Bridgeport?

[McNamee]

Those of us who could not make it to Bridgeport are eagerly waiting for results.

Patrick

[Sheaf daddy]

OK the Ams went down like this

Mike Dickens and John Collins battled it out all day long with Mike Wills and even Jeff Storey playing spoiler in some events.
Overall:
1st JCollins
2nd Mike Dickens
3rd Mike Wills

Masters was like this
Gene Flynn and Frank Henry battled all day long as well. Everyone seemed a little "off". Maybe because of the rain - maybe the world's - don't know. Gene turned the AM caber all 3 times which is something no one else can say. The guy is amazing.
John Shingler and Greg Henger were in there fighting all day as were all of the Masters. I know my Brother Rich had a PR in the hammer.

Overall:
1st Gene Flynn
2nd Frank Henry
3rd John Shingler

A great day and watching the world's and tracking their progress was awesome.

[scotbybirth]

If I'm not mistaken, I think I heard the pros finished overall:
Sean Betz, 1st
Larry Brock, 2nd
Ryan Vierra, 3rd

[John Shingler]

Nasga's got a fairly comprehensive thread running on the Worlds.

I wish that Brian McClain had not gotten injured. 2nd and 3rd place positions would have been between him and Frank Henry. While injuries may be "how the cookie crumbles" [b]Brian is one cookie I would have preserved in tact![/b]

It was so good to see everyone again!!! The Worlds was an awesome thing to see and be on the field with. It's was truly a once in a life time thing to be a part of. The only downside at all is how busy all of the organizers had to be. I know they are always busy but this year had to be an extra strain.

I apologize to anyone I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to. We had a long drive home and I think I am getting old as I was asleep less than five minutes after a shower.

God Bless Kevin and Deb and all involved in keeping this playground open for us! Kevin and Deb, the both of you should run for president!

[Sheaf daddy]

I agree with John's sentiment that the Anderson's and Jeep Wilson are the greatest!

As busy as they were they came by several times asking how things were going and making sure we had everything we needed. Class acts who pulled off the incredible feat of hosting the world championships!!!! God Bless West Virginia.

Also thank you to all of the other organizers and judges and scorekeepers who stuck through the rain and ever changing temperature to let us play. I only wish I could have finished. I have never pulled out before but feeling how I feel right now I am glad that I did. The caber may have knocked me out for months. Some active rest and rehab on the quad and I will be good.

Bryan

[greg henger]

Just wanted to add my thanks and appreciation for the monumental effort in putting on this event. Kevin and Deb certainly deserve every accolade that come their way.

An equal amount of thanks and appreciation for the old guys that I get to compete with. The key phrase being, "compete with", never "compete against". You are all a class bunch of guys and I thank you.

[FrankH]

Thanks to Deb, Kevin, Jeep and all the other organizers for a world class job, and to The McKenzie and staff for running the athletics. From the gator that ran athlete's gear from the parking lot to the field to the great food, classy (Glenlivit!) water-- folks know hospitality in West Virginia! Thanks everyone. And thanks to my fellow master's throwers; it was great seeing you and great to be competing with you again. And all the best to Bryan, who fought hard all day but eventually had to pull out due to injury. I'm not sure if his marks will appear, but he had some nice throws including going over 40 again in the HWFD. Finally, Gene was just Gene-- dominating performance again, just a great guy to watch throw and a class act as well.

Thanks all, and I hope to see you at McHenry and/or Steppingstone. Not sure if I will manage both!

[chirolifter]

Special thanks to the organizers, (great people and very hospitable) the judges, set up people, etc... It was my first time in Bridgeport and it was a great venue, nice field... Everyone threw with intensity and as always with class. Bryan made a smart choice to pull out (its one of the hardest decisions as an athlete) and now he will rest up and be back sooner... Frank is a beast, there is no room for error throwing against him.. It was great seeing him fired up in the 28- he charged the trig like i have never seen, if he didnt slip he had 61-62..., Oh yeah get some good gloves.... Great job to everyone else! I won't see you guys till VHG in Sept. Throw hard, Train smart...
Gene

[Mrs. T-Bone]

Kevin & Deb, Consider this your STANDING OVATION !!!!!! You couldn't have done a better job, ever, under any circumstances. I know it was a tough day personally and you never skipped a beat, missed a step or a detail anywhere. Now I know why Bob said he would NEVER miss Bridgeport. All games should be as well done. And the rest of you guys did pretty well too . Honestly...I haven't had as much fun at games in a long time. From after hours on Friday in a smoky local bar with awesome draft beer (cheap) to the pagentry of the World Championship competition, it was just great.

[Clancelt]

What a great game. To be on the same field as the pros was pretty awesome, I just wish I had seen a little more of them throwing. Gene was throwing like a monster as usual, strong as a bull and spot on technique makes for some pretty great throws
Frank of course was his usual tankish self and it was great to see him again after such a long break. It sucks Bryan had to pull out, he looked like he was starting the day off pretty strong. Rich pounded out a 2 foot PR on the hammer and I believe he was one of the only lucky ones to nail a PR that day, way to go brotha! Greg's weights were looking spot on. Oh, and I know Gunny hit 3 PR's in the Sheaf, one right after another This was my first time throwing with John and he was throwing strong. I don't think I have ever met a nicer guy. Overall, everyone seemed to be having an off day but there were little victories here and there to spice things up.

I was disappointed with my throwing(if you can call it that). I hit the field feeling pretty good, my back felt great and today it still feels great.. so there is a good thing! But I went the whole off season without practicing very much. I hit the field feeling strong but as clumsy as I was on my first day of throwing. Practice is not overrated! I still had a great time and I think Bryan saw I was a little down by the end of the day and came over for a little pep talk. Thanks Bro, I needed it. When he said "How would you like to go 6 events and then have to pull out and get no score" it pulled it all together....

Ok, now hitting the "all most normal people can eat" steakhouse after the games was the highlight. When about thirteen of us, including 3 of the pros, walked into the steakhouse and Big Mac pulled as altogether and said we needed one table, then we stormed the seating area... there were audible growns coming from the line, someone even yelled out "hey, save some for us" lol! The best comment of the night came when a middle aged man and his wife squeezed past Kyrklo and I heard "They don't even look like they're the same species" Great stuff!

Till next time, I'm drilling from here on out

[Jeff Storey]

yeah, what else can be said that hasn't been said here already? nothing, so I'll just repeat everyone else.
This comp was awesome. The venue was beautiful, the field was great (the ground crew to fill the holes was an great idea, thanks to them too!), throwing on the same field as that crew of pros was incredible. Kevin and Deb are just great, great people, great organizers, etc. The McKenzie and his staff, you know who you are, did a great job as usual despite the rain and grumpy athletes who wanted to play with big blue marbles.
Everybody showed up to play, and most of us didn't have a blowout day, but we all had a blast getting out there and working out the kinks...the next games will be another story.
Mad props to BJ and Bryan and Tim for fighting through the pain, but a high five to Bryan for being smart and playing Otis the Loveable Town Drunk all afternoon. Also, the new guys in the open, whose names I would mix up, are looking crazy good. The big pond of MASA is getting bigger.
In conclusion, I had a blast. I was beat and pretty beat up when I got in last night, but my buddy's grandparents fixed me up with a hot tub, and a heated pool, and a nice hard mattress, and I'm all better. sorry old timers. If it makes you feel better, I have an inexplicable bruise on my caber shoulder, about the size of a pea, totally black, that doesn't hurt at all. weeeeiiirrrd.

cheers, looking forward to seeing you all next time.

Oh yeah, and a BIG Thank You to Mr. Frank Henry, who put my big butt up in a rollaway despite the fire hazard and the potential of me killing him for waking me up early on a Saturday.

-Cletus the Fetal Grasshopper GoldenDoodle

PS, Dickens et al, I will be selling my new Age-Reversing, Hair-Growing, Testosterone-Raising Elixir of life. It will come in pint and quart jars, and in the future, there will be a tacky-mixed version in a tube. Start saving for it now people!

[Sheaf daddy]

Thanks for the nice words fellers. It was one of the hardest and yet easiest decisions I have made in the games. I have never pulled out mid comp before at the sametime, as much as I hurt right now I know it would be worse if I continued

[FrankH]

I had no idea how close I came to dancing with death, Jeff! Whew, I really dodged a bullet there. I'm sure there is no fury worse than a sleepy GoldenDoodle!

[miked]

+1 on all the comments and compliments. It was an awesome weekend. Thanks to Kevin and Deb, and the MASA crew. Fantastic job. Thank you for giving us somewhere to "show off".

+1+1+1 . . . .

[Ryan Vierra]

I would like to thank the following people for their help with making the Worlds a great success. These people done a wonderful job in making this event one of the best worlds in recent history, and has established itself as the standard to which future World Championships will be organized. West Virginia “Pride” was well represented and acknowledged. So for that, I thank you all for your wonderful West Virginia hospitality.


World Championship Committee and others:
Kevin and Deb Anderson
Jeep and Janet Wilson
William and Eleanor McClain
Kim & Jim Sabo
Bryan & Trish McClain (for the awesome Cabers)
Ann Watson
Dave Mackenzie and Staff
Alex Murray
And everyone else on the world championship committee

IHGF Staff:
David P. Webster
Francis Brebner
Jim & Nancy Pauli
Paul & Penny Ferency
Carl Jensen
Delore Lakusta
Volunteers

IHGF & Event Sponsors:
Malcolm Doying, Old Celt (for the awesome hammers)
Dave Heltemes, Orbix International ( http://www.myorbix.com )
John Scott, JSNITRO ( http://www.jsnitro.com )
All athletes sponsors
All individual sponsors

IHGF would like to thank all the athletes for their participation and professionalism on and off the field.

Next up: 2009 World Heavy Events World Championships July 25th & 26th
Location: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland

Stay tuned for more details @ http://www.worldheavyevents.com


Ryan Vierra
IHGF

[agm]

Next up: 2009 World Heavy Events World Championships July 25th & 26th
Location: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland

I just want to point out that this is the weekend AFTER the Masters World Championships at Inverness - could be a nice vacation for us old guys.

[bjketchem]

a huge thanks to all of those involved with Bridgeport. It was a GREAT event and an amzign thing to be part of!
Thanks again to everyone!