Angie Rose is one tough woman. She’s the current World Armwrestling League (WAL) left-arm middleweight champ, and ranks sixth for the right arm.
Hailing from Quesnel, she got her start at Billy Barker Days in the mid-80s when she watched the festival’s armwrestling competition and decided to enter.
“My first competition was at Billy Barker Days. It was my first competition and I won, I beat some really tough girls.
“As soon as I put my arm on that table and gripped up, I felt so at home. It was right up my alley.”
Rose had been bitten by the armwrestling bug. She began to travel all over British Columbia for the sport, winning titles and gaining experience, and went on to become the World Wristwrestling Lightweight Champion for both right and left hand in 1994.
Life took her to Kamloops, where she lives now, and she stopped armwrestling to focus on her family, and on barrel racing, another passion of hers. She took a 16-year hiatus from armwrestling.
About four years ago, she sold her horses and was looking for an outlet for her competitive streak.
“I’m very competitive, so I got back into armwrestling. I’m having the time of my life,” she says.
“It’s been hair straight back, I’ve been challenging myself more by going to competitions in the States. When I competed years ago I mostly stayed in B.C. and Alberta.”
In June, Rose competed in Las Vegas, where she won her middleweight championship title, and she recently went to Alabama to compete in a super match against a well-known powerlifter and armwrestler, Macy Armstrong.
“Macy Armstrong is really tough. But I beat her in Alabama!”
Rose still has strong ties to Quesnel, and is even sponsored by a local business, Parallel Welding Fabrication.
“They’ve sponsored me for a lot of competitions. They’re really great,” she says.
Parallel Welding Fabrication’s Bob Mero echoes the sentiment.
“We sponsor Angie because she’s so dedicated to her sport. That woman trains so hard. It’s an honour to sponsor her.
“Angie is one of the most dedicated, hardest working sportswomen I’ve ever met.”
Rose is 49 this year, but you’d never know it from her physique.
“I’m stronger than I ever was, and smarter on the table,” she says. Her 16-year break from armwrestling hasn’t seemed to slow her down.
“Next I’m going to a fitness expo in Vancouver. After that I’m going to Seattle, and in December probably Florida to compete. I’m also considering going to the Worlds in Turkey next year.
“I’ll keep doing this as long as my body can keep it up.”