The Best of the Best

With all 8 of the mines rescue competitions completed, the winners of each district are now gearing up to compete for the top title of Australian Mines Rescue Champions.

The teams that will be representing their district at the Australian Mines Rescue competition in Mudgee on October 17 are the best of the best and it’s guaranteed to be a day of fierce competition.

Centennial Coal’s Clarence team who were winners of the Western competition, Hunter Valley winners Peabody’s Wambo Wedgetails and Newcastle champions Team Orange will all be contending for the title.

But all eyes are likely to be on South32 Illawarra’s Appin Pink team. Not only winners of the Southern competition for the second year in a row, these guys will be defending their title as the 2018 Australian Mines Rescue champs.

Representing QLD at the Australian Mines Rescue competition will be Grosvenor, Moranbah North, Kestrel and Oaky North. But just like in the State of Origin, we’re betting on NSW to take home that coveted trophy!

The competitions are much more than deciding champions. The primary purpose of Mines Rescue is to provide emergency response to the NSW coal mining industry in the case of an emergency. These competitions allow brigadesmen to practice and hone their skills in preparation for the unfortunate circumstance where they may be called upon. 

NSW Mines Rescue training experts designed a range of surface and underground tasks to simulate those which rescue brigades could face should they be called to duty. The emergency response skills of each team were assessed in firefighting, search and rescue, managing trauma and first aid as well as general mines rescue techniques.

“Our mines rescue competitions aim to be as realistic as possible to truly test the skills of our brigades in high pressure situations,” explained Wayne Green, General Manager Mines Rescue.

“We are fortunate that today our industry is focused on safe work practices and the need to respond to incidents is infrequent. Our specialised mines rescue training not only prepares brigades to respond if needed, but equips them with the skills to provide safety leadership at site every day.”