Arnold Sports Festival
The IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding, strongman, armlifting, fitness, figure, bikini and several others as a weekend expo. It was established in 1989 and is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. The main event is held annually around late February or early March in Columbus, Ohio, by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League. It is considered the second-most-prestigious event in professional men's bodybuilding, physique, figure and bikini after Joe Weider's Olympia.
When the Ms. International competition was hosted, until 2013, it was the second-most-prestigious event in professional female bodybuilding.
History
A lucrative sports competition, the ASF offers a number of large prizes. Most notably, first prize in bodybuilding consists of a $130,000 check, a Hummer vehicle, and an Audemars Piguet watch. Since the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title pre-dates and offers higher prize money than the ASF, a rivalry in prestige and popularity has sprung up. The ASF is always hotly contested, often with one or two competition points separating the winners.All-star cheerleading competitions span a two-day period. More than 4,000 competitors entered the cheerleading event in 2014. Each team prepares to perform a two and one-half minute routine. After the teams' routines are complete, they are scored by a panel of judges, each judge being an expert on one area of cheerleading. Once scoring is complete, every team entered in the competition is called to the mat for awards, during which each team has a chance of winning multiple times. The ASF's awards consist of the following: National Champion jackets, trophies for every team, custom medals, limited edition patches and Grand Champion banners, and possible partial or full paid bid to Cheerleading World contests.
On June 7, 2013, the ASF's event promoter, Jim Lorimer, announced that from 2014 on, the ASF's "212" would permanently replace the Ms. International women's bodybuilding competition. Lorimer, in a statement, said "The Arnold Sports Festival was proud to support women's bodybuilding through the Ms. International for the past quarter century, but in keeping with demands of our fans, the time has come to introduce the Arnold Classic 212 beginning in 2014. We are excited to create a professional competitive platform for some of the IFBB Pro League's most popular competitors."
On March 3, 2020 Ohio governor Mike DeWine cancelled most of the Arnold Sports Festival due to the oncoming COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio, before any cases or deaths had been reported. The cancellation was widely regarded as 'radical' at the time.
Curiosities
- Arnold Classic Ohio is the largest multi-sport championship in the world, ahead of even the Olympics.
- * There are around 20,000 athletes from more than 80 countries competing in 60 sports, while the 2024 Olympic Games brought almost 11,000 athletes in 32 sports and 48 disciplines. The Arnold is second only to the number of countries: 206 at the Olympics.
- The event also promotes several amateur sports for fans to learn about and practice.
- The Arnold Classic Ohio is the second most prestigious event in professional bodybuilding, behind only the Mr. Olympia.
- Jim Lorimer, who founded the Arnold Classic with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1989, was a special agent for the FBI.
- Like Arnold, Lorimer ventured into politics, becoming mayor of Worthington, Ohio.
- The biggest Arnold Classic Ohio champion is a woman, Iris Kyle, with 7 titles. Among men, Dexter Jackson is the biggest winner with 5 titles.