Page 57 in the development of emergency re sponse plans to protect the safety of my coworkers Lentowicz added The members of Diamonds in the Rough have the qualities that are needed in order to be conscientious mine rescuers They are intelligent intuitive mentally and physically strong Most importantly they have built a strong bond that is essential to a strong and successful mine rescue team The DITR wanted to show the world that women in mine rescue are a valuable resource for advancing safe work practices and emergency ser vices The International Mine Rescue com petition was held from September 22 to 29 2018 in diferent mines in Rus sia s Sverdlo vsk region north of Ka zakhstan T wentyfve teams from 12 diferent countries inclu ding China Australia and India participated in the events Canada was represented by the T ahoe Resources mine rescuers from T im mins and the Diamonds in the Rough Participating in Russia was quite the experience for the Diamonds in the Rough team The Diamo nds In The Rough fnished 15th out of 25 teams at an international mining competition in Russia Both the Diamonds in the Rough and the T ahoe Resources res cuers were awarded with special cer tifcates recognizing their contributions in mine rescue The T ahoe Resources team was recognized as the fastest mine rescue team in the competition Competing in Russia a country where it is illegal for women to work underground was truly the experi ence of a lifetime Lentowicz said From the moment we arrived to our very departure our stay in Russia was met with a warm welcome by our host country and all the competing teams Being acknowledged as making a diference in mine rescue dur ing the closing ceremonies was defnitely one of the highlights as was receiving the People s Choice A ward Lentowicz stat ed During the week of mine rescue competitions the Diamond in the Roughs earned a lot of re spect from the other mine res cue teams Simply seeing how we went from initially being seen as a nov elty to being recognized as strong and viable competitors within the week was a great transformation and made us feel like we were having a hand in paving the way for a more welcoming environ ment in mine rescue worldwide for women recalled Lentowicz with satisfaction This past September Diamonds in the Rough was able to com Diamonds in the Rough in Russia compete on world stage of Mine Rescue Contd from Pg 54 Contd on Pg 56 Page 55