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AND HERE AT WPBF 25, WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING WOMEN WHO ARE DOING JUST THAT IN OUR COMMUNITIES.ING WE INTRODUCE YOU TO A SINGLE CITY, COUNTY FIREFIGHTER WHO’S BREAKING BARRIERS AND MAKING HISTORY IN THE MALE DOMINATED SPORT OF SPEARFISH. OUR MORNING ANCHOR, NATALIE POZO SITS DOWN WITH JULIE HICKS. JULIE HIGGS COMES FROM A FAMILY OF FIRST RESPONDERS. MY DAD IS A RETIRED FIRE CAPTAIN FROM PALM BEACH COUNTY. MY MOM WORKED FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR A LITTLE WHILE. MY STEP MOM’S A NURSE. MY SISTERS A NURSE. SHE IS ONE OF 38 WOMEN FIREFIGHTERS FOR SAINT LUCIE COUNTY. COMPARED TO 397 MEN. SHE SAYS WHAT SHE LEARNED OUT IN THE WATER IS WHAT PREPARED HER TO BE A FIREFIGHTER. WHEN I GREW UP ON THE BOAT WITH MY DAD, I WAS HIS FIRST ME. I DID EVERYTHING. THERE’S SEVERAL THINGS WE DO IN OUR PHYSICAL AGILITY TESTS. ONE BEING HOSTING A ROPE OVER A RAIL, FIVE STORIES TALL, NORMALLY WEIGHS ABOUT 45 POUNDS. I WOULD WATCH PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH THAT KNIFE WITH THICK. I’VE BEEN PULLING HEAVY ANCHORS ON A BIG SAILBOAT MY WHOLE LIFE. THIS IS EASY FOR ME. SO FOR JULIE, IT WAS NOT INTIMIDATE AT ALL TO GO FROM ONE MALE DOMINATED FIELD INTO ANOTHER. I’VE BEEN SPEARFISHING SINCE I WAS A KID. MY FIRST BAHAMA TRIP, I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD. I SHOT MY FIRST FISH WHEN I WAS 13. JULIE IS MAKING HISTORY, BREAKING BARRIERS IN A SPORT WHERE YOU USUALLY SEE MEN. THE 31 YEAR OLD HOLDS SEVERAL SPEARFISHING TITLES, INCLUDING TOP NATIONAL FEMALE CHAMPION IN 2021 AND 2022. SHE PLACED SIXTH OVERALL AGAINST WOMEN AND MEN, WHICH HAS ONLY BEEN DONE ONE OTHER TIME IN HISTORY. MORE THAN 70 YEARS AGO. YEAH, IT’S IT’S PRETTY AWESOME. I’M JUST HAPPY TO BE A PART OF IT. I, I AM GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION FOR RANKING SO HIGH AGAINST THE MEN. NOW SHE IS GOING ON TO REPRESENT THE U.S. IN THE SPEARFISHING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN SPAIN, A COMPETITION THAT WOMEN DID NOT EVEN COMPETE IN UNTIL 2018. THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR THIRD WORLD TOURNAMENT FOR THE WOMEN’S TEAM. IT’S WILD TO THINK THAT WOMEN JUST STARTED COMPETING ON THE WORLD LEVEL A FEW YEARS AGO. I THINK THAT’S MORE OF A RESULT OF TURNOUT AT TOURNAMENTS. I THINK IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED SOONER. HOW WE HAD MORE WOMEN INTERESTED IN DOING TOURNAMENTS AND THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS WE’RE TRYING SO HARD TO REACH OUT TO WOMEN IN THE COMMUNITY. SO WE WANT MORE WOMEN TO COMPETE, MORE COMPETITION SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN. BECAUSE IN THESE COMPETITIONS, IF THERE’S NOT ENOUGH WOMEN, THEN THEY COMPLETELY REMOVE THE WOMEN’S CATEGORY. I THOUGHT YOU JULIE’S LOVE FOR SPEARFISHING ALWAYS SEEMS TO MAKE ITS WAY BACK TO THE FIREHOUSE. EVERY TIME I SHOW UP TO A NEW STATION, THEY’RE LIKE, WHAT’S FOR DINNER? WHAT FISH DID YOU GET? IT’S NORMALLY LIKE, OH, YOU BROUGHT FISH. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COOK IT FOR WPBF 25 NEWS? I’M NATALIE POZO. I BET HOWEVER YOU COOK IT, IT’S DELICIOUS. YEAH. AND TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TEAM AND HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THEM, YOU CAN SCAN THE QR CODE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT IN THE CORNER OF YOUR SCREEN AND THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO OUR WEBSITE WHERE YOU WILL FIND THEIR GO FUND ME PAGE. AND WHILE YOU’RE THERE, CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PROJECT, COMMUNITY STORIES. WE CONTINUE TO SHARE MORE