Diamonds in the Rough get standing ovation at world competition

In the last issue of Mid-Canada Forestry & Mining, we reported on Diamonds in the Rough, a team of Canadian female mine rescue workers whose members were preparing to compete in the International Mine Rescue Competition (IMRC) in Yekaterinburg, Russia in September. In this issue, we interview team leader Kari Lentowicz on the experience.

Q – How long did it take to get to Yekaterinburg from Canada?

A – The trek from Canada to Yekaterinburg was a very long one. With layovers riddled with naps and periodic food and drinks in the airports, our total travel time from Saskatoon was 34 hours and
18 minutes. We left on September 23 and arrived on September 23 at 2:00 in the morning only to be met by a group of military men holding a sign that read “Diamonds in the Rough.” We were excited to say the least – except for the two missing bags of course.

Q – How would you describe the accommodations and ‘vibe’ upon arriving?

A – The team stayed at the Novotel Yekaterinburg Center. The hotel was beautiful and had all the amenities we needed. Several other teams were also there, including two from Russia, one from Zambia, and one from Australia. We had a lot of time in the hotel lounge to become acquainted with the teams. We will definitely remain in contact with several of the competitors. They were all so fantastic and welcoming.

Q – When was the competition? Did you have enough time to acclimatize?

A – Personally, I think I suffered a bit from jet lag most of the week. I didn’t set myself up properly during the flight to acclimatize properly. Many of the women on the team seemed to do quite well after a day or two. The competition was two days after we arrived and our first event was the underground. Our team placed 5th in that event out of a total of 25 teams and I’d say we must have been ready because we rocked it!

Q – In which events did the team compete and how did it do?

A – Our team competed in all of the events, which included underground simulation, fire, virtual reality simulation, first aid, the relay and the technician event. With the exception of a couple of events, the Russians placed in the top three.

We placed 5th in the underground event, which was so amazing. Overall, we placed 15th. Though this may seem a bit low, we showed the world we were viable competitors, as we still placed higher than 10 teams, nine of which were all-male teams.

Though we didn’t place in the top three for any of the events, we were quite pleased with our performance, as well as the performance of others. The scoring for the events gives me confidence that mine rescue throughout the world is improving and our fellow mine rescuers are quite competent when called upon should there be such a time where international assistance is required.

Q – What was the greatest challenge? What was the highlight?

A – As far as the events went, our greatest challenge was
the relay. The relay is a very individualized event that requires a lot of strength. Out of the five legs, only two were finished to completion. I was hurt in the last leg of the event and was unable to finish that leg on my own. However, that was also the highlight of the competition for me. When I collapsed due to the leg injury, my team grabbed the ‘sandbag dummy’ and ran across the finish line while my captain carried me across.

The execution of mine rescue is conducted as a team. We finished the relay as a team and had a standing ovation with cheers and chants from the audience for the last two legs. It was amazing.

Afterward, I was resting with an iced and elevated leg and had five teams deliver unrequested food, ice, painkillers and other first aid supplies. They were so kind and truly showed the spirit of mine rescue and followed the first rule: Safety of the team.

Q – Rather than merely a competition, this was a lifetime experience. Can you describe why?

A – I didn’t really know what to expect when we landed in Yekaterinburg. Before we left, there was resounding positive feedback. However, there were definitely naysayers across the country, which was evident in feedback to several publications. Russia is a country where it is illegal for women to perform work underground and I guess I expected some resistance. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

All the Russians were so welcoming. They cheered us on the whole way and took every opportunity to communicate with us and had hundreds of photo ops – yes, hundreds. The competitors were equally as welcoming and again wanted photos with us everywhere we went. At the Dzega sponsor event, there was a photo area set up where teams could get their pictures taken. We spent well over an hour in the area getting our pictures taken with workers, military personnel, IMRC coordinators, and fellow competitors. Organizers printed several copies of the photos for the teams to take and when we went to get our photos, we found other people had scooped them all up! Throughout the night, we spent a lot of time autographing those same photos. It was not just surreal but hilarious as well. They treated us like celebrities and I’ve never felt so welcomed or cared for.

Our women were also the first women to perform work in an underground mine in Russia. We made history and had a whole lot of fun doing it.

Perhaps the best compliment, and one that I will cherish forever, was that several of the competitors said that they were going to go back home and tell their daughters about us so they’ll know that they can accomplish anything that they want to do.

Q – How did the competition change you and the team members?

A – I know our experience gave us all more confidence. It was a team of captains, meaning we all have the capability of leading a rescue mission should an incident occur, whether we have played that role or not in our current employment.

We all formed an unbreakable bond and will continue to pursue the same cause, which is to increase awareness of on the value of women in non-traditional roles.

I don’t even know how to describe how uplifting and exhilarating it all was, but it was simply the best experience of a lifetime and will be a hard one to beat.

Q – What does the Diamonds in the Rough experience mean for women in mining and the industry in general?

A – With the feedback in Russia, I know that we have exposed other countries to opening the possibilities for women in mining. Several of the competing countries either have legislation against women working in the field or simply do not consider women nor allow them in the field. By showing what we are capable of in a rescue situation, I believe other countries will see that women can and should do more. By excluding women, you are narrowing your pool of candidates by 50%. I hope we have opened doors for women who want to get into the field of mining and perhaps set an example to girls and young women that they have more opportunities than traditional gender roles.

Q – Where does the team go from here?

A – We have had some interest in being utilized in speaking engagements, both nationally and internationally. Time permitting, we will definitely engage in those to highlight our experience, capabilities, as well as diversity and inclusion as a whole.

We have also had some discussions about competing in competitions in country and at the next IMRC in Columbia in 2020.
This, of course, will take a lot more sponsorship and we will need to do a ton of fundraising to make it happen. With the success of this event, I’m hoping the corporate sponsorship will be much easier to obtain then it was this time round. In saying that, those corporate and individual sponsors that did step up are to be commended for taking a chance on us and giving us the means to compete and set an example that resonates with their own diversity and inclusion policies.

Our non-profit has already gained another board member as well. With three of us, it will be easier to distribute the work and initiate other training opportunities for both youth and women. Randy De Cecco, Bruce Coley and myself started this together and our goal is to continue with it. Randy and Bruce were also part of the coaching and training team and will likely continue in that role moving forward. I’m hoping our other trainers, Travis Bailey and Belinda Mitchell, will continue on this journey with us as well. With the level of engagement and excitement they had, I don’t doubt that will be the reality.

We will definitely see everyone again – hopefully sooner rather than later!

Coming home with hardware

Canada’s Diamonds in the Rough ended up in 15th place at the IMRC – higher than 10 other teams in the competition.
The team also came home with some hardware as it won a special award from Dzega for making a difference in mine rescue. The team also captured the People’s Choice