WASHINGTON, May 24 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) – Next month firefighters from New York, Boston and Russia will trade in their flame-resistant gear for shoulder pads and ice skates and team up against each other – and some of the best known names in hockey – for the third annual ‘Battles On Ice,’ a two-part annual competition in New York that organizers say represents both tragedy and triumph.
The battles “celebrate all those who put their lives on the line for others and they demonstrate the solidarity of the American and Russian people against terrorism,” said Commissioner Salvatore Cassano of the New York Fire Department (FDNY).
“We at FDNY are honored for this opportunity to represent not only our city, which is home to the largest Russian-speaking community in the country, but our nation as well,” he added in a statement.
An exhibition game scheduled for June 25 will pit firefighters from New York, Boston and Russia against former professional hockey players from the National Hockey League (NHL), the Olympics and Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) including Viacheslav Fetisov, Pavel Bure, Alexei Kasatonov, Alexei Yashin and Andrei Kovalenko.
“It’s a great goodwill game, and this year we have the great symbolism of the three fire departments playing together as one team against some of the biggest legends of hockey,” said Rina Kirshner, vice president and co-founder of the Russian American Foundation which organizes the event.
After the exhibition game, a friendly but competitive match between firefighters in New York and Russia is set for June 26, and is meant to build on the common bond between emergency workers who have faced devastating attacks.
“A few years ago when one of the bombings in the Moscow subway took place, Mayor Bloomberg (of New York) asked us to reach out to deliver a letter to the citizens of Moscow saying that our people stand together against terror acts, and that was the inspiration that there is a need for our first responders to come together,” said Kirshner in an interview with RIA Novosti.
When the first match was held in New York in 2011 – ten years after the terror attacks of 9/11 – Russia won. In 2012, firefighters from New York traveled to Moscow and brought home the trophy, a massive piece of art designed by famed Russian artist Zurab Tsereteli.
This year, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, firefighters from Boston were invited to join the exhibition game.
“The Boston Fire Department members will come to join the game on the 25th because now unfortunately it’s not just citizens and first responders from New York and Moscow who have been joined by these terror acts,” said Kirshner.
Partial proceeds from the games will go to the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widow’s and Children’s Fund.
