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Post by Eric Baldino on Mar 23, 2012 13:34:54 GMT -5
Here is a list of how many times a particular state shows up on the latest top ten rankings list. This is right and left hand, men and women in all weights.
Ca 17 Fl 13 Mo 11 Co 8 Wy, IL, IN, 6 each UT, CT, NY, PA, MI, 5 each TX, AR, SC, WV 4 each GA, OH, 3 each NH, MA, NJ, OR, NM, KS, OK, LA, NC, 2 each ID, VA, NV, 1 each
At a glance it looks like these numbers may also correlate to how many tournements a state holds each year, "with a couple exceptions".
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Post by ryanconstantino on Mar 23, 2012 17:35:20 GMT -5
Great topic! I'm not going to say that Denver, Colorado is the best place to live if you're an armwrestler, because a few of the places named on this thread might be a little better. I will, however, say it is the best place to live......period. The weather is A+, its a great city with a lot of entertainment and recreation. You could find yourself on a mountain snowboarding at 10,000 feet, and bicycling in 70° weather the next day. As for the armwrestling, Mile High Armsports has a few tourneys in Denver ever year if you dont wish to travel, and you will find many other great events within driving distance. While living there, I never had a problem finding a group to pull with. You can get a good session in every week if you want. The only bad thing about Denver is the football team, can't stand those Donkos!
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Post by John Wilson on Mar 23, 2012 18:20:15 GMT -5
Denver is an awesome place. The only trouble there is for amphibious types like myself who have never spent much time higher than sea level. Just climbing stairs or carrying something is enough to make you nearly pass out.
I can't say enough good things about the pullers in CO. You can't find better folks anywhere.
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Post by Eric Roussin on Mar 23, 2012 19:28:10 GMT -5
This is interesting. I used to keep track of these stats when I maintained the rankings. These are how the numbers looked in May 2010 (keep in mind that there were no women's rankings at the time, so the figures aren't totally comparable):
MO - 13 CA - 11 CT, NY, PA - 7 SC - 6 WY - 5 GA, OH, OK, TX, WI - 4 FL, LA, MA, MI, OR, WA, WV - 3 AR, ID, NH, NJ, UT - 2 CO, IA, IL, IN, KY, ME, MT, NC, NE, NV, RI, SD, VT - 1
Note the significant gains made in Florida, Colorado, Illinois, and Indiana in the past two years. I think a lot of this has to do with the increased tournaments put on in some of these areas recently. Good work!
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Post by Bruce Urabe on Mar 24, 2012 4:31:21 GMT -5
As for strictly training purposes...UT, CA or WY. Utah, cause well..John Brzenk lives there DUH! Cali, a BUNCH of great pullers to train with. Wyoming...Cory Miller. Not that the other places are invalid either, but those would be my top choices.
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Post by Eric Baldino on Mar 24, 2012 9:30:46 GMT -5
This is interesting. I used to keep track of these stats when I maintained the rankings. These are how the numbers looked in May 2010 (keep in mind that there were no women's rankings at the time, so the figures aren't totally comparable): MO - 13 CA - 11 CT, NY, PA - 7 SC - 6 WY - 5 GA, OH, OK, TX, WI - 4 FL, LA, MA, MI, OR, WA, WV - 3 AR, ID, NH, NJ, UT - 2 CO, IA, IL, IN, KY, ME, MT, NC, NE, NV, RI, SD, VT - 1 Note the significant gains made in Florida, Colorado, Illinois, and Indiana in the past two years. I think a lot of this has to do with the increased tournaments put on in some of these areas recently. Good work! That is interesting. Over the years pockets of very talented armwrestlers pop up from certain states. This seems to change every few years as training groups form and fade away in specific regions. 20 years ago Ohio had outstanding opportunities for armwrestlers, 15 years ago South Carolina was on fire, 10 years ago Louisiana comes to mind. Then states such as CT, MO, PA, surfaced with large teams training together which produced alot of talent. Lately CA and FL and MO seem to be in the spotlight. I am sure I am forgetting many states, these are just off the top of my head. I would guess that today a few states have groups of armwrestlers who are fairly new, but dedicated to training seriously for the sport, and in a few years those states will take their turn in the spotlight.
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Post by John Wilson on Mar 24, 2012 9:47:19 GMT -5
Great observation. I wonder if the rise and fall isn't due to a certain area having a core of hungry pullers who travel. I think these areas always have good, dedicated pullers. Every so often a few of them get motivated and start chasing events / titles and the area or team gets notoriety. But most people only chase it on that level for a few years and then they settle down some. Maybe they chase it again down the road.
Wyoming was hot when Devin Bair and Robby were running hard all over the place in the late 90s and early 2000s. Later came Chris Chandler. It was a high water mark for Wyoming that lasted a long time. Those guys are still there, which means so is the talent. They just settled down.
Florida has always been a hot bed but few travel outside the state. Jim Battles, Greg Helm, the Westberrys, Griffiths family, Hopkins clan, the list is pretty endless when you get down to it. And those are the veterans. There is a whole new crop people are only now hearing about although in Florida they have been known a long time.
So I tend to believe that it's more about who is currently hitting events.
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Post by Eric Baldino on Mar 24, 2012 11:02:43 GMT -5
Great observation. I wonder if the rise and fall isn't due to a certain area having a core of hungry pullers who travel. I think these areas always have good, dedicated pullers. Every so often a few of them get motivated and start chasing events / titles and the area or team gets notoriety. But most people only chase it on that level for a few years and then they settle down some. Maybe they chase it again down the road. Wyoming was hot when Devin Bair and Robby were running hard all over the place in the late 90s and early 2000s. Later came Chris Chandler. It was a high water mark for Wyoming that lasted a long time. Those guys are still there, which means so is the talent. They just settled down. Florida has always been a hot bed but few travel outside the state. Jim Battles, Greg Helm, the Westberrys, Griffiths family, Hopkins clan, the list is pretty endless when you get down to it. And those are the veterans. There is a whole new crop people are only now hearing about although in Florida they have been known a long time. So I tend to believe that it's more about who is currently hitting events. Thats a very good point John. Most states have some outstanding talent that often remains under the radar because they don't travel or hit the larger tournements. I would even go as far to say that many states have individuals right now who would totally change the top ten rankings in a very short while if they so chose to travel more, and I totaly respect their choice not to travel if they don't want to, travel isnt cheap. Most seem to be guys that at one time did travel, but are satisfied now with the occassional local tournement. If I had to choose the perfect state it would be one that has many tournements, and many different groups throughout the state to train with, this exposure to different training methods and styles will hopefully make them more well rounded and adaptable pullers on the national scene.
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Post by John Wilson on Mar 24, 2012 13:03:21 GMT -5
Totally agree. There are many levels of competition in this sport. It is great to live somewhere where you can pick and choose from local events to regional or even national caliber events. You can participate at whichever level you feel dedicated enough to train for. The Southeast is just such a place. The vast majority of people in this sport are casual pullers. That's where we all end up eventually.
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Post by Heath McDonald on Mar 25, 2012 8:48:05 GMT -5
I say right here in the Heartland of Nebraska. We have a great place like Mama bears to train. Mary holds about 8 to 10 tournaments a year and if we want to go to a tournament out of the state we are in the center of all the tournaments. Missouri holds a few tournaments and so does South Dakota, So the driving distance is not that bad.
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