Arnold Sports Festival 2019 - Futsal

Written by Dani and Andrew Livelsberger

Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Background:

Futsal is similar to soccer in play.  It uses a hard court on a smaller field and the teams are 5 players per side.  The ball is smaller and has less bounce than a standard soccer ball.   This makes play faster paced and stresses more passing and individual technique over longer kicks.

Many resources exist on the internet that go into more detail of the exact rules of the game.  If you understand soccer, you'll understand this game with little issues.

Impression:

Being a big soccer fan, going into the sport was a bit of a thrill sight unseen.  My only previous knowledge of it was from some Youtube videos and rules websites.

Due to the smaller size of the pitch and fewer players, action is amped up significantly in comparison to futsals bigger brothers.

There were many different age groups at the Arnold, but regardless of age, The same high energy play was found.

Many skill levels were present with some standouts in both strikers and goalies.  In the Ohio State Fairgrounds facility that the matches were played, there were 3 simultaneous games going on during our coverage.

Definitely give your local futsal clubs some support and watch these matches.  Great fun, plenty of action.

Arnold Sports Festival 2019 - Guns and Hoses Boxing - Expanded Coverage

Written/Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Background:
The annual Guns and Hoses boxing exhibition is one of the highlights of the Arnold Sports Festival.  This year, it was held in the Voinovich Center at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.

Impression:
Ohio has a rich pugilistic history.   The likes of Jerry Page, Buster Douglas, and Michael Dokes just to name a few.

Along with those famous names, we have a tradition where the police and fire departments put on an exhibition of the 3 round, 1 minutes fights.

Many great bouts were had at this years Arnold Sports Festival, both men and women's divisions put on a good showcase.

Below are some images from that nights events.  Please enjoy!

Arnold Sports Festival 2019 - Armlifting - Rolling Thunder Event

Written by Dani and Andrew Livelsberger

Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Julia Williams

Background:
A new event for this year, armlifting is a sport where grip strength is paramount.  Athletes need to lift increasingly heavier weights, but the difficulty is ramped up from a traditional weight or power lifting event due to the larger sizes of the grippable areas.

The images in this thread are from the event names Rolling Thunder.  The athlete must lift the weight straight up from the handle and be standing straight up to the judges satisfaction.

The event was hosted by TheGripGuys.

Autumn Cote
40 kilos (88 lbs)

Impression:
Armlifting is very new to me.    Much like years ago, outside of the Arnold Sports Festival, I knew nothing of MAS Wrestling.  It being listed on the roster as a new event for this year, I had to do my research.  I checked it out on YouTube and I knew that it was something we should experience first hand.

I knew nothing at all of it, had no idea that it even existed.  So, we made out way to the Consourse stage to cover it.

We know that lifting heavy weights is a task in and of itself.  With armlifting, the difficulty is increased by having the gripping handle much larger in diameter than you would usually find.  This requires the participants to develop their grip strength in order to even be able to lift the weight from the ground.

These are not trivial weights either.  In the first few lifts, the athletes were putting up 40-60 kilos (88-132 lbs) in weight.

Having discovered this great sport, we will definitely have to cover it more in the future.  If you've never heard of armlifting before, give it a try and check it out for yourself.

Arnold Fitness Expo 2019 - Guns and Hoses - One Shot!

Written/Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Location:  Voinovich Center, Ohio State Fairgrounds

At the end of the third round, bloodied but still on his feet, this Guns and Hoses competitor showed strength and tenacity in all three rounds of his fight.

The annual Guns and Hoses boxing exhibition is one of the highlights of the Arnold Fitness Expo.  This year, it was held in the Voinovich Center at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.

There are still 3 full days of Expo, competitions and events.  Don't miss out on this world class sporting festival.

Arnold Sports Festival 2019 Is HERE!!

Hey there, loyal readers!   It is that time of year again and we are back with the coverage of the Arnold Sports Festival!   2019 is going to be another great year!  We have some new sports joining the festival this year that we will be covering like futsal!

Don't forget to stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook feeds to get on the spot updates of events and happenings throughout the day.

Coverage will start in early afternoon around 2-3pm and then go through late Sunday.   We'll have full blown articles for you early in the week following the event at the latest.  If time permits, we are going to put out articles as soon as possible, potentially the night of or the next morning.  We have an aggressive shooting schedule....so no promises on that!

Stay tuned and we look forward to hearing your feedback.   If you are in Columbus this weekend, try and get out to this world class even and experience  first hand what this is all about!

Arnold Sports Festival 2018 Recap

We want to welcome back our Arnold Sports Festival Columbus readers as well as any new readers!
You might be wondering why the Arnold articles now?

We wanted to give you a little recap of 2018 and start getting you pumped and excited about all that is going to go on in 2019!

The team is currently looking over the events for this year and building out our schedule of coverage.
We'll update you on anything new that is coming in a future post.

Guns and Hoses Amateur Boxing

This event was held at the Hollywood Casino event area.  Police and firefighters compete in 3 round boxing matches.

Body Painting Competition

2018 was the first official body painting competition at the Arnold Columbus.   Great artists and models came together to showcase their skills.

 

Art At The Arnold

For many years, art has been a feature at the Arnold.   2018 saw the introduction of the body painting category, other more traditional art forms continue to be made and displayed.  2018 saw the artists move to a more spacious area in the newer section of the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
New location, same great art.

Yoga

Yoga is also represented at the Arnold.  At this session, sensory deprivation is used to help block out the outside influences of the world and get the practitioners focused.

Pole Dancing

Professional pole dancing is a must see event.  We stop by every year to see the amateurs and professionals display their awesomely choreographed and athletic routines.

Scottish Highland Games

Caber tossing and rock throwing were on display in the Expo.

Toughman Competition

New for 2018, the toughman boxing was exciting and entertaining.  We are hoping that this event returns in 2019.
These fighters left everything in the octagon.

Wheelchair Bodybuilding

After we saw this event for the first time a few years ago, this has been a must see every year.  Showcasing the strong will of the human spirit.  These bodybuilders overcome some of the biggest adversities and prove that you can be whatever you set your mind to!

Pickleball

we knew very little about this sport, but it is easy to understand once you watch for a little while.  This fast paced sport is great to watch.  Definitely check it out!   This event is normally at the fair grounds along with gymnastics, cheerleading and the kids expo.

Professional Wrestling

Yes, there is that as well!  We stumbled across this high energy match whilst making our way through the kids expo.   It was so good, we stopped to get some coverage of NOW - New Ohio Wrestling!

There are so many competitions at the Arnold every year, we have a tough time trying to figure out what to cover!  There is something for everyone at the Arnold, so make sure to look over the 4 days of events and find your favorite!  Or better yet, find something you've never seen or heard of before and give that a go.

Here is a link to the 2019 schedule of events.
Official ArnoldSportFestival Website - SCHEDULE 2019

Remember, if you can't make it, checkout our coverage February 28 through March 3!