By Loyd McIntosh
Earlier this summer, the 21st edition of the World Police & Fire Games was held in Birmingham, bringing more than 8,000 athletes from all over the world to participate in the Olympic-style athletic event held every two years. Many over-the-mountain first-responders took part in an array of sports, representing the United States in a celebration of the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and serve every day. They also brought home some hardware in the process.
Several Vestavia Hills reponders medaled in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition held June 29 and 30 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, among them Noah Holly, a firefighter and paramedic for VHFD, who won the gold medal in the 77kg (170-pound) weight class.
The only American in his weight class, Holly was something of an underdog, earning his brown belt shortly before the competition. Additionally, in order to have enough competitors in the class, organizers combined brown belts and black belts into one group. Holly also had to face seasoned black belts from Brazil, the sport’s nation of origin. In other words, earning even a silver or bronze was an uphill climb. “I had just been promoted to brown belt 13 days prior, so I had to change into the expert division and go up against people with way more experience,” says Holly.
Holly advanced to the gold medal bout, taking just four minutes to beat his opponent, a Brazilian with years of competition under his belt. Holly pulled his opponent into a dominant position, sweeping him to the ground and putting him into a triangle choke for the win. “I just tried to implement my strategy that I’ve been working on for the past six months in practice on my 48s off from Vestavia,” he said referring to the 48-hour breaks between firefighting shifts. “Competing in a local tournament is one thing, but being on the world stage, when people have flown here to beat you, it just means a little bit more.”
Holly says it was an amazing opportunity, but it was also strange competing against athletes with more than just a little national pride on the line. While other, more genteel sports foster a sense of camaraderie, Holly says the competitors in his bracket were as serious as a heart attack. “This being Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it’s their sport, and I’m going against Brazilians and beating them. Along with the language barrier, there really weren’t any smiles,” says Holly. “It wasn’ how most other events were, where everybody was shaking hands, smiling, having some fellowship and at restaurants after.”
Still, Holly said the opportunity to stand on the podium to receive a gold medal while representing Vestavia Hills, greater Birmingham and the nation was a thrilling moment. Holly took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a hobby eight years ago and has competed in tournaments all over the southeast, but the World Police & Fire Games not only provided an unforgettable moment for him and his friends and family in attendance but also strengthened the bonds between his co-workers and fellow first responders from the area.
“Having the whole family and my co-workers cheer me on…to see me in my element doing this hobby that I’ve been doing the last eight years, there was really nothing else like it,” says Holly. “Just seeing the city as a whole being represented on the world stage in different events was pretty cool. To know that those are your co-workers that you’re going to see tomorrow out there right doing what they love, and competing was a very neat experience.”
Holly wasn’t the only firefighter from the area to medal in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Homewood firefighter Nick Stallings earned bronze in the Beginner 41+-over 94kg weight class in a group in which athletes from Mongolia won the gold and silver and VH Policeman Zac Thrift won a gold medal in the 94kg+ intermediate division.
“To be able to stand on the stage with the two guys from Mongolia that actually took gold and silver was pretty neat,” Stallings says. “We all held our country’s flags, and it was just a cool experience to be able to do that.”
Other first responders from Vestavia, Homewood and Mountain Brook participated and won medals in the 2025 World Fire & Police Games.
