More than 80 police motorcyclists from across Ontario, parts of the United States and England will be in Chatham Aug. 19 to 22 for the 16th annual Great Lakes Motorcycle Training Competition.
The annual event provides those who ride motorcycles for law enforcement an opportunity to improve their techniques and learn new safety and operational skills.
Const. Scott Renders, who rides one of the two motorcycles deployed by the Chatham-Kent Police Service, said the event is an important opportunity.
“It’s not practical for most services to have the type of in-service training and skills development which can be offered at the competition,” he said. “You can never afford to be complacent when riding.”
The last day of the event features a skills competition judged by the Blue Knights, a non-profit fraternal group comprised of active and retired law enforcement officers with motorcycle experience.
The event will be held at the John D. Bradley Centre and Saturday’s portion will be open to the public.
“We’re hoping to have people come out and see what we do,” Const. Renders said. “It’s free and traditionally it’s very popular with children.”
