Champions - Darren Smith

A Growth Sport Begins to Branch Out

BY Eve Lamb
The Sunday Tasmanian

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a quest to find the strongest person in the state is developing into something outstanding.

“I was intending it to be a backyard event but it’s blown up to be something extremely large,” said organiser, Darren Smith.

The venue for the event is Wrest Point.

Smith, who won the Body Building Association state championships, last year, is the reigning Mr Tasmania.

But a lack of entrants in this year’s championships led to a new idea.

“Some guys in the gym thought it would be a good idea to have a strongman competition to raise funds for a worthy cause,” said Smith, who works as a plant mechanic at Forestry Tasmania’s head office in Hobart.

There are already 14 starters for the competition, on October 25th and 26th, a positive improvement over the half-dozen who had indicated interest in the body-building championships.

Smith puts the difference down to the restructured nature of the event. The bodybuilding championships have a technical focus, with emphasis on such aspects as shade of tan and the artistry of specific muscle group displays to music; the strongman search will be less show and more heave-ho.

Less preparation is required and he expects the event to attract men and women from other sports as well as body builders.

The 10 events will include a truck-pull, car-pull, two rock-lift events, railway sleeper carry and toss, sling shot, plate-carry and toss, sling shot, plate-carry, dead lift and a sling shot event similar to sumo wrestling.

It will also include a log-press event. There will be two divisions – over and under 100kg, with the 114kg Smith himself competing.

“Anyone who thinks they are good enough to compete can compete and all compete at their own risk” Smith said.

“I would like to have at least 50 competitors.”

The money raised will be shared between children competing in the Southern Cross Games in Hobart next year and the Tasmanian Visually Impaired Children’s parent group.





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