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This is no sport for weak arms~!  Popeye and Brutus may have a chance.  The Hulk definitely.  Wonder Woman.....yeaaah~~!  Well....... one of them called himself "The Hulk", another  "Monster" and there were even some weaklings trying to throw their opponent.  This was Championship Arm-Wrestling, not the typical neighborhood twist your arm event.

This was the Ryan Sheets 6th Annual Memorial Bakersfield Arm-Wrestling Championship.  Held at the Norris Road Veteran's Hall on Saturday, May 17, 2008, it was a packed hall and the air conditioners couldn't keep up with the intense heat provided by all the pumped up arm-wrestlers and spectators.

There were several weight Divisions for Men which included Lightweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight.  The women competed in the Lightweight and Heavyweight divisions.  But after observing the Lightweight women arm-wrestle, I can guarantee that they can beat you and me together.

You have to be tough and should be able to withstand pain.  No pain, no gain~~ Several arm-wrestlers, men and women, left with very sore arms.

I had the privilege to be asked to photograph the event from start to finish and was on stage inches away from the participants.  The arm-wrestlers were lined up on both sides of the stage and when they were called out, they were pumped up and ready.  You could see their muscles were there to do business.

A little chalk on the hand to prevent slippage and the arm-wrestlers were ready for the most important part of arm-wrestling.........  The Grip.   If you had the Grip, you probably had the Win.  The Grip by some sent even the strongest to defeat.  The referee made sure that the competitors were in position and once ready, he would yell......"READY, GO".

From then on, you were on your own.  If you winked, took a breath, or were thinking about how you were going to win...... You probably lost.  Some bouts were faster then a speeding bullet and faster then I could press the button on my camera.

Some semi-final and final bouts were very intense, you could see it on their faces, it seemed as if their eyes were going to pop out.  The Grips were very tight and you could hear the crunching of the fingers.  Some of them so tight that the Grips would slip and the participants would have to reposition himself/herself and start all over again.  There were few bouts where the proper Grips could not be made no matter how hard the participants tried to grip his opponent.

Arm-Wrestlers came from all over the nation to compete including a group of Arm-Wrestlers from Armenia who took home some trophies and.......sore arms.

Why is this event held annually?  Well It all started with Ryan Sheets who was an outstanding athlete at North High School excelling in wrestling and football. He became the SYL Champion Wrestler at North High his senior year and went to CSUB to wrestle. Ryan injured his neck at CSUB and due to complications from that injury and an auto accident he passed away in 2001.

Please click on a few of the photos provided and view the tournament like no other.  I think I'll start working out my arms now so I can be ready for next year.  Ow, ouch!!