The Arnold is billed as one of the largest sporting events in the country, with over 18,000 contestants and 200,000 attendees jamming the Convention Center and the Fairgrounds complex.
While it originally started out as a body building contest, which continues to this day, they also showcase a number of other sports. The Fairgrounds in particular hosts a large number of youth sporting events in conjunction with the Arnold.
We had a great day, although challenged at times with the inconsistent schedules claimed times for events, and when they actually occurred. Regardless, 10 hours and 10 miles of walking later, we had seen much (resulting in a long blog posting) including:
Lacrosse
Gymnastics (we missed the collegiate men, instead caught the younger gymnasts)
Table Tennis
Taekwando
Power Lifting exhibitions in the insanely jammed vendor expo area
Women’s dead weight lifts
Female Body Building
Crossfit – This used to be at the Fairgrounds Coliseum, which was a far better venue for viewing
Kettlebell Lifting
Indoor Scottish Highland Games
Martial Arts – I am not sure why this was separate from Taekwando but it was, but it apparently bored one of the other contestants.
Attendees could compete is some feats of strength.
MMA
An extremely flexible woman
Extremely fast jump rope people – over 100 jumps in 30 seconds.
Artists
Fencing
Golden Gloves Boxing
and finally Powerx competition (lifting a weight 20 times in 2 minutes)
A full day at The Arnold
