Ragnarok: Battle of the Berserkers

Throughout time warriors have tested themselves against giant stones, huge logs, and other tests of static strength. The favorite test of many warriors though comes in the form of another warrior; a peer to test oneself against; a living, breathing challenger that stands between that warrior and victory.

Welcome to STRONGMAN COMBAT.           Welcome to Ragnarok.

What is strongman combat? Strongman combat is a collection of challenges that evolved from traditional games, training drills, and martial arts over time. These are head to head, man vs man or woman vs woman bouts where physical prowess is the main deciding factor. Unlike sports like boxing, mma, muy thai, etc., in strongman combat technical skill takes a back seat to pure brute strength. While there are certainly favorable techniques and it is wise to practice these events, they all require bone crushing strength and overall body power to be successful.

Promoter- Paul Mouser & Jay Handley

Date/Time- Saturday, July 11^th. Action begins at noon.

Location- Viking Performance Training, 139 Greenbag Rd, Morgantown, WV 26501

Weigh-ins- Begin at 7am. Weigh-ins will close at 10am, and athletes MUST be present by 10am regardless.

Rules/Safety Briefing- 11:00am. This meeting is mandatory.

Divisions-

Women’s: LWW 0-140,   MWW 141-180,   HWW 180+

Men’s: LW 0-175,   MW 176-231,   HW 232+

If there are enough entries we may split weight classes further and/or add a Masters division

Awards- TBD but we are looking into championship belts

Entry- $62. Must have NAS membership card present or YOU CAN PURCHASE MEMBERSHIPS AT THE SHOW with cash or check. Entries must be post marked by no later than Friday, July 3rd. $25 late charge. Includes t-shirt. Late entries are not guaranteed a shirt. Additional shirts will be available for purchase.

Hotel-

Clarion Hotel Morgan 127 High Street Morgantown, WV US, 26505-5412 +1 (304) 292-8200

Checks and entry forms to- Paul Mouser, 1465 Barry St, Fairmont, WV, 26554.

Contact Info– Paul Mouser: email kozbeesemail@yahoo.com, phone (304) 614-5291, OR

Jay Handley: (304) 216-7496

Events (subject to change)- Mas Wrestling, Arm Wrestling, Sumo-style Wrestling, Shield Battles

Events

Notes:

• Mouth pieces are required for Sumo and Shield events. Please bring your own.
• Boxing style head gear may be required for Sumo and Shield events. This will be provided if you do not have any.
• Each event will be a double elimination style tournament format.
• We are still testing the Shield Battles. If the event is deemed unsafe or unfitting for any reason, we will replace it with Tug Of War.

Mas Wrestling

Two competitors will sit opposite each other with feet braced against a secured board. Competitors will grab onto a stick, and attempt to wrestle the stick from their opponent (or pull their opponent over the board). Coin toss determines who gets to pick the initial grip position (either inside or outside the opponent’s hands), and the grip switches on the next bout. Each round is best of three. 60sec time limit.

Arm Wrestling

In the spirit of keeping this simple, here’s how we are going to run this:

• Competitors lock hands and on the judge’s signal may begin attempting to put opponent’s hand/wrist down on the contact pad.
• Once any part of a competitor’s hand/wrist/arm touches the contact pad, the bout is over.
• You’ll get two warnings for releasing the grip aka letting go of the opponent’s hand. On the third incident and each thereafter, this will count as a loss for the perpetrator. If your technique makes you prone to this, you may want to modify your technique for this meet.
• Elbows may slide, but may not lose contact with the table or the competitor will suffer a loss.
• 60sec time limit per bout

Sumo Style Wrestling

• Opponents will begin slightly apart from each other and engage upon the judge’s command.
• The object is to push or throw the opponent out of the circle.
• No contact below the belt is allowed beyond incidental contact of the legs and hips.
• No closed fist strikes, strikes of any kind to head/face, or grabbing of the opponent’s arms/wrists.
• No headbutts.
• When any part of a competitor’s body touches outside the border circle, the bout is over.
• If any part of a competitor’s body other than the feet touch the ground inside the circle, the bout is over.
• 60sec time limit

Shield Battles

• Each competitor upon the judges signal will attempt to push the other out of the circle with his/her shield.
• Shields must remain in contact during the bout. Incidental separation is fine, but intentional separation will result in a warning and resetting of positions. Upon the third warning and each thereafter, each intentional separation will be considered a loss.
• If incidental separation results in a significant distance between the competitors, the judge will stop the time and reset the competitors’ positions. This is a safety precaution to avoid damaging collisions.
• A bout ends when any part of a competitor’s body besides his/her feet touches the ground, or when he/she crosses beyond the border circle.

Tug of War (tie breaker only)

• 60 sec
• Athletes will attempt to pull each other via a rope.
• Athletes may not tie the rope around their hands, arms, or bodies.
• The hanging center marking on the rope will determine the bout. When that hanging marker crosses a competitor’s own start line, that competitor has won.

General Rules/Usual Mouser Stuff

• In the event of a tie in the final standings, 1^st place finishes will decide the winner. If there is still a tie, then 2^nd place finishes will be the determinant, and so on. If a tie cannot be broken this way, athletes will compete in a tie breaker.

• Sportsmanship is expected and required. This is the greatest sport in the world, let’s keep it that way.

• There will be a pre-event prayer. No one is expected to participate, so please do not feel obligated. All we ask is to be respectful of those that do or do not wish to participate.

• This is a drug free contest. If you are juiced feel free to come cheer on your buddies but please do not bother to sign up.

• If you have a question, please ask! I would rather take a minute to clarify something than to see someone have a poor showing due to a misunderstanding.