Arm Wrestling Benefit For Sandy

By Joe Marvilli

While Queens is home to many well-known sports competitions, like the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, one of the longest running is the annual Empire State Arm Wrestling championships. The competition will return to Queens on Dec. 16.

  Held by the New York Arm Wrestling Association, the championship is now in its 35th year. Although it is well into its fourth decade, this year’s tournament is going to be notable because it is also acting as a fundraiser for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

  More than 100 men and woman will make their way to Cheap Shots Sports Bar, located at 149-05 Union Turnpike in Flushing, to compete. The event is open to the public and free for spectators to attend, though the NYAWA recommends making a donation once they are there to the American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts.

  If you would like to participate rather than watch, you can register the day of the tournament. Weigh-in and registration will take place at Cheap Shots from 9:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. The competition begins at 1 p.m. There is an entry fee for contestants, $25 for amateurs, $30 for pros and $10 for women. There are no residency requirements.

  There are 17 categories, both pro and amateur, for men and women. Custom four-and-a-half pound medallions will be given to first, second and third place winners. Those skilled enough to be chosen as the championship’s overall right and left handed MVPs will be given a $100 cash prize.

  The NYAWA will also select the New York State Arm Wrestler of the Year. Athletes are said to be coming from as far away as Russia, Puerto Rico and Turkey, according to the NYAWA. The arm wrestlers expected to compete include Brooklyn natives Giorgi Gelashvili and Joyce Boone, the 2011 New York State MVP overall winners.

  “The Empire State Arm Wrestling Championships is New York City’s oldest and most prestigious sought-after title,” Gene Camp, founder and president of the NYAWA said. “This event is a culmination of the NYAWA season and it’s going to be very exciting to watch because it’s loaded with top talent locally, from all over the tri-state area and far beyond.”

  Reach Reporter Joe Marvilli at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125, or at jmarvilli@queenstribune.com.