CATZ Athletes Excel at Firefighter Combat Challenge World Championships

(Austin, TX)- The five man Hudson Bend Firefighter Combat Challenge team competed last month in the World Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. They finished 22nd overall in the team challenge, and all five members finished with personal best times shaving an average of 10 seconds off of their previous individual times. Along with the teams best ever finish, Team member Levon Steele was also awarded with the 2007 World Championships Rookie of the Year award.

Prior to the competition the team trained at CATZ-Austin doing specific workouts that prepared them for the demands of the Challenge.

“Prior to doing CATZ all of us would be exhausted after one run through the course” stated team member Robert Rygg “but because of CATZ Levon and myself were able to run the course every day of the competition and recover quicker afterwards then ever before.”

The Firefighter Combat Challenge course consists of the five following events:

1. In full firefighter gear (coat, pants, helmet, oxygen tank & mask) carry a 35-pound hose pack to the top of the five-story tower and put it in the box.

2. Remain at the top of the tower and hoist a 45-pound roll of hose using a

rope, then place the roll in a square and descend down the stairs

3. From the base of the tower, run to a machine where you use a 9-pound

mallet to advance a 160 pound I-beam 5 feet horizontally. run 140 feet to the

next task.

4. Grab a charged hose and move it 75 feet, open the nozzle, and hit the target.

Close the nozzle and place it in the marked box.

5. Then drag a 175-pound dummy 100 feet and cross the finish line.

“Consistently doing CATZ workouts that were task specific to our challenge allowed us the opportunity to succeed at Worlds” stated Levon.

For more on the team you can visit www.firefighterchallenge.com or you can see the team video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=YKUadWy6Vrs or http://youtube.com/watch?v=YKUadWy6Vrs

About CATZ

CATZ – Competitive Athlete Training Zone - is recognized as the premier provider of sports performance training to developing athletes. Men’s Health magazine recently named CATZ to its list of America’s Top 20 gyms for training. For more than a decade, CATZ has created proven and customized training programs which improve speed, strength, conditioning and overall athletic performance. CATZ-Austin locations include: North Austin (Hwy 620 and 183) and in Cedar Park. For more information on CATZ, call 512-345-5547 or email info.austin@catzsports.com.

Source: http://www.firefighterchallenge.com