Think you've got what it takes to be Colorado's greatest all-around competitor? Then sign up for this weekend's first-ever GAAC (Greatest All-Around Competition), an amateur sporting contest featuring seven different events. "We are searching for the greatest competitor in Colorado, and the funny thing is, the first words out of everyone's mouth that we say that to is 'That's me,'" says Julian Hayward, who created the event with friend Quentin White. "This is about endurance; it's about skill, and it's about being somewhat athletic -- not that you really have to be athletic to bowl."
Activities include a 3.6-mile bike race, Ping-Pong, pool, one-on-one basketball, bowling, golf and a 400-meter run. Starting out at Overland High School, 12400 East Jewell Avenue in Aurora, the GAAC runs from 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, wrapping up with a Sunday-evening awards ceremony. The winner will take home a trip for two to Las Vegas.
"To win it all, you don't have to take first place in every event; all you have to do is place," says Hayward. "It's really about bragging rights."
All contests will take place in Aurora; participating venues include Kennedy Golf Course, Brunswick Zone and Table Steaks East. The competition is open to men and women ages eighteen and older and limited to 96 entrants on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is $125 and must be completed in advance at www.gaacevents.com or by calling 303-363-6711. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. -- Julie Dunn
Bone Crushing
Fusion Pro Wrestling breaks all the rules
SAT, 6/26
Head honcho Elliot Loren inaugurated Fusion Pro Wrestling last month when he stepped into a ring set up in an Aurora rec center and proclaimed the league to be unlike any other. There were no weight classes or restrictions, he explained, just old-school wrestler-on-wrestler throw-downs, with all styles welcome, from lucha libre to shoot-fighting. Local pro and ex-CU Buff Chan "MVP" Moody promptly crashed the ring and insisted that previous prowess alone warranted crowning him Fusion flag-bearer on the spot, recalls Fusion spokeswoman Victoria Peña. Appalled by such audacity, a wrestler called Corpse stormed into the ring and power-slammed the loose-lipped offender. Then Moody broke Corpse's arm.
The violent display caused an outcry among children and parents who had been comped tickets as part of Fusion's deal with the Aurora venue; the grapplers were quickly and permanently shown the door.
Despite its rough beginning, the show will go on, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Sheridan Recreation Center, 3325 West Oxford Avenue, with no free-ticket holders to interfere. Promoters promise that these bouts, which build to a conclusive title match later in the summer, will satisfy even the most desensitized of fans. Tickets, $8 in advance, $10 at the door, are available at 303-564-8307 or www.fusionprowrestling.com.
Pack a tourniquet. -- Adam Cayton-Holland
