The World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") was a worldwide organisation within strength athletics that claimed to be the sport's organising body with the aim of making "the Strongman Sport more popular and accessible for a wide range of the people." Its motto was "be strong". It was also a charity. The Federation organised the World Strongman Cup one of the main competitions in the field of strength athletics boasting participation from some of the foremost strongmen around the globe. It was a separate competition from the World's Strongest Man, the Strongman Super Series (producing a World Champion) and the IFSA World Championship). It has since been replaced by the World Strongman Federation's World Cup.
History Until completion of the 2004 World's Strongest Man competition, the IFSA managed the annual World's Strongest Man contest. However, that year saw an acrimonious dividing of the sport with the IFSA forming its own competition and with the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") continuing to be organised by TWI, an IMG Media company. The WSM itself was never a federation, but an event organised commercially. When the IFSA formed their own competition and banned their contracted athletes from competing in the WSM, the World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") filled a void and signed up many of the non-IFSA athletes. At the 2005 WSM finals, two thirds of the athletes were under contract with the WSCF. World Strongman Cup Federation official site Since its inception the WSMCF has organised events in many countries including: United States of America, Canada, Germany, Austria, Russia, Serbia, Poland and Spain. Its flagship event was the World Strongman Cup.
Following a financial dispute with the World Strongman Cup Federation Vlad Redkin, one of its chief organisers, left to found the World Strongman Federation. Following Vlad's departure, the WSCF ceased to promote events and effectively disappeared from the strength athletics landscape. In September 2007 an event in Khanty-Mansijsk formerly affiliated to WSMC and featuring its athletes was promoted by Vlad Redkin. This event had its name changed at short notice from WSMC to the Grand Prix of Khanty-Mansijsk (Russia) and in effect was the first WSF event. The reason given after the competition by Redkin was that a combination of financial reasons as well as concerns over WSMCF's stated aim of forming closer ties with the International Federation of Strength Athletes led him to part company with WSMCF. He initially planned to cooperate closely with the World Strongman Super Series in 2008, but in fact set up a new federation called the World Strongman Federation.
World Strongman Cup The World Strongman Cup has been run since 2004. It is organised as a tour event with many competitions held throughout the globe. The overall winner is ascertained through the cumulation of points scored across the season.
List of Champions
Year Athlete Nationality2004 Raivis Vidzis 2005 Raivis Vidzis 2006 Mariusz Pudzianowski 2007 Mariusz Pudzianowski
2004 Name and LocationChampionRunner-up3rd placeDate Gran Canaria, Spain Mykhailo Starov Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber 28 February 2004 Villach, Austria Glenn Ross Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber 3 April 2004 Immenstadt, Germany Igor Pedan Glenn Ross Raivis Vidzis 22 May 2004 Plattling, Germany Ralf Ber Mykhailo Starov Raivis Vidzis 26 June 2004 Bad Häring, Austria Igor Pedan Glenn Ross Raivis Vidzis 10 July 2004 Świnoujście, Poland Raivis Vidzis Igor Pedan Ralf Ber 31 July 2004 Subotica, Serbia Glenn Ross Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber 4 September 2004 Moscow, Russia Mykhailo Starov Igor Pedan Raivis Vidzis 2 October 2004 Edmonton, Canada Dave Ostlund Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber 11 December 2004 Raivis Vidzis
2005 Name and LocationChampionRunner-up3rd placeDate Minsk, Belarus Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber Antanas Abrutis 7 May 2005 Wexford, Ireland Antanas Abrutis Tarmo Mitt Glenn Ross 21 May 2005 Wakefield, England Glenn Ross Brian Irwin Jesse Marunde 5 June 2005 Denver, Colorado, United States Raivis Vidzis Glenn Ross Ralf Ber 2 July 2005 Bad Häring, Austria Mariusz Pudzianowski Mykhailo Starov Ralf Ber 6 August 2005 Ladysmith, Canada Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber Ed Brost 28 August 2005 Nuremberg, Germany Franz Beil Ralf Ber Mykhailo Starov 18 September 2005 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Raivis Vidzis Jesse Marunde Elbrus Nigmatullin 17 December 2005 Raivis Vidzis Ralf Ber Tarmo Mitt
2006 Name and LocationChampionRunner-up3rd placeDate Riga, Latvia Mariusz Pudzianowski Raivis Vidzis Elbrus Nigmatullin 6 May 2006 Armagh, Northern Ireland Ralf Ber Glenn Ross Tarmo Mitt 27 May 2006 Minsk, Belarus Mariusz Pudzianowski Raivis Vidzis Elbrus Nigmatullin 17 June 2006 Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany Jarek Dymek Mykhailo Starov Tarmo Mitt 1 July 2006 Moscow, Russia Mariusz Pudzianowski Janne Virtanen Elbrus Nigmatullin 31 July 2006 Vienna, Austria Stoyan Todorchev Vasyl Virastiuk Ervin Katona 22 October 2006 Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland Mariusz Pudzianowski Sebastian Wenta Stoyan Todorchev 25 November 2006 Podolsk, Russia Mariusz Pudzianowski Elbrus Nigmatullin Stoyan Todorchev 16 December 2006 Mariusz Pudzianowski Tarmo Mitt Elbrus Nigmatullin
2007 Name and LocationChampionRunner-up3rd placeDate Riga, Latvia Mariusz Pudzianowski Raivis Vidzis Tarmo Mitt 13 May 2007 Moscow, Russia Janne Virtanen Stoyan Todorchev Derek Boyer 1 July 2007 Dartford, England Mariusz Pudzianowski Stoyan Todorchev Terry Hollands 22 July 2007 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Stoyan Todorchev Tarmo Mitt Elbrus Nigmatullin 8 September 2007 Mariusz Pudzianowski Stoyan Todorchev Raivis Vidzis
Charity The charity aims to reduce and tackle obesity in children by helping more children to take part in sporting activities. It is the charity's belief that "As these children become more interested in and able to enjoy sports of their choosing, their physical and emotional conditions show significant improvement. This provides a strong foundation for improved self-confidence and happiness for all participants." The federation believes that their athletes can act as positive examples.
References
External links Official Site