Ladies and Gentleman

The 2006 World Armwrestling Championships were by far the biggest Worlds ever held with 40 Countries and over 1300 entries.  Some classes had 36 competitors and took over 3.5 hours to run.  Registration, Weigh-ins and Tournament days are run by the WAF Team.   The event hosts take care of having the venue & equipment ready, transporting athletes and hotel reservations.

Neil’s team of 5 worked their butts off to bring everyone the best Championship held to date.  We take our hat off the Neil, Allison, Mick Holland, Andy and Elaine Barker. No one will dispute the dedication and hard work which was put into this event by the BAF Team.

So, why were they not paid before WAF left Manchester?  The answer is simple, between getting the Worlds together and preparing for the PAL Fireworks on Sunday, Neil just did not have the time to meet with WAF before the WAF team left at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning.  That is the only reason.  Neil was given 50% of the registration fees minus the expenses. WAF received the other 50% and the Referee Fund received their share.

Now, why is WAF not defending themselves?  From the moment the WAF Team arrives at a Championship they start working and it does not end until the moment they leave.  That is 9 days of intense 16 to 20 sometimes even 24 volunteer hour days.  When we get on a plane to come home we go into melt down mode and we need at time off. Willy and I work with the team as well as meet with everyone that needs to meet with them, they sometimes attend 5 to 6 meetings in a row then come back to the WAF office and help prepare the event.  So it is understandable that when we get home and are being torn apart on the message board, it is not likely to be a priority. We will take the time we need to recperate and get ourselves oriented with our personal lives. For those who want the facts, they will have to wait until all the work is finished and then they can go through their country presidents to get what they haven’t found on the internet.

It did not seem to help that Neil Pickup went back on the board several times to say that he respected and supported Willy and I and would continue to do so.  He also went on the board to say that he had been told the amount he was going to receive and everything was fine.

Was a contract signed?  NO, after WAF making atleast 6 attempts at getting a contract signed Neil finally told WAF he would not be signing the contract.  Neil guaranteed WAF that although he would not sign there would be a Championship in Manchester, England.

Being only 6 months to the event WAF had no choice but to work with Neil and ensure that the best World Championship was brought to everyone.  How did WAF do that?

WAF’s mandate is to ensure that the Constitution and Rules are followed by all WAF members.  To bring to all WAF members a Championship that falls within Constitutional guidelines and that follow proper protocol.

In July Willy Deneumostier and Lise Blanchard traveled to Manchester to meet with BAF and go through all the requirements as per WAF Constitution.  Neil and his team met them with great enthusiasm and showed them all the hotels, venue and transportation they had envisioned for the Championships.

The Constitution and key points were addressed and promises were made.

1.      Space available for viewing matches, teams not being able to get close enough to stage (ei: team captain).  Being able to see all matches from such a distance.

2.      Holding area for on deck classes not being large enough

3.      Stage needed to hold 4 tables – this was addressed by promising that two pod stages would be built and put in front of the larger stage making all tables viewer friendly. 

4.      Area required for Doping Control with bathroom – the space was showed to us and promised

5.      Set up for Scorekeepers and Master of Ceremony as well as Referee resting area

These items were all addressed and we were told that the armwars competitors and spectators have never been disappointed and neither would the world competitors.

1.      Each competitor would have their picture and stats on the big screen and that they would be brought down the staircase to music.  This would take between 2 to 4 minutes per match.

2.      Each competitor would be given a t-shirt to wear.

At this time Neil was told that the Constitution would not allow the armwrestlers to compete out of uniform and that the t-shirt idea would not be allowed.  This was well before the sponsorship was secured and t-shirts had been ordered.

He was also told that having the finals take 2 to 4 minutes per match would be fine as long as it did not take longer than that.

Neil and his team put on a great tournament enhanced by having 40 Countries and over 1300 competitors attend.  These countries and competitors attended the 28^th World Armwrestling Championship not only because Neil was hosting them but also because WAF has worked tirelessly for Unification and to bring many new countries to WAF. 

The issues WAF had with BAF were purely related to the items in the Constitution that were not being adhered to. 

Let us not forget that:

·        This was the biggest World Championship ever held

·        For the first time since 1998 there was only one World Championship

·        Brazil and Egypt has joined WAF

·        Unification has been realized

·        In 1998 -       Countries attended.  In 2006 – 40 Countries attended

·        IN 1998 -       Entries.                    In 2006 – over 1300 entries

·        We have qualified Master, Senior and Junior Referees we can be proud of

·        We have an anti-doping policy to grow from

WAF has met their mandate; have worked hard and will continue to work for the armwresters and Sport recognition.

Yours in Armwrestling

Fred Roy, WAF President