WESTLOCK – With the aim of generating local interest in the sport, a national and international arm-wrestling champion who lives in the Westlock area will be hosting a free demonstration at the Rotary Spirit Centre this Friday, April 21, from 6-8 p.m.
Paul Andrews, who operates a farm in Westlock County, said he first began arm wrestling around 1998 when he was working on a drilling rig.
Noticing that he was pretty strong for his small stature, Andrews said some co-workers invited him to get involved in the Edmonton arm wrestling club, and soon enough he was competing in tournaments.
Over the course of roughly 11 years, Andrews won five provincial championships and four national titles. He then moved on to the global stage, competing in the 2001 World Arm-wrestling Federation Championship in Poland, where he netted a ninth-place finish in his weight category.
He returned to the 2002 World Arm-wrestling Federation championship in Springfield, Illinois, where he earned a gold medal in the 60-kilogram category.
Andrews said he competed at two other world championships in South Africa and Canada, but eventually it came time to get married, start a farm and raise a family.
He said he remained inactive until about eight months or so ago, when he began to feel the urge to begin arm wrestling once again. Andrews said he returned to the Edmonton arm wrestling club, which currently boasts about 50 members.
“As soon as somebody grabbed my hand, it’s like it never stopped,” he said. “I got a piece of me that I kind of forgot about. It’s sure a great feeling.”
What’s more, despite not being recognized by many of the newcomers, Andrews said he’s been able to re-connect with a lot of old friends who kept up with the sport.
“It’s like I never walked away from them, which is really cool,” he said.
Of course, some things have definitely changed. When he competed professionally nearly two decades ago, Andrews said he was up against foreign athletes that could earn a decent living from the sport in their own countries, while he as a Canadian arm-wrestler had to fund his own uniform and travel expenses.
Now, most of the Edmonton arm wrestlers have big followings on Youtube, and the big arm-wrestling competitions are huge pay-per-view events that are watched by millions of people.
“It’s just very different to see the acknowledgement worldwide now,” he said.
Of course, driving into Edmonton is somewhat onerous, which is why Andrews is organizing the April 21 demonstration in Westlock.
Arm-wrestling is, obviously, not an equipment-intensive sport as all you need is two competitors and a proper table. It also isn’t very time-intensive, with matches running a couple minutes at most. And while an expert will still always defeat a novice — that's as true in arm-wrestling as it is in anything — as Andrews points out, “anybody walking off the street can arm wrestle, and they can literally do it well with a couple of tips.
“The thing is, it takes years to get good,” he added.
