President's Bulletin:
Updated 5th July 2026
Ad Barnett travelled to Poland & won the Senior Pro -80kg category on the right at the 15th International HEL Championship. It's very impressive. Not long after he started he broke his arm. It takes some gumption to persevere after that & many understandably don't. In 2023 we were both in Stockholm for the Nordic Open & he told me of his plans to improve & get stuck in. Some people get disheartened when progress doesn't happen as fast as they wish. Ad has plugged away, taken some setbacks & kept at it. All the more reason to congratulate him on his victory over the weekend. Well done Ad.
Armwrestling is busy. Armagh Geddon club in Northern Ireland are making opportunities integrating with other strength sports & cultural events. CSAL in Scotland are constantly active with supermatch opportunities, as are ROAR in Wales & other parts of the UK. Club Torture vs Babaiev Team matches were on today. Club vs Club events aren't often advertised outside the immediate circles but are important for progression. Armgods Wales card is being planned for September. I saw a poster for EAL the other day with the Scottish Open tournament coming up in August. There was a time when not much was going on & people complained they only knew about events afterwards. That still happens but technology has advanced & those who want to do something can find out how. The google bot will tell you where to look if you ask it. I mentioned Ad Barnett went to Poland to win there this weekend, we had a strong team in Romania for the IFA Euros a fortnight ago. Dean Bolt won the Dracula cup in Romania last year, James Wall is in India at the moment. Bogdan Stoica & Tom Holland fresh off victories at East vs West are booked for more appearances. There are opportunities available for those who chase them.
Back to domestic matters: Dave Curry & his team of comedians were great hosts this weekend, it was a fun day. I saw some real comradery between them that often only happens in a few long established clubs. I also saw a lot of progression. Paul Scott won left overall & Clarke Brettwood won right. The cheers that went up for them were heartening - even more so for the debut of Kevin the Bull Legg. If the Independence day spaceship came to Newcastle on Saturday the 29 of us fighting for points at the Welcome to the Toon Warzone were too engrossed to notice. The spacemen didn't get the belt anyway. It took 257 matches to establish Bogdan Badiu as new leader of the Warzone league with 47 points. It allowed him to have a photo with the 2026 Road Warrior Championship belt for his efforts. He didn't have it easy. Paul Scott, Taylor Rawlson, Clarke Brettwood, Lloyd Hepurker & Neil Cass got ahead of him in the overall finals whilst Tom Atherton, Charlie Blockley, Phil Corr & Alan Volzenoks were the other finalists doing their best to stop him. The thing with the warzone league is you don't have to win every match (though obviously it helps if you can). Consistent pulling at multiple events gives you chances. Early leader Callum Rice, absent this time - is now 11 points behind on 36. Tom Atherton moved up to 31 to share joint third place with Karl Crosby. Bogdan told me he was going to make this his last warzone of the season, but after getting a feel of the belt is reconsidering his options.
If he doesn't attend or is kept out of the scoring points any of the current top twenty can overtake him & take it away. It's not all about this year either. A youngster at the event told me he fancied his chances for 2032. I like that ambition.
Updated League points & full results are on RESULTS page.
A sincere thank you to the referees who kept the show running - Chris Waters, Tom Atherton, Charlie Blockley & Neil Cass all pulled & reffed - Luke Banks & Dave Curry kept the whiteboard going too. The venue - Three MIle Hotel - looked after us.
Summerslam is in 2 weeks. The Tutt's know how to throw a beach party, that's for certain. There will be plenty of chances to pull the great & the good on side tables. Circumstances might prevent someone from turning up & their opponent is left without a match. Maybe you could step in. Ask the Tutt's, not me, if you think you're the one to do that.
See you down the road.