The Airdrie Arm Wrestling Club (AAWC) enjoyed a successful 2018 Alberta Provincial Armwrestling Championship May 12 in Calgary, with three of its pullers each bringing home a pair of medals.
For a club that has been growing for the better part of two years, the event shows AAWC is on the rise among the provincial ranks, competing in a field of approximately 140 arm wrestlers.
“This was the first tournament all three of us competed in,” said arm-wrestler Stacey Foster.
Foster led the medal haul, winning gold in both left and right arm events in the women’s under-154 pounds weight class. Glenn Weber earned a gold in the left arm and silver in the right arm men’s under-198 pound events.
Weber’s daughter Bella also pulled at the event, earning a pair of silvers in both arms in the youth 10-to-13 category.
Although the Webers are relatively new to arm-wrestling – having just started pulling competitively in late 2017 – both have made major progress.
“Bella has placed in every tournament she’s gone in and I think Glenn has, as well,” Foster said. “They put everything they’ve got into it.”
Although all three competitors qualified for the Canadian Armwrestling Championships in July in Laval, Que., none of the athletes will be travelling east to compete. Instead, they are focused on the 2019 national championships.
Foster said she is opting out of nationals due to a lingering shoulder injury that has limited her training and competing.
“I want to take nationals off just so I don’t do any more damage,” Foster said. “First and foremost is my health.”
In addition to organizing and running AAWC, Foster and her husband Stew own a local business that is busiest in the summer months, making it difficult for the pair to co-ordinate training, competing and building arm-wrestling.
“Because we’ve made the commitment to the club, because we hold it in our house, we’ve made the commitment to everyone (in it),” Foster said.
“Even on nights where we should be working late, we shut down, we go home and we have practice.”
Despite not returning to nationals this year, Foster still has some competitions to look forward to this summer – the World Armwrestling League event in Innisfail, Alta., June 2 and a Battle Zone Alberta event in Grande Cache, Alta., July 27 and 28.
