OK, this is a contest report with a difference. I'll tell you about the performances on the day, and the contest itself, but I'd also like to shed some light on events leading up to the contest.
First the background. At the start of the year it seemed that nobody was going to run Britain's Strongest Woman (BSW), and the contest was going to die. I was sad to see this, and decided to see if I could do anything to keep it going. I asked around to see if anyone had any objections to me putting the contest on. I needn't have worried; people I spoke to were all supportive at this stage. So the next step was to find a venue and a date, which I did, before working on sponsorship. It was hard work getting sponsors for the event as I was asking at the wrong time of the financial year and many companies had spent their budget already. I managed to get four sponsors on board (including MuscleTalk) however, and they provided enough money and resources to make the event possible.
I had enough sponsorship to be able to provide prize money and gift vouchers for the first three placings, and trophies, plus every competitor would get a T-shirt, some whey, some creatine, a protein bar, a protein flapjack, a Red Bull, and a bottle of a still fruit drink. There was NO entry fee for athletes.
So now I had a venue, date, sponsors, prizes and T-shirts. I just needed to sort out events and equipment and get some competitors. The events were easy enough to sort out; I have access to a lot of equipment which gives me options and flexibility. I got some good advice on events as well that helped immensely.
I started work on getting competitors by contacting (phone, email, etc.) women who had competed in contests in the past. This had limited success; the majority of women had other commitments it seemed. I got only four interested responses from this. I also advertised for competitors across several strength boards frequented by British people. This brought only one additional response. So at this stage I had a maximum number of competitors of five, and I knew from past experience they would not all turn up. The next stage was to broaden the search for competitors, so I contacted several women's rugby clubs in the area to see if any of the players might be interested in giving it a try. This brought a further interested response.
Going into the week leading up to the contest I had a maximum number of competitors of only six, and generally not everyone turns up. I was worried, but decided that there was not much else I could do. I just had to hope for the best.
I emailed the competitors that I was not in regular contact with, and sent them the address and details of the contest, wished them luck, and told them I was looking forward to meeting them. As the week passed I got no replies - this was worrying!
I ordered 35 crowd safety barriers from a contractor to be delivered on Friday, and collected on Tuesday. (They don't work weekends. Monday was a public holiday.) They didn't turn up.
On Sunday night before the contest two of the people that were helping me on the day told me they couldn't make it. Not their fault, but this created an additional problem for me.
So I woke up the morning of the contest (after a terrible night, struggled to sleep, sweating and shivering alternately all night) knowing that everything that could go wrong already had, so surely things could only get better. I looked outside… HEAVY RAIN! Bugger!
I loaded the remaining equipment in my van, having taken the rest of it to the venue the day before. I left my home for the contest venue and just as I started the van my mobile phone rang. A competitor had woken up with a "sore neck" and was not coming. Okay, at this point I realise that I'm going to be royally shafted. But what can you do? You have to get on with it.
So I arrive at the venue, set up, and some competitors, helpers, and spectators arrive. At the appointed hour to start there are three competitors; three more having not turned up. One of whom actually lived in the town the contest was at. Only one of the three had bothered to tell me they were not coming.
So we got started, there was a short break in the rain, long enough for us to complete the first event. The athletes pulled a 3 ton vehicle over a 20m course. The event was won by Gemma Taylor in a very fast time. Hanne Bingle also completed the course in a good time. Alyson Smith, in her first ever contest, put in a gutsy performance to complete the course as well, really battling hard to make it over the line.
The next event was the log, but the rain returned with a vengeance. Soon there was thunder, and people took cover where they could. After waiting a few minutes for the rain clouds to move (as likely to move as a Frenchman living next to a brothel), we decided to abandon the out door area and complete the events in the ground floor of the neighbouring multi-story car park.
So the log came next, with Hanne Bingle managing a very solid 8 reps, and Gemma Taylor showing her class with an incredible 18! Alyson Smith had never tried a log before and struggled with the clean. She had about 4-5 good goes at getting the log into position for the press, falling short by a matter of inches. Despite not competing a rep, Alyson's determination won her a warm and respectful applause.
After the log came the deadlift, an event once again dominated by Gemma Taylor who had clearly been working hard on this event. Her best lift at the recent London Invitational with this apparatus was 175kg; Gemma bettered this by an impressive 45kg, managing 220kg, with plenty more in the tank.
The Farmers Walk for distance again saw Alyson put in a brave effort. She managed to pick up the 70kg implements, but unfortunately could not get her feet to move once she had them up. Hanne Bingle also had problems, a slight hip injury hampering her attempt. Gemma took the farmers for a good trip however, completing 80m before calling it a day and putting them down.
We finished the day off with a medley, still in the multi-story car park. The first stage was 3 flips of a light tyre, then a 20m carry with a 50kg sandbag, before finishing off with a 160kg yoke for 20m. Alyson completed the tyre flips, and the sandbag carry, but could not walk with the yoke. Each step she attempted saw it drop from her back. Hanne Bingle put on an impressive display, completing the course in just under the 90 second time limit (she had a second and a half to spare!) Last up was Gemma Taylor, who again gave the few hardy souls who had braved the weather something special to remember the day by. Appropriately considering the climatic conditions, she was like lightening as she tore through the medley in a frankly incredible time of 35.8 seconds!
So with the events competed it was time to take stock and congratulate the athletes. In 3rd was Alyson Smith, who despite her inexperience and light bodyweight, showed immense courage and determination throughout. I am convinced that with some good training and eating she has the makings of a solid competitor. In second was Hanne Bingle. Still feeling the after effects of the London Invitational, and carrying some minor injuries, she still managed to impress on both the log and the medley in particular. So the champion is Gemma Taylor. It is hard to believe that it was this very contest a year ago where Gemma made her first appearance. In that short time she has improved dramatically and made am impact that has been felt across Europe. I feel privileged to have been there the day she first flipped a tyre and decided to try Strongwoman, and I'm impressed by the way that she has never looked back from that moment on.
Overall the contest didn't exactly go well, but considering the amount of things that went wrong, it is a tribute to the athletes that turned up, the helpers like Big Lennie and James Connell, and the generous sponsors www.MuscleTalk.co.uk, www.lessbounce.com, www.wheyconsortium.com and www.extremenutrition.com that it even happened at all!
So I would like to thank these people, and also Ronnie Blewitt, The "Diamond-Doggs" (http://www.diamond-doggs.com), Eric Guy, and especially my parents for all contributing in their own way for making the best of a bit of a wash-out.