New arm wrestling club aims to become province’s premier organization

“There hasn’t been [a rep] the entire time I’ve been an arm wrestler, mostly because there’s a lack of clubs out here. I was happy to take on that role. If you talk to [any] arm wrestlers in the community, the Prince Albert Winter Festival tournament is important to us as it’s 40 per cent of all of our athletes’ first tournament. So when it got canceled last year, I was like, ‘we can’t let this happen again’. It was also my first tournament ever, my daughter’s first tournament; it’s special.”

He continued that now that a rep is in place, not only is arm wrestling set to return to the festival next year, it’s also going to be one of a few tournaments in the country for the World Arm Wrestling Qualifier. The top finishers at the Prince Albert Winter Festival will head to Sudbury, Ont., in April 2027 for that event, where they’ll compete for a spot on Team Canada for the World Championships in August, which are also in Sudbury.

With the formation of the club, the Rebels also have their own clubhouse located off Highway 2, north of Prince Albert. The clubhouse is fitted with several arm wrestling tables, a TV and lounge area, and various exercise equipment, including weights, bands, and pulley systems to allow members to work on and practice their techniques.

Some of the equipment used by the club in their training. Other pieces of equipment had been moved out of the space due to the event taking place Saturday. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Pickering said the space was donated by Saskatchewan arm wrestling great and Prince Albert Sports Hall of Famer Fred Roy, who is a major supporter in the club’s formation.

“As soon as I became the rep for the Prince Albert and North area, I reached out to Fred, knowing his legacy and he’s in the area. I just wanted to let him know, ‘hey, this is who I am, and this is what I’m trying to do’. And, basically, ever since the first phone call, he was like, ‘let’s work together and grow this to be something incredible’.”

Roy is one of the most profound arm wrestlers in all of Canada, if not, the world and has deep roots within the sport locally, provincially, nationally, and globally.

He founded the Saskatchewan Armwreslting Association in 1979 and helped establish the sport in the province with an official circuit. A few years later, he became involved with the Canadian Armwrestling Association and served as a board member at first and later became the president. He then took it a step further and sat as vice-president on the World Armwrestling Federation before taking on their leadership role as president.

During that time as a higher up, he was competing and won a plethora of awards and medals, from local tournaments to world championships. He was also a top referee, and was inevitably inducted into the World Armwrestling Federation Hall of Fame in 1990 during the World Championships in Houston. A year later, he was inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame.

Roy has since returned to his hometown of Domremy and still actively competes at, and wins, Canadian and World Championships at 74 years old. He told paNOW that in the years after stepping down from his role as World Armwrestling president, he started a business in the Prince Albert area and has had an itch to return to the sport.

“I was working on building up my company and I wanted to get back into the sport, but I was trying to figure out how I would get back into it. I was thinking about it; I had this office here and we weren’t using it for anything, and I said, ‘I’m going to turn that into an arm wrestling club’.”

He continued that he then approached SAWA with the idea, to which they responded with ‘no’ because there wasn’t a provincial rep in the area.

“I said, ‘well, I’ll be the rep’, and they told me that someone else had already applied. Then Dan came on board and he’s been doing awesome. He’s really dedicated and that’s a great thing to have.”

“I’m glad that I got the opportunity to do this, giving back to the sport that gave me so much,” said Roy.

A sign that hangs above the door to the Red Wing Rebels clubhouse. A similar one hangs on the fence near the entrance gate to the property. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Now that the new club’s foundation is in place, Pickering said it’s all about growing the Rebels from here.

“There’s been so much growth in the arm wrestling community in the south, like in the Estevan, Regina, Moose Jaw areas, and we need to catch up in the north,” he explained, adding their going to do things their way.

“Ever since I’ve been an arm wrestler, it’s very much been like this is what it is and it’s the same everywhere. I’m trying to break out of that and make it a little different, more inviting to the community. We are going to be a very community based club and even if you’re not an arm wrestler, you can come down and hang out and have a good time. I’ve had so many people after their first practice, they were like, I want to do this. You don’t have to be the strongest guy with the biggest biceps, the only thing you really need is the will to try.”

He continued that the club regularly hosts practices every Wednesday and Sunday, and anyone is welcome to join.

Those seeking more information about the club can do so by visiting the Red Wing Rebels Facebook page.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

New arm wrestling club aims to become province’s premier organization

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