Hundreds of firefighters are once again gearing up to compete in this year's CFA/VFBV State Firefighter Championships over the next two weeks.
More than 4,000 people will flock to Mooroopna Recreation Reserve across the two weekends, with the Urban Junior State Championships kicking things off this weekend, 16 and 17 March and the Senior Urban, Senior Rural and Junior Rural events to follow on 23 and 24 March.
While more than 75 brigades will battle it out across the entire event, 28 of those brigades and an impressive 38 teams will first hit the track on Saturday for the Urban Junior Championships.
Acting CFA Chief Officer Garry Cook said these events are an important tradition for CFA volunteers and regional communities.
"The Championships are a display of the skills, dedication, and enthusiasm of our members, but also exemplify our CFA values of teamwork and respect," Garry said.
"They promote great camaraderie among our brigades, our volunteers, their families and the wider community. I encourage those who can, to come along and watch the events unfold.
"We will see a glimpse of the future of firefighting this weekend, with some of our youngest competitors building on their skills, self-esteem and friendships all while enjoying a bit of healthy competition."
Attendees can enjoy food and drink vans, firefighting equipment and training demonstrations, CFA programs and education hubs, award presentations and much more.
Events at the State Championships are based on practical firefighting activities, with a focus on physical fitness, teamwork and equipment skills using hoses, hydrants and other tools.
All eyes will be on Eynesbury Fire Brigade on Saturday as they make their presence known for the first time at the Urban Junior event. Junior coach Ben Greene said the young guns had been enjoying their development activities over the offseason, so decided to give a few demonstration events a go.
"We entered our first demo at Kyneton last year, and while they were intimidated at first, they really enjoyed it. We did the Australia Day one at Melton too, which had quite a crowd," Ben said.
"Given the success, we put the proposal out to the parents and kids to see if they wanted to attend the State Championships and there was an overwhelming yes, so out of a dozen juniors we've got seven attending."
While Ben said it has been a big learning curve for them all, he is grateful to have had a helping hand from their friends at Melton who allowed them to use some of their standpipes and hoses, and their running track to practise.
"The team members are really looking forward to the new experience and the challenge. They are really embracing this next level and they just want to give their best. I'm excited for them."