Arm wrestling is once again a thriving sport in Cranbrook.

The Kootenay Kings Arm Wrestling Club has been around for 25 years and currently has about 10-15 core members. The club is welcoming to new members, too.

Members come in from as far as Creston and the Elk Valley as well to practice, which is on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and the club is always looking for new members.

The Kootenay Kings are in the midst of changing where practice is held so if you are interested in joining the club call 250-919-7772 to get the location.

“This sport is open to anybody, and in the larger centres there are often women and children competing as well as some disabled persons,” said club spokesperson Jamee Churchill.

“The club in town here currently has one female member but they are hoping to add more if word gets out and also looking to branch out with junior competitors. There is a lot of opportunity to go places with this sport,” Churchill said.

There is an annual Provincials competition, typically held in Kelowna. An annual Nationals competition (this is where you qualify to go to the World’s) and an Annual World’s Competition, which is in Bulgaria this year, with club member Ben Soles competiting. These tournaments are part of the World ArmWrestling Federation (WAF).

Also, there are many smaller tournaments at different special events such as at Sam Steele Days, Rendezvous Days, Griz Days, many in the Okanagan and more across the provinces.

A new part of this sport is the creation of the World ArmWrestling League (WAL), which is mostly held in the USA but is sponsored by Monster and they have tournaments at different Monster sponsored events.

They also have a large tournament where the final round is held in Las Vegas for a large sum of cash and this is featured on ESPN. This league has a qualifier in a few Canadian cities, which allows Canadian athletes to compete as well.

Lead image: Sam Steele Days arm-wrestling tourney action at The Legendary Byng Roadhouse. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photos

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