PRESIDENT'S BULLETIN UPDATED 23RD APRIL 2024
Hostile Monsters Warzone in Motherwell is the longest road trip of the year for me & also the favourite. Chopper Crosby joined me again (a 914 mile round trip for him) & it didn't seem that far.
Setting up is easy at Hostile Strength due to how efficient Martin Lennox is & the whole thing just flows from thereon. l had wondered if we would have many pullers: there was a lot of tumbleweed when I enquired of many of the usuals & a lot of excuses. There is a lot going on lately. Still, I'm a believer in if you build it they will come & they did.
Eager new faces, old friends & some serious killers rolled in to claim their spot as top Hostile Monster: Sergii Saraiev, Adam Kaczor & Teoo Bikers of the Babaiev Armwrestling team took home most of the gold, watched quietly by the man himself Rustam. Is there a more passionate team on the circuit? It's hard to say - maybe a few contenders, but the Babaiev's are tough. Luckily Reuben Hughes, Kieran Morrison, Lloyd Hepurkar & Chopper don't get phased by reputation & there followed great medal battles as always provided by the Warzone format.
Within those 237 matches, upcoming locals Dylan Gosling & Graham Shaw stood out, Graham especially: the 78 kilo novice got himself into an overall final. He ain't a novice anymore that's for sure. Welcome to the pros Graham. I also promoted Alan Riseborough who I have followed for a while - he gained that status too.
As always there is a team behind the event that make it happen. James Stewart took a head ref role all day on table 1. Table 2 duty & down reffing was split between Ted Wilson, Keiran Morrison, Connor Sale & I. Hollie Stewart was scorekeeper with Maiden & Lennox on livestream commentary. They worked well together so much so that Bolt & Lennox at an Armgods big event might be the commentary dream team we didn't know we needed.
And so the PAA table has been packed up for a while & the banners stowed. There are things to do for the IFA Euros, Worlds our national championships & host of other boring shit jobs that need attending to so things continue onwards. I have updated the IFA EUROS page - if you are intending to attend please read it - accommodation package especially as it expires on 1st May.
The events calendar is stacked, I include what is sent to me & often find out there are others. l don't have any input into the decisions of independent promotions, though sometimes I turn up & help - contact the promoters themselves for further details, not me.
Next up is London Colosseum 4 on Star Wars day. London Armwrestling will be glad to see you there. I'll be at the British Sit Downs May 18th & Armgods Manchester 19th. See you down the road.
A reminder:
We have joined IFA
What does this mean for you? If entering Worlds or Euros you'll submit your entry to the PAA rather than as an individual unless you live in the Republic of Ireland. IFA realise that we host a combined National championships as UK and Ireland but it's in their statutes that only one nation (as per government & international boundaries) can enter. I'll publish how the team entry works once I am familiar with it. We'll score in the team standings across all categories that we enter. If you are resident here but pull in your own home country national championships that are WAF led, we understand that they may decide to hold you "in bad standing" if you compete in our tournaments. Similarly some of the top names branching out to the big stage might hear a whisper suggesting pulling in our nationals "could limit future opportunities." Talk to me if you have a concern, maybe it can be resolved a different way. To clarify, we aren't & won't be banning future, current or previous WAF competitors. There are better things to do.
Supporting IFA gives extra progression opportunities for those of us who want to compete internationally. For many it will make no immediate difference - but it might in the future.