YORKTON – Followers of Saskatchewan sports are likely to know the name Tracey Arnold.
From Saskatoon Arnold has goaltended for Canada’s women’s Para Ice Hockey team attending multiple international events.
Less well known is that Arnold has also been active in the sport of armwrestling for years.
That involvement recently led to her recent induction into the Canadian Armwrestling Federation Hall of Fame.
Arnold told Yorkton This Week the induction was unexpected.
“I’d seen other people getting recognized and knew how many years they’d been involved, but I was shocked – very humbled and appreciative,” she said.
The CAWF website details Arnold “got her start in the sport as a teenager in the mid-’90s. She developed her skills and strength during her first few years of pulling and before long was winning National titles in the lightweight classes. Some of her competitive accomplishments include winning CAWF female puller of the year honours in 2004 and 2005, close to a dozen National titles and two medals at the WAF World Championship.
“On top of her accolades at the table, she has contributed tremendously behind the scene. After serving in the role of President of the Saskatchewan Armwrestling Association for many years, she was elected Secretary-Treasurer for the CAWF in 2013.”
Arnold said after a vehicular accident left her a wheelchair in 1990 “there weren’t a lot of adaptive sports I could do.”
Then she found armwrestling and it was something that fit her desires to compete.
“It led me down the path to being a competitive athlete,” she said, adding she found the sport “satisfying.”
“. . . It completely changed the trajectory of my life.”
Arnold’s experience in armwrestling really dovetailed nicely when she became involved in sledge hockey as a goaltender.
“They kind of went hand-in hand,” she said. “I think I’ve come to realize I’m a high performer,” she said.
In armwrestling the effort is an individual, with a combination of physical and mental preparation.
“It lent itself to pushing me more into hockey,” said Arnold.
In addition to the regular duties that came with Arnold’s position nationally, she took on head scorekeeper responsibilities and helped create the Ethics Advisory Committee. Her dedication led to her being recognized with the John Miazdzyk Award in 2016.
For some background the Miazdzyk Award is named after the founder of the national association. The CAWF was created in in 1976, and two years later he hosted the first Canadian National Championship in Alberta.
He is one of the founding members of the World Armwrestling Federation, in 1979 he hosted the first World Championship in Alberta.
It is an annual award given out in his memory to someone that personifies dedication to the sport, and voted on by the CAWF board of directors.
Arnold remains dedicated to armwrestling too.
In that regard she realizes there is a level of importance in her induction raising awareness of women in sport – particularly para sports – in Saskatchewan and across Canada.
As for armwrestling, Arnold said there is room to grow the profile of the sport which she said is seeing larger participation numbers in Canada and beyond. She said one day the hope is to see the sport gain a spot in the Olympics, a sort of ultimate step in recognition.
