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8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, January 6, 1987 Todd, Wesley and Mike are working towards one goal in the tough sport of arm wrestling: to 3 details). qualify for the World Championships to be held | Mike, Todd and Wes arm this summer in Atlantic City. (See story for wrestle their way south To say that Todd Steele and Mike Haigh are serious about arm wrestl- ing is an under-statement. They don't quite live the sport 24 hours a-day, but it's close for these two likeable residents of 'Scugog Township: Mike, 24, and Todd, 23, recently turiied in credible performances at the 10th annual Canadian Wrestling Championships held January 3 at the International Cen- "tre in Toronto. ) Facing some of the-best and toughest arm wrestlers in the world, -~Todd placed 8th in heavyweight class (201 pounds and up) while Mike finished 6th in the lightweight category (151-165 pounds). Wesley Johnson, 19, also from Port Perry competed in 'the heavyweight.class as well. He's just starting as an arm wrestler and entered the competition for the experience. When asked if they were satisfied with their placings against-the best, Mike and Todd both said they were, "in an interview with the Star the following day . Mike has only taken up this gruell- ing sport seriously in. the past six months, while Todd has been facing the best for a couple of years and last summer. he placed 58th out of 120 wrestlers at the World Cham pionships in Las Vegas To give vou an idea of how far these two guys have come mn this Arm super-. hands," elbows of the "fighting arms." sport, many of the top wrestlers in the world have been at it for at least ten years and are in their 30's and 40's. "Strength is important, of 'course,' Todd said in the interview, "but speed and technique are more important and most often will win out over sheer strength." It's for this reason that Todd. and Mike spend a lot of training time 'at the table" working on technique. The *'table" level competition. It's about waist high, has twa steel pegs which the wrestlers must grip with their "free and two cushions for the The name of the game is to force the competitor's arm to the table before he dbes it to you. Mike and Todd admit that arm wrestling still has something of a "bar room' image and they have . hadat least one bitter experience at a competition held in a tavern where the rules were not enforced, the table was shoddy (inviting injury) some of the eompetiters and even the.referee were drunk. But that kind of an image around the Sport is rapidly changing as more specators are discovering the excitement of top level competition While Mike and Todd are both fierce competitors during a match and they have muscle on their mus- cle. they look on arm wrestling as a sport which demands rigorous ] Say it with a .. BAL LOON BOU QUET Ada to Your Be FOR ANY #F OCCASION! uque! ( ne The Balloon House Delivery Available ams ar 4M 1s 986-5105 is the standard arm - 'wrestling apparatus used in top ---- 2 Jon's Auto i: Repairs Complete Automotive Air Conditioning Ser vic e General | Repairs to All Makes ne tr > | A] init BD. RT 1 sre paw | AR ¥ 53 | ewer =| nom Al 3 br agar a D.O T. Automotive (& Dump Truck Inspection Centre 985-8249 training, a great deal of self discipline, and just the right com- bination of brute strength and pure science of technique. It is believed the sport will really catch on when a feature movie call- ed "Over the Top" Stallone is released in February. Last summer in Port Perry, arm wrestling competitions were held during Festival Days and proved very popular for large crowds of en- thusiastic spectators. At the Canadian finals last Satur- day, a large (and noisy) contingent of Port Perry fans were on hand to offer ali the moral and verbal sup- port they could muster for Mike, Todd and Wesley. : It's a sport that always has a lot of pain, even for the best condition- ed athlete. A match may last less than two seconds, but some can go on for several minutes and the strain on the.arm and shoulder is enormous. Shattered bones during a match and torn ligaments are not un-common, especially for those who don't know what they are doing. - All wrestlers experience severe pain in their arms for several days ° after a top level competition, and at one recent match Mike tore blood vessels in his chest. Mike and Todd hope to hit the road about February 1 for a top leyel competition in S.S. Marie. but they are really gearing up for February 12-14 when qualifying matches will be held in Pickering for the World Ch: ampionships this summer in Atlantic ( ty Both say they are confident they will qualify for the World's this summer - But competing at this level 1s ex- pens:ve. The prize money ( when it's available) doesn't come close to © covering travel and lodging costs, Plans are now underway to hold local fund-raising events (maybe a 50-50 draw and dance) to help defray some of the costs, especially if Todd and Mike qualify for the World championships. And they are also looking for local sponsorship from | the business community in Sc ugog ~ Township. In the meantime, they will give their arms a rest for a few days after the rigours of Saturday's com- petition, then get 'back to weight training and practise with one goal in mind: to make it to the World finals in Atlantic C ity Don't bet against their chances Local arm wrestlers Todd Steele (left) and Mike Haigh with Wesley Johnson in centre demonstrates the starting position for a match. Mike and Todd both had credible performances at the Canadian Nationals in Toronto over the weekend. (See sory). They take this sport very seriously. » with Svilvester Viewpoint for all. These are just a few of the more pleasant memories that come to mind from the last 12 months. There are many more. But as I said at the outset, working, living and raising a family in a community like Scugog gives me any number of happy and pleasant memories. | (From page 5) There iS no community better, I'm sure. POST SCRIPT: It seems in the Star' s recap of 1986 in last week's edition, we overlooked a mention of the Players Challenge Racing Series held during the sum- "mer and the fact that a locally sponsored and owned Camaro did very well in the series. I'm referring to the Dennis Anderson car driven my Mike Rivet. The com- munity of Port Perry got a lot of publicity mileage out of this, plus the racing team did some good work help- ing with the SADD program locally. The involvement of local people and businesses in the Players Challenge for Camaros and Firebirds last summer did indeed merit a mention in the Star's recap of events. Sorry about the oversight. guys. CREATIVE WORDS "0 Son of Utterance -- Thou art my stronghold; enter therein that thou mayest abide in safety. My love is in thee. know it, that thou mayest find me near unto thee." 985-9339 fe Ca Any -- Your Needs are Our Responsibility -- x Nes BAHAI WRITINGS "THAN Seugog Memorial TFUNIEIRAL CHAPEL (ACROSS FROM PORT PERRY FAIRGROUNDS) DAN MARFIN -- FUNERAL DIRECTOR Personal, Professional and Friendly Service Pre-arrangements Available ar it 1 Se Ed