Moore Set for Another World Games
By Dan Courtney, NIFS Correspondent
Melony Moore recalls the day when she failed the physical agility test that was required to get into the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. She remembers it fondly because she did not pass the test on four occasions.
How times have changed. Now Moore is preparing to compete in the bench press portion of the World Police and Fire Games in Adelaide, South Australia,March 16 – 25. The NIFS member has been a police officer for five years now.
“My goal is to press 135 pounds, which I have done before,” said the 5-foot-5, 127-pound athlete. “Lately I have been around 125 pounds.”
Moore works out at NIFS four times a week. She concentrates on her legs and shoulders on Day 1, her back and biceps on Day 2, chest and triceps on Day 3 and cardiovascular and abs on Day 4. Her exercise routine generally takes about 1 ½ hours.
“I started working out on the eastside in 2005 and then moved over to NIFS. I started working out with an officer, Donald Jones, who also competes in the games,” Moore said.
This will not be the first World Police and Fire Games for Moore. She competed in the Canada Games in 2005. (The Games have been held every two years since 1985. There are now 79 events to compete in.) Moore will also compete in softball. Two years ago her only competition was body building.
“I was shocked and did not realize there would be so many people there,” said Moore of one of the largest participant events in the world next to the Commonwealth Games.
All the policemen and firemen pay their own costs to the games. They have conducted fund-raisers to help defray the costs.
After the games, the Pike High School and Ivy Tech grad will continue training for the Indy Mini-Marathon in 2008. She ran it once before with her daughters.
“I broke my leg in 1990 in a car accident and started to lift some weight in order to get in shape. Now I just like the way I feel by working out,” she said.