Hawkesbury arm wrestling tournament shows strength of sport
Arm wrestling as a college sport has grown in strength across the region.
On Friday, March 24th, the École Secondaire Régional Catholique de Hawkesbury (ESCRH) hosted the Eastern Region’s first-ever arm wrestling tournament, featuring 13 schools from across Eastern Ontario. A total of around 180 students took part. The event was officially sanctioned by the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Athletic Associations (OFSSA).
ESCRH physical education teacher Philippe Lauzon restarted this school’s armwrestling club earlier this school year. Interest in the sport grew near Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute (VCI). Lauzon and VCI physical education teacher Dan Tremblay decided to organize the tournament.
“There’s a lot of hype on social media about arm wrestling,” Lauzon said.
He said the students interested in arm wrestling aren’t typically the ones interested in more team-oriented sports like volleyball and basketball. They are generally students who are more interested in developing personal strength.
“It’s a different group of students that’s represented,” Lauzon said.
About 30 students from ESCRH participated in the tournament, which was held at their school. According to Tremblay, the VCI had 11 male competitors there. He said interest in arm wrestling has increased in recent months, leading to the tournament.
“We saw it coming just because it developed at our school,” Tremblay said.
Arm wrestling star power came at the ESCRH tournament. North America’s top armwrestler, Devon Larratt, was there, enthusiastically cheering on the competitors and livestreaming the entire event. Larratt, a former member of the Canadian Forces Special Operations Forces who served on seven deployments to Afghanistan, has been arm wrestling since he was 18.
“I’m so happy to see it in schools,” Larratt said.
He hopes the sport continues to grow in schools across Canada.
Larratt’s own children are students at South Carleton High School (SCHS) in Richmond and competed in the tournament at Hawkesbury. ESCRH, VCI, Glengarry District High School (GDHS) of Alexandria and SCHS dominated all weight and age divisions at the tournament.
To view the results of the East Region Arm Wrestling Tournament held at ESCRH and watch the YouTube video of the event’s live stream go to https://sites.google.com/csdceo.org/escrh-tirpoignet-armwrestling/ battery pack .
Photos from the East Region Arm Wrestling Tournament by James Morgan
