations that the two practice will get a little bit of the data for their athletic scholarship fund and or UCI Medical Poison Control Center and so forth that most of the money will go to to the beneficiaries. Yes one of the big things one of the big problems I would think you'd have to get all the public informed on this thing which is a big twenty six page book of telling all 44 of the different events. Right. So an easy way that I'm going to tell our viewers to find out about it is to look into nights register tonight daily pilot and I serve on World News and I correct on that that's correct and you're buying space to list every single sport right Reebok full page ads in all three of the periodicals so people

can at are going to pick out which sports they'd like to go to. What are some of the popular one is it or is it hard to say is it only what you say here I would say the boxing is the most popular thing and I always try and go to the boxing in this year with it. The Olympics being here in Orange County I'm going to try and go to a lot more events by time permits. I'm just to picking a few of them out of this list of events here are things that people would like basketball bowling boxing crew the crew thing is very colorful about the understanding base or jumping over to motocross pentathlon pistol pocket billiards powerlifting that's your sport racquetball sailing scuba service dogs service dog and they're very colorful it is something one of more unique sports to look at the obedience the way that teams work together for something which I think people really find very interesting. One of the things I'd like to ask you all about is that what kind of support did the police department what's the policy of the of the the official establishment police department is it to encourage it their supporters or what. Yeah I know you have to do this you have to work out on your own time.

Not during a shift. What about that what about most PBS I think by and large I think most of them recognize the need for us to stay in shape and recognize a legitimate outlet for her competitive nature. Yes they have something to do that is creative does as well. I think most departments do support an enormous dose. What about that's about and I said yes it's of if you find it in most police departments expression within the University of California and course all of our departments being at a campus with the facilities at each campus to do just today and you want to do you find oftentimes that. The physical fitness aspect of police work is a top concern and we have in the past right now we don't have a current program for physical training on duty status but that is at times incorporated to keep the officers in good physical condition. Do you know about the what about the families. I guess families have to be supportive about that families and you know I think the families have to be the most supportive.

I probably train an additional 14 hours to 15 hours a week over what I work in so you have to have that family support to continue to to work out that and I think even the people in no matter what sport they're spending a lot of their own time I don't know how many other states involved this I know California is our 20th year in California than any other state do anything like the magnitude of this. Efforts some states have copied California was the first police Olympics and so really it was the longest Emmanuel's running so that other states Arizona Washington Nevada and a few back East also have state competitions now. Yeah one thing that I'd like to know and that you can all help me with us when we said when you use the word Olympic does that mean that you are actually following the Olympic rules that those are the same competition as if you were in the Olympics for example and cycling in cycling we use the Cycling Federation rules which are pretty much standard rules for most sports or what you would expect to find. If you want to see the actual limping Yes you'd find that most of the events that were running are saying through the different bodies that regulate each sport as you had mentioned the

USCF sanctions the races in cycling and the Bowling Congress. We have sanctions for those and each one of them is regulated by. The body that it recognized in California or in the United States. You know one of the things that I think you would like to know is when I go to see them and they find out what it is what are they going to find there they're going to find they will find people who are very good athletes doing exactly what they would see and maybe they missed the Olympics what they would see in the Olympics is not right. You know I think so. And the level of competition is very good. I think people will be generally surprised at how talented of athletes the different people are. How do you account for that I mean why is that. Oh I don't know a lot of people are going to police were people that athletic maybe have an athletic background and have been going into police work and the people they they work hard at it. You know it when you did tell us about your your power lifting regimen

because you can sack your college days or what. Not really I played football baseball through high school and college and developed powerlifting as a way to your penis for I didn't get injured quite so much. Pretty much four times that we turn to an after hours a day the standard routine again I hope my viewers know that to get the forty four events and make it show up all they got to do is read the register they get every day that tonight that we can register tonight. The daily pilot tonight right around World News Tonight. When you buy a big ad you know it's got a full page ads in all three. And for people to have a chance for them to see us as competitors as people just as there is really one of the biggest benefits one of the biggest long term benefits would be a positive public relations effort for the profession itself. You know to get the youth involved so they don't really you know see us as the bad guys or enforcers but as role models as positive role model something that they might choose to follow as a police officer in a similar role and you know I think. For young people considering it's an excellent neck and a very positive role model we will give them a chance to see us and talk to us and something related to the police or to of

course that's an excellent thing that and what to what I termed terrific manifestation of the Marine Corps. We called it gun hope and then what really is this is like gun ho that's free if you want to call it that where people want it and you were talking about the good sportsmanship. What's the biggest personal feedback you get from others exercises. What I taught high school during the first year that I competed in the police Olympics and my kids knew that I was training. Were you high school teacher one time I taught law enforcement through the Orange Police Department already their program in the city but I would challenge my kids to come out and ride with me and that none of them could ever beat me so I gained a lot of respect in that manner is that right. And I still frequently is I'm pedaling through town in different areas of our city I run into kids that I taught school for five years ago and they're always asking me if I'm still competing a lot of them plan to be here this year to watch it and I think the young people gain a lot of respect for the officers that they've met under previous conditions one way or another.

Yeah that's a that's a nice way to put it a bit about how you feel about the biggest. Values to the whole community not just the police and the value to the community and from the perspective of law enforcement also from the perspective that the university which is a statewide organization and the values of community is that it breaks down some of those barriers as each one of the people here expressed it shows a police officer over a different light and each one of the police officers mistake depending upon the city has as a little bit different role to play. And as a university police when we have a role. To follow that when it's government that we have to deal with Yes I mean so by having the Olympics and marketing it to the public and try and make people aware of what the police officers are all about and what you're trying to accomplish or have a very positive influence on everyone that does make it out to the events when some want to go into it and something some person they want to come in and compete someone who had not before.

Do you advise him to try to get their feet wet even if they're not at home not as hot as some of the other athletes What do you say Sophia. Yes in fact this year because the Olympics were here in Orange County you know we got two or three people in the the group that I work with out of out of Newport Harbor to compete that have not competed before just because we said look it's going to be here locally and it will have a lot of fun and it'll it'll be good for you. You'll enjoy it. What if you're one of the things you see frequently when they have it's like the March of Dimes I mean we're going to march it as we have it we have a 10k run right. And you have thousands of people get interested in that thing and many of them have no prayer of winning this thing. But they still seem to have a great deal of fun and that's something relatively new in our society. That's a healthy thing I think for the president to say goes back somewhat to the Olympic ideal it's not you know the triumph but the struggle itself and to compete to take part in the share in the camaraderie is something which is very valued in the profession. But one of the things that many people would like to know about when they go to see the

shows what are the time where they're seating you get facilities for all that. Yes that's one of the reasons you see guys have been played a big part in it accommodations for crowds in other words out of control. We don't expect problems as far as that you know crowd control other than there just be a lot of people traffic and we have made allowances for that bus all the venues will have signs in the general vicinity of where they are directing the people in. And we've tried to have you know fulfill all the needs of the crowds that we expect and. For families to come into a lot of families exposed could make a picnic if you're going to guess and we'll have you know ample food service and facilities here to accommodate people we're planning I would Looking ahead now we're planning already start very soon now I know that's hard for you to even imagine for next year will plan start this summer planning is already been in effect for next summer so it would last December. And what's the plan on that. Well the group that will be hosting it next year in 87 to be Stockton Police Department and their committee has been organized for about a year thus far and they'll be coming to Orange County to

watch. So it goes on to pick up points but in numbers it looks like just this one kind of would be the biggest they've ever this is this is the biggest there's ever been I think you have one one thing that strikes me is that the police the police participants do this at their own expense and cut their own hair line which to me is that a tremendous amount of dedication The second thing is the idea of the scene that you're both trying to get across it to get a large community wide involvement rather than something that's done as if it were just that a private club having something out of it. Exercise and honor these have gone back what is a 20 this is the 20th year 20th anniversary. Is there any message you like it out to the general public just to tell them if you could say one thing to them about coming to this thing or brought out a time when women enjoy the police Olympics I think everybody that comes to see it will be very pleased. And at 6:00 Israel had a six straight days as extra days of straight days of it. And there's something for everybody would you say surely in for people. I think they'd be surprised to view police officers in a different light when they walk away from it. That's a nice thought. I think it would be a good experience for anyone that has the opportunity to at least stop

by and see one of them. You know you talk to the writer. Why not have some of the kids come up to talk to you if you say I would I would think the same thing because of the six days of the events and there's events from probably seven o'clock in the morning till 8:00 or 9:00 at night every all those six days they should be able to find time to come out and sure they'll enjoy it. What about what would you say what your last message to them. Really I were proud the communities were served the people we work for and work with and a chance to deal with them on the smallest unit one to one people is something we really look forward to. Great for our time is almost up not I want to thank our guest today and wish them great success with a big California police Olympics coming this week straight. That's a great thing for Orange County. Please join me next week at the same time and I'll take a look at some exciting things to happen this summer in Orange County. I'm Jim Cooper thanks for being with us. Jim Cooper's Orange County is made possible by grants from the Harry and Grace steel foundation

providing charitable assistance to deserving organizations in the areas of health education and culture by signal landmark incorporated developer of Southern California real estate and builder of Landmark homes.