I have never seen the Sylvester Stallone arm-wrestling movie “Over the Top,” and I don’t plan to. But I did go to see SuperCLAW 2014 — “The National Championship of Lady Arm Wrestlers” — last month in Washington and describing that as “over the top” seems like an understatement.
Washington’s representative at the competition, Maida Ives, didn’t quite reach the top, but she more than did herself and the hometown contingent proud, advancing to the semifinals out of a field of 16. As for what got Ives into arm-wrestling shape, give some credit to topsoil — her training regimen essentially consists of the chores she performs every day as a farmer.
Arm wrestling, as practiced by the two dozen or so chapters of the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers, or CLAW, is a means to several ends. Ives told me she was attracted to CLAW because of its mission of “empowering women through theater, philanthropy and arm wrestling.”
There is certainly a strong, and highly entertaining, theatrical component to CLAW events, which usually occur two to four times a year. Each wrestler adopts a persona, complete with an elaborate costume, stage mannerisms and an entourage.