The Invercargill Champs were held at the Waikiwi Tavern on July 26, 30 competitors from all over the nation competed.
Athletes were weighed and put into their various weight ranges, with most competing in multiple events for cash prizes.
The prize pool, of $5950 for the evening was raised through both sponsorships by local businesses and entry fees from competitors.
Notably the event is one of the few arm wrestling events with cash paid out to the winners, which Southland Arm Wrestling founder Bradie Burns said was huge for the sport’s momentum.
"We’ve had people from Tauranga, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin. There’s quite a bit of money men pay to arm wrestle each other.
"It was great to create an event like this down here, it just brings that calibre of wrestler down to Southland for us," he said.
Although the sport remained niche, it had gained massive traction in the past few years through social media and growing exposure, he said.
The nationals, held in Christchurch last year, had a great showing from the Southland club where multiple athletes stacked medals and national rankings.
Mr Burns said the nature of the event helped to encourage people to try it out, with people giving it a go and getting some great results for a first try.
With the success of the event, Mr Burns said he was very optimistic for future arm wrestling events, collaborations, and potential for growth.
"I’d like to hope it was a good number to build on for next year.
"Everyone really enjoyed the event, so hopefully we can build it up further.
"I’d love to see a closed venue like the Southern Pro Wrestling we see, something along the lines of that. We’ve worked with them before and it was good to see how they do it," he said.
Mr Burns thanked all the competitors and sponsors for their help in putting on the event, bringing a bit of arm wrestling down South with a big purse to boot.
