Mayor Jamieson - Welcome to our real life superheroes

This week is a special one for the Sunshine Coast as we welcome the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games to our beautiful region for the first time.

Thousands of competitors from all states and territories in Australia and from across the Tasman haved joined us for eight days of competition and we've been able to witness some fantastic contests and cameraderie across a schedule of more than 50 sports.

Our police and emergency personnel have certainly shown they possess plenty of sporting skills.

The 2016 Games, the first in 14 years to be held in Queensland, kicked off last weekend with an opening ceremony to remember at Sunshine Coast Stadium which again showed its worth as an outstanding venue for competitions like this one.

The hosting of the Games here on the Sunshine Coast allows us to highlight the outstanding work that our police and emergency services workers and volunteers perform every day.

They are a cherished part of our community.

Without them, we wouldn’t enjoy the very enviable lifestyle that we have today.

- This column first appeared in My Weekly Preview on October 14, 2016