President's Bulletin: Updated 19th January 2025
By my count 86 of us contested the Pinkertons Irish Open in the Armagh City Hotel over the weekend. It was a full on day with the local radio station broadcasting from the venue & a film crew involved making a programme about the ladies event. This slowed things up a bit but we finished off with 4 overall warzones for the novice & pros on both arms to see who was top dog. The luxury of the Armagh City Hotel above the venue meant that I could fall out of bed & be ready to go. Just as well because after the admin & collation of results it was 430 am when I finally turned in. A few hours kip before hosting the AGM & then I hit the road to get back here to type this bulletin.
It's hard to describe how intense these events are - the travel, the fun, the competition, sometimes drama. The quiet reflections of the days following are the magic that become nostalgia as time rolls on. The David Banner syndrome hits many hard in the aftermath of such adventures & in times past I was not immune. I discovered there are only two cures - quit & do something dull or do more to keep the adrenaline flowing.
​
The road ahead stretches out before me with a lot of exciting destinations. STEEL ARMFIGHT at Mayhem Gym in Boston next weekend will have supermatches & Hightower's team are taking on some serious challengers. He's giving them tough love to foster progression...The week after it's the MAGGIES BOYS WARZONE in Grantham. James Wall has been travelling about in the last few months gaining an international reputation. How much of that experience & guile has been absorbed by his team? Maggies Boys are Warzone enthusiasts & they are going to want to dominate on their home turf. Have you got anything to say about that?
ARMGODS bring the triple Crown to Birmingham shortly after - even on the road ODIN & I were watching some of the matches of Ultimate Armwrestler 9, the fix of our own live action over the weekend was not sufficient to wait. ROADWARRIOR Josh Davis looked like he had his hands full refereeing - I'll be catching up on that tomorrow fully so no spoilers...
March takes me to the PRESTON PANTHERS 20th Anniversary Warzone. Chris Rimmer has been my most prolific opponent these past few years & I have only one pin to show for it after he had been thoroughly tested by the BAKER & FREIGHTTRAIN. I'd love to think that I could get another. I can almost hear him laughing at the thought of it... but there are no chances if you stay home, so whatever your weight class there are challenges to be had & the defending team of Panthers are going to show their mettle against all comers..
I'll be riding shotgun across the pond for ARMGODS at WINTERBLAST (visa already gained) before March is out & at the opposite end of the country from Preston the RAMSGATE RUMBLE will bring the warzone to the seaside for early April. Then it's back North to Motherwell for the HOSTILE warzone. Martin Lennox's Gym is a favourite venue of mine & I look forward to hearing more of his insightful commentary describing me as 102 years old...bounce back South to Royal Wooten Bassett for the CRUSADER CARNAGE in May & just before heading off to Estonia for the IFA EUROS, the TUTT's are doing the British Sitdowns.ARMGODS FITXPO is likely to fall somewhere around then & more episodes of the ULTIMATE ARMWRESTLER will continue to find the next belt contenders.
​
That brings us to summer. By then the fat of Christmas excess should have been skimmed from your frame & instead of looking like a boiled turd your resolute action & warzone attendance will have shaped your muscle mass into a new form ready for the autumn nationals. If you're still waiting for some inspiration to make a start I can only suggest a look at the events calendar to get the details of the pathway suggested above. If something there doesn't appeal to you I guess you could always contact the local college - I believe evening classes are still available in a variety of less exciting subjects are always available.
​
See you down the road.