Armed and Dangerous

The organized sport of arm wrestling started as a bar-room diversion encouraged largely by the efforts of newspaper columnist Bill Soberanes, who went on to found the United States Armwrestling Foundation circa 1953. By 1969, arm/wrist wrestling had gained enough notoriety to land a regular spot on ABC's Wide World of Sports, where it stayed through 1985. And who can forget the image of Sylvester Stallone swiveling his baseball cap before planting his elbow and pulling in the 1987 movie Over the Top?

Tomorrow, the ultimate strongman competition — the 2008 Colorado State Armwrestling Championships — comes to Eck’s Saloon, 9890 West Girton Drive in Lakewood, in a double-elimination tournament complete with zebra-striped referees calling fouls. Weigh-ins are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday evening and 10 a.m. to noon today; kids and teens with parental permission kick off the event at 1 p.m., followed by an adult competition at 3. The entry fee is $20 for adults and $5 for kids; spectators and participants alike pay $2 at the door. For more information, call Rick Cisneros at 303-480-0876 or visit www.milehigharmsports.com.
Sat., Sept. 13, 2008