2022 May - Canada Grip Sport National Championships - Eric Roussin

[Eric Roussin]

I was REALLY looking forward to the Canada Grip Sport Nationals. After a three-year absence of a Nationals due to pandemic-related restrictions, I was eager to compete for this title once again. When Brad Provick contacted me a few months ago about a big grip contest that he was organizing in May, I suggested that he make it the Nationals. Jason Steeves, who had originally planned to host the contest in 2020, and I, who hosted the event in 2019 and the years before, didn’t yet have plans to organize the contest in 2022. So, with Brad ready to go, and with the success he’s had in growing the sport in Saskatchewan, I thought it would be a great opportunity. He agreed, but on one condition: that I make the trip out west to defend my title. I was definitely up for doing this, as I had been looking forward to travelling out west for a while to compete with the grip greats of the region.

I knew that the Nationals would be very competitive. James Jeffers, Brad Provick, Tom Bryson, and I have had very similar contest performances over the past couple of years, and I knew there were several others who weren’t far behind. The contest was indeed competitive – even more than I expected. And there were several surprising performances from competitors I didn’t know, or that I knew very little about. More on this later…

This was only my second trip to Saskatchewan. I had been to Moose Jaw in 2008 for the Canadian Armwrestling Nationals, but had never been to Regina. I stayed at a hotel that was directly in front of the venue: a strongman gym specializing in strength sports called Mettle Performance Training Centre. It was a perfect space for the contest, with plenty of seating for competitors and spectators alike. There was also plenty of food, including some great pulled pork sandwiches provided by competitor/sponsor Scott Pirsak and his wife. 

I had met Tom and James before, but it was the first time I got to meet Brad, Scott, and everyone else in person. I recognized most of the names, but it was great to be able to put faces to them. Among these competitors was Joy Brown, a 73-year-old competitor who writes poetry. She’s even published an entire collection of grip sport-related poems! I’ve already read it and it’s great!

This year’s Nationals consisted of five events: the Double Overhand Apollon’s Axle Deadlift, the IronMind BlockBuster Pinch Block, the 2.25” Crusher, the Two-Hand Tips Tester, and the Little Big Horn. First up was the axle, which has traditionally been a strong event for me. But I also knew that it was a strong event for many of the competitors in attendance, including Tom Bryson, who holds the Canadian record. I was a little worried, because I had tweaked my back a few weeks ago and was unable to train with the axle using heavy weights. Luckily, my pre-contest rest period seemed to take care of this, as I didn’t experience pain during the contest. I managed to lift 190 kg, which is not a PR, but I was very satisfied considering the circumstances. Three competitors lifted more: Brad got 195, and both Tom and Tristain Hoath were successful at 200.

Next up was the IronMind Pinch Block. Several competitors were able to lift big weights with this, including Al Block, who set the Canadian masters record with a lift of 40.1 kg. I managed 38.1, which was a slight disappointment because I expected to lift 40+. The big surprise in this event was the performance of first-time competitor Carter Colleaux. At 20 years of age and weighing only about 180 lbs, he lifted more than everyone else in the room: 43.2 kg! Just grams away from the overall Canadian record! We were all extremely impressed.

The third event was the 2.25” Crusher, which I expected to be my best event, relatively-speaking. I was hopeful that I could lift at least 105 kg, but I did even better than that, with a successful lift of 107.2, breaking the overall Canadian record, and world record for the 93 kg class. I attempted 109.5 and got it up about 5 inches, just one inch short of the height requirement. Needless to say, I was very happy with this performance.

After three events, Brad and I were either tied for the overall lead, or we were fractions of a point behind Tom (I can’t recall). The Tips Tester was next. I was confident that I would be able to put up a good number, given I had recently broken the Canadian record in a contest in March. I did lift a good amount (148.3 kg), but it turns out the Tips Tester was a good event for many competitors. 10 guys lifted more than 300 lbs! But the person who truly shined in this event was 105 kg class competitor Mike Schiml. Mike had competed in a few grip contests prior to Nationals, and based on his results I knew he was strong, but he’s REALLY strong with the Tips Tester. He managed a lift of 171.2 kg (over 377 lbs)! The contest was run using last man standing format, and I believe he was the only competitor for the last four or five weight increments. We were all wondering “just how high will this guy go?”

After four events, Tom was in the lead, Brad and Mike were in second and third place (can’t recall the order), I was in fourth, and I think James was in fifth. The scores were very close. We all knew that the last event was James’s best event: the Little Big Horn. So we expected him to climb up a few spots, but we didn’t know exactly how much ground he’d be able to make up. My LBH training had been going well, and I felt a lift in the 105 kg range would be possible. Luckily, I was able to make a big lift (106.3) when I needed to. James had the top lift with 111.55 (a new Canadian record). Tom, unfortunately, struggled, which caused him to fall several spots in the standings.

When the final tally was made, James had earned just enough points to secure the overall title, with a score of 467.6 points (percentage-based scoring was used). I was in second overall with a score of 465.1, and Brad was in third with a score of 464.3. Talk about a close contest! Rounding out the top five were 105 class competitors Mike Schiml (452.6) and Carter Colleaux (436.6).

I can’t recall many details from the women’s division, but Christina Kaluza-Hughes was the top lifter, tying or winning four of the five events. 

It was a very interesting contest. Each event was won by a different competitor, and three events were won by 105 class competitors.

Not only were there awards for the top finishers in each class, but there was also prize money! I walked away with $450. (But that’s not all. My hotel also happened to be right next to Casino Regina. I decided to venture over and play a bit and made some more money. All combined, I won enough to more than cover all of my expenses for the weekend (flight, hotel, food, etc.)!) So, yes, I was very happy with my weekend.

I can’t say enough about the great job Brad and his team did with this contest. Competing in one of his events really is a great experience. I would definitely recommend attending one of his contests if you ever have the opportunity to do so. His efforts are growing the sport to the point that he may need to host two King Kong dates to accommodate the number of competitors he’s expecting.

Bravo Brad, Scott, and the entire team!

[Bill Piche]

Great writeup!  Thanks and congrats!

[Vinnie]

Great writeup indeed!  Grip sport poetry!  Casino subsidized competitions!  180-pound guys winning events!

And is the poetry actually published?  Like, I can find it on Amazon?  I'd buy that just to support the author for trying, and if it's good, too, all the better!

[Eric Roussin]

38 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Great writeup indeed!  Grip sport poetry!  Casino subsidized competitions!  180-pound guys winning events!

And is the poetry actually published?  Like, I can find it on Amazon?  I'd buy that just to support the author for trying, and if it's good, too, all the better!

It is published, but I’m not sure if it can be found on Amazon. I’ve messaged you some additional information.

[BradProv]

  Thanks again for making it out Eric!   Everyone was jazzed you could.  

Funny how I've been doing this for years and this time, because you were there, more than a few acquaintances (who have never really spoke to me about grip before- strength/strongman guys I know on FB) reached out to me after to congratulate me for "almost holding my own against Eric Roussin lol"   or something to that tune. lol.  Your reach in this sport is wider than your realize sir!

It was razor-thin at the end!  Eric and James really stepped it up at the final minutes of a 7-hour contest and brought the big LBH numbers when they had to- true veteran competitive form!

James is a deserving champion, was always the Bridesmaid and never the Bride, came 2nd after me the last 6 or 7 contests in Saskatchewan, so his rise was inevitable. 

Joy Brown is an award-winning poet, winning with a poem book about training in a strongman gym in her 70s (the book previous to the grip strength book).    She is an amazing ambassador for the sport we are lucky to have her!  Glad you got to visit with her

 

 

 

 

[Eric Roussin]

"almost holding my own against Eric Roussin lol" - now that’s funny