President's Bulletin:
Updated 25th October 2026
Online entries for Nationals now open, 43 entrants so far. These can be viewed at the bottom of the Nationals page & will be updated once a week, usually Monday from 2nd Nov. This is so those who have entered can see we have noted their entries without having to fill the inbox up asking if we've got it & so the nervous can see who the competition is & get their excuses ready for not attending. Everything you need to know is on the NATIONALS page. Please read it.
It's going to be hectic, triple elimination means an extra chance for everyone & a longer day. I'm going run four tables & have 4 IFA refs coming to help us so our refs can pull their categories if they want to without feeing obligated to help. I intend to start ontime at 12pm & be efficient. It means that when the weigh in closes at 11 it is closed & latecomers are superheavyweights & unknowns who can't confirm they are safe/resident/old enough will not be pulling. Make sure your team captains have put you on their list of safe pullers if we haven't seen you before. Team Captains - please direct your teams to read the instructions on the Nationals page. Monday 23rd November is the last day of online entries. You don't have to pay to enter online - it's cash on the day & it makes registration a little easier, especially where there are names with lots of consonants to type. Finals are at the end, presentations after. Going home early means your bronze medal/4th 5th or 6th certificate will be added to the giant pile of uncollected stuff available next time. Nationals are important, it's a long day, those running it got up earlier & go home later than you. That's how it is.
NEW IFA PRESIDENT Marian Capla was in touch two weeks ago & I said I would keep the notice up until he said otherwise. He's looking to reduce my workload by providing an alternative:
"Just wondering, maybe 5 people can avoid UK nationals and would be willing to go to represent UK in the very first Team WCH in Baku.
Can you just ask the team?
There are unique conditions - free accomodation with HB for team, no starting fees.
You have all invitation package already so just share it please and I believe there are 4 men and 1 woman who would like to attend.
Thank you and take care,
Marian Čapla
IFA President"
It is the same weekend as the UK & IRELAND NATIONALS. It's open entry so you're not selected - as long as you are able to pull for the UK under the usual residency rules we'll put you forward. Two or three at the Warzone finale were considering it. Anyway, read the outlines in the link above - ignore the closing date - he's asked us to put forward a team so they've extended it. It could be a club trip. Have a read, have a think & use the get in touch button if you are interested.
Similarly Dave Curry has been in touch:
"I need armwrestlers. Ideally 8 around 95-100kg and for what ever reason can’t make Nationals. The date is the 27th of November. I’m working with a production company to create a new TV show. It is a live pilot, based in the North East that we're developing with the BBC and North East Screen. I've hopefully pulled the main points together below, any questions just ask. • Date, venue and timings: The event will take place at PROTO on Friday 27 November, with the live show running from 17:00–19:00. Hopefully that gives anyone heading to the Nationals on Saturday enough time to get to Birmingham afterwards. The timings should only move if the streaming platform requests a specific slot, which looks unlikely at the moment. *Competitive armwrestlers: *We'd like to source six -eight competitive arm wrestlers — three for Team A and three for Team B. We'll pay each competitor £250 and look after food and refreshments on the day. We're thinking they'll arrive at around 10:00 so there's plenty of time for rehearsal and some pre-filming. Competitor selection: Where ability is broadly equal, it'd be great if the six competitors have strong personalities and social followings, and are happy to lean into their on-camera personas. The more local the better but this goes out to anyone who can be in Gateshead on that date. Competition format: The six competitive arm wrestlers will form part of five-person teams, alongside an influencer and an (ex-)sportsperson on each side. The current plan is 11 bouts in total, with the first team to six wins taking the competition. Each bout will be best-of-five-format. The competitive arm wrestlers (3matches each)will take part in the round-robin section, followed by the influencer and (ex-)sportsperson bouts. There are two more shows planned for mid Jan and mid February. Great opportunity to be part of a show that if the pilot is successful will become a full tv show taking the sport to a new audience."
If interested contact Dave (not me) via whatsapp on 07779342183
See you down the road.
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