The event, for which a dozen teams from New Mexico, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Nevada are attending, is scheduled for September 26-28 at the institution’s experimental mine. UMR is the only US university with a mine rescue team.

Basic regulations will be included in the contest, as will first aid, gas testing, and breathing apparatus maintenance. Mine rescue teams will be evaluated by their performance during a simulated emergency scenario, and the university has allowed public spectators.

The contests will be judged by US Mine Safety and Health Administration representatives.

UMR Mine Rescue Team captain David Floyd told local newspaper the Rolla Daily News that the team fares well against the professional teams: “UMR usually places about mid-field … the fact that we place above any professional team is something that we can take pride in because these teams have been together for years, while every semester and every year we have to train new people to replace old team members who graduate or move on.”

Floyd added that the contest, at which he hopes the team will place third in the underground section, is vital to the students’ training in the mining engineering program as well as to those more seasoned teams coming from mines.

“The competition is a big deal because it gives teams a chance to practise for the real thing and learn where they need to improve,” he told the paper.

“Without constant training to keep mine rescue teams sharp, they become less effective in doing a job they need to do safely.”