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INTERNATIONAL
ARMWRESTLING FEDERATION
USA+CANADA+AUSTRALIA+NEW
ZEALAND
NEWSLETTER
JANUARY
2001
To start the year off I hope everyone had Happy Holidays and that
you all get what you wish for in 2001. For
some that would be to win a certain title such as State, Regional, National or
World. For some it is just to
improve on what they have already accomplished.
For many in the Armwrestling community the hope for Unity on a Worldwide
scale. This may be closer than we
think. Fred Roy has made a proposal
for Unification between both WAF’s. He
has sent this to the head of each Federation on both sides of WAF. I will enclose a copy of this letter in the newsletter.
Hopefully this could be a great year for Armwrestling and put us a step
closer to the Olympics. UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 10. New England
Championships will be held at the Northland Restaurant & Lounge in Canaan,
VT. There will be 13 weight classes
for men & women plus classes for teens and children. Awards & prizes for 1st thru 3rd
in all classes. Men’s Right & Left Overalls. For more info call Paul or
Sylvie at 802-266-3686.
Feb. 26. CT State
Championship. To be held at Starstruck Restaurant on Rte 10 in Plainville, CT. There will be 16 weight classes for men & women plus
children’s classes. Awards for
ist thru 3rd in all classes. For
info call Josh at 860-826-5330 or e-mail questions to
starkie1@earthlink.net March. Tournament in NH. Date & place to be announced later. More on this in next newsletter.
March 24. Tournament of
Champions will be held at Brewskeez in St Louis, MO.
There will be 19 weight classes for men & women plus 2 Super Matches.
The winner of each Super Match will receive in cash $1,000.00.
You must enter at least one right hand class to be able to pull in Super
Match. For info call John Wilson at
636-281-0278(evenings) or call Brewskeez and ask for Russ at 314-830-9206.
April 28. The 9th Annual White MT Championship will be held at
Timbermill Pub & Restaurant in the Mill at Loon MT on Rte 112 in Lincoln,
NH. There will be 13 weight classes
for men & women. Trophies for 1st thru 3rd in all
classes plus a Dinner for Two at the Timbermill Restaurant. Special room rate of
$50.00 per night for all armwrestlers and friends, mention armwrestling. For
reservations call 800-654-6183. For info call Bill at 508-947-8958 or e-mail
questions to
iaf1@mediaone.net.
May 26. The Delaware Valley
Strong-arm Challenge will take place at the PA State Fair in Bensalem, PA.
There will be 12 weight classes for men & women. Trophies for 1st
thru 3rd in all classes. For
more info call Bill at 508-947-8958 or e-mail to
iaf1@mediaone.net Aug. 4/5. The USA Unified Nationals will be held at the AVI Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, NV (South Of Las Vegas). Open weight class events held on Sat with the Masters & Grandmasters on Sunday. All 1st & 2nd place finishers will qualify to go to the World Championships being held in Poland. Custom Medals for 1st thru 4th in all classes. For reservations call 800-284-2846. For more info call Denise at 406-248-4509 or 702-535-5555.
Unification
When you look at the word unification,
it is not a big word and it is quite self-explanatory. The unification
problem that we currently have in the world of armwrestling is also not a big
problem and relatively quite simple to fix. How is it so simple to fix you might
add? What do I know that you do not know? Without knowing any of the history of
the WAF (or WAFS), starting today, you as an individual, an armwrestler, a
referee, a promoter or just someone who is looking to get involved, what would
your choice be? The old WAF or the new WAF?
The answers are simple if you know where to look and what questions to
ask. When you compare the surface of the 2 organizations, they are quite similar
and you may ask, " What is all the fuss about?” but, when you compare the
workings of the two, that is where the difference is. That is where the key to unification
is. The old WAF is still filled with people who are after power, who are
after money, who are out for themselves and their egos. There are many very good
people in that organization who are holding on to their dreams and hoping that
these individuals will snap out of their spiral and see the truth for what it
is. When you have an organization that is run by people that claim democracy,
yet run their private corporations to benefit personally from WAF or use the
benefits of WAF to fund their own private agendas, that organization will have
many conflicts of interest and will not represent armwrestling as it should. You
can understand that when any of the above is threatened by democracy, that
anyone in the road will surely be run over or cast aside. The new WAF is run by
an elected board of directors. The board was elected by the membership and is accountable to
the membership, not to a corporation or private agendas. The mandate is, first,
to promote armwrestling world wide in a uniform and consistent manner and to
provide resources to the membership to accomplish this. We are not afraid to
face the membership and if we are not doing our job, the membership can replace
us, as per the new constitution. Now here lies the key to unification.
If those in the old WAF are so confident that they are right, why are
they so scared to have an honest election and to face the membership and let
them make the decision? Why do they always have so many back room meetings,
privy only to the ones who want to keep the power? Power for what? A
dysfunctional organization as they have it today? An organization that is so
totalitarian that they cannot see the forest for the trees? For unification
purposes we invite everyone from the old WAF to come to the Worlds in
Poland, present their case, make their stand and let the membership decide. It
would be a two way street, the new WAF would also present their case make their
stand and let the membership decide who they want to keep from both sides and
then decide who is to lead WAF as one unified
world body. This request may be quite difficult to fulfill for the simple reason
that in his many propaganda e-mails, Mr. Barij Baran Das from India claims that
we don’t exist! Tell that to the hundreds of armwrestlers that participate
with us. Frank and Karen Bean have bought the AAA from Mr. O’Leary and would
face financial disruption. Mr. Capla wants unification and what is best for armwrestling, but his ego may get
in the road of the solution. Mr. Panzetti is at odds with the rest of the old
WAF because of the on going dictatorship and lack of good leadership within that
organization. The answer my friends, is very simple, let the membership decide!
We ask the old WAF board of directors to pull their heads out of the sand, put
your egos aside and come to the WAF worlds in Poland. We welcome you with open
arms! Let the membership decide! We of the new WAF are very prepared to live
with the results of such a meeting. We are prepared to compromise. It is the
only way that we will have a resolution to the problem of unification.
I invite Mr. Milan Capla to enter into a dialogue with me. He is a reasonable
man. I know unification is possible
and we want it. The haunting question is, do they?
Thank you! Remember the spirit and train hard! Fred Roy
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ARMWRESTLING.COM- Dave Devoto (707) 537-7373 
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