JHenze646 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Bootlegging, Metric conversions, and Gripsport north of the border: an American's recount of the Cross Canada Grip Challenge. First off I would like to thank Eric Roussin for organizing this competition and for opening it up to non-Canadians. I have been at a few competitions, both grip and games where strong Canadian athletes show up and i really wanted to get an opportunity to compete at a Canadian event. Thank you for that. Also I would like to thank Rob McMurren and his wife for making us feel welcome and hosting the Waterloo venue where I attended. The summary Canada is like this whole other country. The contest was awesome and full of quite a few monster lifts. Gripsport in Canada is no joke and will continue to grow. The unabridged version Turning the ship North After posting my interest about attending the comp when it was announced, Rob touched base with me at SJ4 and both Rob and Andrew Dube messaged me again afterwards to encourage me to compete. Rob even joked that he would waive my entry fee if I showed up with Yuengling since it's not available in Waterloo. I couldn't commit right away as life was a little hectic for a few weeks but then things started to calm a bit. I booked the hotel, told my wife we were going to Canada, and bought some Yuengling. As we drove up to the Customs officer our GPS blurted out "Welcome to Canada". Customs Officer, "Is there anything in your car?" Me, "Some clothes and some beer." CO, "Why are you going to Canada?" Me, "I am attending a Gripsport competition." CO, "What? Competition?" Me, "It a sporting competition that tests the strength of your hands." (not wanting to push my luck with the first rule of Gripsport) CO, "Really?!?(I nod)Well, welcome to Canada." Immediately after entering the Canadian highway, I quickly realized i have a very limited grasp of the metric system. "How many kilometers are in a mile? Why are we passing everyone? Why is everyone passing us? Look how cheap their gas is!" Thankfully we had driven to Waterloo on Thursday because we got held up quite a bit in traffic and arrived at our hotel just before 7. At SJ4, I had weighed in one pound over the weight class limit, and i wasn't going to let that happen again. I weighed 229 when I left Pittsburgh, so I ate very small meals Thursday night and Friday morning. I like to eat and I was Hungry. The Competition Friday morning I tried to stretch out all the tightness from the long drive the day before. My wife and i set out to explore a little bit of Waterloo which included some walking to also help undo the car ride. Any drive over four hours usually means arriving the day before to let things get sort of back to normal before trying to put forth any kind of effort. I skipped lunch and got dinner to go to guarantee that I would make weight. I arrived at the McMurren residence, cleverly marked with a flipping tire and log in the front yard, right at 6 pm. Rob greeted us outside and the rest of the family, including Blue, welcomed us as we entered. Rob led us to a platform set up next to a bar in the living room. I weighed in as Andrew Dube was arriving. I don't remember what it was, 102 something(?), but now I could eat! and drink! I downed a half liter of coffee and ate some of my food. I have made the mistake of eating too much too fast after making weight before. I was easily able to avoid that temptation by having a chance to talk with Mr. McMurren and Mr. Dube and meet the rest of the Canadian gripsters as they arrived. I warmed up in Rob's gym downstairs while checking out his set up. When I returned upstairs for a bit more food, Rob was announcing that the contest would be starting soon and that I would be helping judge since I was a grip veteran or something. Wait... What?!? The first event was the World of Grip Goldbar. I had never touched this implement before. I tried to get as many warmup lifts as i could and really feel out the device. Unfortunately it seems to be one of those implements that you have to really put time in on and discover its intricacies. Just like in throwing, I never remember the numbers of my attempts. I try to put forward the best effort I can on that day and let the judge worry about the numbers. Several competitors made excellent lifts despite it being their first competition. The Goldbar is a solid implement with little to no play and no easily discernible way to cheat the lift. I hope to compete on one again but hopefully after a bit of practice. The second event was a FBBC 2.5" crusher. While I am not a thickbar enthusiast, I do like the crusher. Unfortunately, a lot of the other athletes apparently are thickbar enthusiasts and they were starting their attempts after I had made the best of mine. I was able to witness a new Canadian record set by a first time competitor. Expect big things from Rick Heidebrecht. Again there was a lot of solid lifts from "alleged" new competitors. The Crusher is always a solid implement to contest even though its not a superb lift for me. The implement doesn't show any major significance in regards to age or "seasoning" which makes for comparable results and consistent lifting. The third event was the Ironmind hub... There were several good lifts on the hub including Mark L.'s 69 lbr and Gus Bush's extra attempt. I dislike hub implements and rarely train them. The Ironmind hub is however the most widely contested and is alright. The final official event was the Ironmind Silver bullet. I made a good attempt and was able to hold on for thirty seconds. Mike M. waited till the last minute to get the winning hold, an Impressive 36 seconds. Next was the Waterloo Medley and several athletes stormed through attempting the 16 items with several scores of 13. I watched several people make hasty attempts at a 2x35's pinch. When i took my medley run, i patiently set up on the 35's and lifted them. (Maybe there is something to that whole veteran thing.) I was not able to lift the 165(?) Pro Dumbbell or the 15 Dube Cube ball bearing during my medley run and finished with a score of 14. Perhaps the Yuengling was on my side as well. ("If you're not cheating, are you even trying to win?") The competition was run super smooth especially since Mr. McMurren kept stating it was the first contest he was hosting. I was given some sweet GripnBend gear for my efforts and a sick loading pin for my luck in the medley. Thank you very much. Often times training for competitions is terrible and in the weeks leading up to the competition my life is an absolute mess. Injuries and other BS have become the norm in the last few years. If you are waiting till you are "ready" or until you're strong like the top guys before you compete, DON'T. Put your money down, go to the competition, and make your numbers count as best you can that day. The long drive and expense were totally worth it just to hang out with Rob, his wife, Andrew, and Gus again and to meet all the new competitors. I learned so much being on and near the platform this trip, especially the things Rob and Andrew told me. Just based on the Waterloo venue, the rest of North America better step up its grip game. I did not see a weak hand in the house. The only mistakes I saw were errors in judgement on picking weights and rushing attempts. Mike M. is going to be a force to be reckoned with and Tyler B ran out of attempts on every lift, not strength. The Canadians are no joke. Heading South for the winter My wife and I did a little more wandering around on Saturday. Thanks for all the great recommendations. We will definitely have to comeback to see it all. On the long drive home I pondered new ideas, new training plans, and started laying out future competitions. Another Huge thank you to the McMurren's for letting us into their home and making us feel welcome. Customs Officer, "What were you doing in Canada?" Me, "Attending a Gripsport competition." CO, "A what?!?"... 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Roussin Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 I find it very cool that you made the trip to Canada for this contest. Congrats on your medley win! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terminal Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 That was a cool report. Looking forward to grip spreading in Canada. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Great write-up, and it sounds like you did very well at the contest! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob McMurren Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Thanks for coming and for your help during the comp. The Yuengling didn't make it past the Sunday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donc101 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Great report Josh! Nice job at the competition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacinamj Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Great to meet you eh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHenze646 Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 1 hour ago, lacinamj said: Great to meet you eh! Great to meet you as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grip N Bend Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Nice write up, happy you got some swag! Too bad I could not make it out from Winnipeg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHenze646 Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 16 hours ago, Grip N Bend said: Nice write up, happy you got some swag! Too bad I could not make it out from Winnipeg. Thank you. Maybe I will meet you next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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