President's Bulletin: Updated 1st December 2024
79 pullers contested the Pro Nationals over the weekend with 3 of us also pulling Masters alongside our own weight class. There were more pullers last year & with just 2 tables running we finished very late. It led to the clamour for doing it over 2 days. I was resistant to the idea: two extra days of Nationals more than doubles the costs to the association. It takes more work planning on my part, I lose a days work before & after each tournament & contrary to some belief I take no money for my efforts so lose those days too. These past few weeks with the bad weather have delayed my usual work & with the clock ticking to finish having this weekend off should have been unthinkable. If I wasn't running it I wouldn't have come. Help arrived though from Paul Maiden who gave up a day of his own to work with me in the mud & get me back on schetdule. That's a real friend there, thanks Paul. Getting everything together to make the Nationals work is not fun. It's dull & tedious. I come home from work, have my own family concerns & some of the dipsticks that I have to deal with by email, phone & in person sometimes make me question my motivations for doing this.
As it was, 3 tables ran with a team of 13 referees & 4 scorers recruited to oversee it. They are my heroes. I had many hands unloading, weighing in, refereeing, scoring, packing up - It has taken some time to build an effective team, hampered as we are by keyboard warriors, habitual arguers, the stupid & the thoughtless. Some people were conspicuous by their absence. Only 3 came from Scotland, 2 from Wales, none from Ireland. 9 novices competed, many more were in the room playing side table accompanied by a few dozen excuses of why they couldn't possibly compete. Not much progression going on in that regard, but more than those sitting on their sofas awaiting supermatches they know they can win. The garage & garden champions will continue to fill up our social media feeds with their exploits I'm sure, but national titles are the top trump currency if you want to hit the big time.
There were some amazing moments from our champions & challengers. Noah Burton missed his weight & decided at the very last minute to throw himself into the superheavyweight class. My reaction was not favourable. He ended up with the silver medal & had some wars in the overall class too. He has the mindset to have a go come what may & this has made his rise through the ranks an exceptional example of how progression can work - make your choices, take your chances & see what comes along. Mindaugus Dulskas was unbeaten all day on right whilst Mantas Daunekis was similarly skilled left until his elbow ripped off wrestling Sergii Saraiev in the Warzone Overalls. Sergii again proved to be a force of nature, but he didn't have it all is own way as Lee Webber had plans of his own in that regard. Mantas asked me if I was trying to kill him with the Warzone but also admitted that he loved it too. It is not for the soft, that is for sure.
Other moments were poignant too - Alan Greaves inducted his friend Garry Rickett to join him in the Hall of Fame. We have a page for our Hall of Famers & it would be very good for any of you who have memories & stories to share to send them over so we can include them. There was some banter on the ARMGODS livestream between Tom Atherton, James Wall, Paul Maiden & Alan Greaves that I caught bits of behind me & it was comedy gold. My ref team also had their battles & not only whilst wearing the stripes. I didn't see all of them, but a memorable one was Reuben Hughes & Adrian Popescu's left hand final. Reuben broke his arm a few years ago & has battled back to better than he was before - & he puts time in to help you mugs too. Amazing man.
And so champions were made, medals were awarded & I have a few weeks to think before the UDEZUMOU UK TAG WARZONE takes place on 5th January. It's not flower arranging, so that will exclude the majority of you - but those with stout hearts & iron elbows might want to see what it's all about on the Udezumou page.
See you down the road.