Lucas Punkari
Most of us probably have had to push a car out of the snow or mud at some point in our lives.
But how about pulling a truck from a seated position with a 100-pound sled on the back?
While that may sound absurd to the average person, it’ll be par for the course for nearly a dozen competitors this Friday evening at the Fort Frances Strongman Challenge being held in conjunction with the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s Home & Leisure Show at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“Probably the biggest misconception that people have when they watch a competition is that the items involved in the events aren’t that heavy or that they look easy,” said event organizer and local competitor Luke Skaarup.
“While the guys that are taking part are all big, massive strong guys, and they’re throwing around the objects like they’re a child’s toy, in reality it’s not that easy,” he stressed.
“You can pick the strongest guy in any town or region to try the events, and they would probably fail miserably,” he noted.
Skaarup, who stands 6’0” and weighs in at 284 pounds, moved to Fort Frances last summer. He was looking for an opportunity to stage a “Strongman” event in town when he proposed the idea to the local Chamber of Commerce.
“I talked to [Chamber manager] Anthony [Mason] and he thought it was a good idea, so it all kind of started going from there,” Skaarup said.
“Here in the north, there’s already a big interest in outdoor-type sports such as fishing and lumberjack competitions, so a ‘Strongman’ competition seems like a natural fit,” he reasoned.
“It really is a lot of fun to watch,” he added. “And it’s low-expense type of attraction to put on and also help raise money for the Chamber.”
Ten competitors from Ontario, Manitoba, and Minnesota so far have registered for the event, which also is a provincial qualifier for the Ontario’s Strongest Man event in Toronto in June, although Skaarup is expecting some late entries on competition day.
The event, slated for 6-9 p.m., will open with the “Farmer’s Walk,” which involves competitors carrying a 300-pound steel object in each hand over a 150-foot course as fast as possible.
Following that will be a dead lift, where competitors have to lift 585 pounds as many times as possible during a set time frame.
“That event’s going to be a bit of a challenge,” Skaarup admitted. “You’ll see the top guys be able to have around 10 reps while some of the others may struggle.”
The third event will be the log press, where competitors will try to lift a 12-inch diameter, 270-pound metal log from chest level to over their head during a set time frame.
After that will be the truck pull before the competition concludes with a medley event, which will see competitors run with a 250-pound sandbag over a 60-feet course before dragging a 400-pound sled back the other way.
With a variety of events taking place, Skaarup feels stamina will play a major part as to who will come way with the trophy at the end of the night.
“That [a lack of stamina] is something that can definitely kill you, especially since the person who finishes last in an event will end up going first in the following [one],” he noted.
“Let’s say you take part in something like a tire flip or a truck pull, which are both really taxing on the legs and back, and while you didn’t do well, you still gave it your full effort,” Skaarup said.
“Ten minutes later, you’re going to have to go first in a log press event, and you’ll be nowhere near recovered from the last event, which will mean that your performance will suffer as a result,” he reasoned.
As both an organizer and a competitor, Skaarup has a different set of goals for each task come event time Friday evening.
“The main goal, as an organizer, is to put on a quality event and make sure that the crowd and the town is entertained by what we’re putting on,” he said.
“As a competitor, because I’m already pre-qualified for the Ontario Strongest Man this year [thanks to a top three showing last year], there’s not a lot pressure to go out and try to win, so basically will just see what happens as the night goes on.”
The competition is set to get underway at 6 p.m., with four of the five events taking place inside the ’52 Canadians Arena.
The truck pull will be held inside the Ice For Kids Arena.
A $3 admission to the Home & Leisure Show gets you into the “Strongman” competition.
