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 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!

Arnold Classic 2018 IFBB Pro Champion- William Bonac

Welcome to a new format!

We are trying something new and here we have a YouTube link as well as a Podcast!

Visual Ohio Voice is hosted by Danielle and Andrew Livelsberger.  You get to listen to our thoughts on the events we cover.

This premiere episode, we cover the Arnold Classic 2018 IFBB competitors and top 3 placers, William Bonac, Dexter Jackson and Cedric McMillan.


Youtube:

Podbean Podcast:

International Sports Hall of Fame Induction 2017

Written by Dani & Andrew Livelsberger

Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Dr. Bob Goldman

Background:

The International Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that honors the world's greatest athletes.  This annual event is held every year at the Arnold Fitness Expo in Columbus, OH.  This post covers the March 2017 ceremony in Columbus Ohio.

Impression:

2017's theme centered around overcoming the adversity of life to become something more.  The inductees spoke of how, despite forces in their lives that never believed in them, thought they would fail, be nothing, were not smart enough...used that emotional conflict and made it a driving force to success.

I feel this was an extremely brave and powerful message that we all need to understand and appreciate.  These athletes, icons of strength and power, were once told they were worthless or not good enough.  The are proof positive that despite all the roadblocks in life - success is there for you.  It is not something that will be given to you, though.  It must be worked for, putting in hours, days and even years to get the success that you want.

You know them today because they refused to be told that they couldn't.  Instead, they proved that they could and their "could" became stories worth knowing and repeating.

Jim Larimer

Thomas Rosandich 

Bill Kazmier

Apolo Ohno

Lou Ferrigno

Herschel Walker

Arnold Sports Festival Columbus Celebrating 30 Years

Written/Photography by

Andrew Livelsberger

Background:
Celebrating 30 years of sports excellence, the Arnold Sports Festival returns to Columbus, OH March 1-4, 2018.   75 sports will be represented and new sports/exhibits will be introduced.


Impression:
You know we here at VisualOhio love the Arnold Sports Festival.  We have been attending the event long before we covered it professionally.  We've seen the event grow and change over time, just as we've seen different sports and athletes change over time.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has created a tradition, a welcoming atmosphere for the world of sports.  This annual, world wide event is something to behold.  A mecca of sorts, that we feel everyone should attend at least once in their life, if for no other reason to see the world in a different way.  A way that shows that varying sports and athletes from all kinds of backgrounds have a place.

Here is a sampling of some of our favorite images from over the years.  Please enjoy them and know that we love what we do and we love bringing you coverage of the event every year.

The 30th year will bring even more sports, hitting the 75 mark - including axe throwing and body painting being added this year.