User:RobinIsadorable/CLAW

Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers
AbbreviationCLAW
Formation2007
FoundersJennifer Hoyt Tidwell
Jodi Plaisance
Sian Richards
Laure Galgano
Dolly Joseph
Founded atBlue Moon Diner
Type501(c)(3) non-profit[1]
Purposecharity, sports league, theatre company
Location

Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLAW) is an American nonprofit, charitable organization and theatrical sports league founded in 2007. It is headquartered and based in Charlottesville, Virginia. CLAW hosts women's arm wrestling tournaments in order to raise funds for local charities, organizations, and businesses that support women or are women-led. The tournaments are part performance art, in which wrestlers and other performers use gimmicks, costumes, and theatrical elements in competitions. CLAW has inspired national and international sister leagues in more than 25 cities, raising over $250,000 nationwide.

History

Founding and Blue Moon era

CLAW was founded in 2007 by Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell and Jodie Plaisance in Charlottesville, Virginia.[2][3] The inspiration for CLAW is attributed to arm wrestling matches between Tidwell and Plaisance, who wrestled for fun to pass the time or challenge each other to rematches. They soon began lifting weights together at a local gym where they exchanged trash talk and created fake personas (Tidwell as "Prim Reaper" and Plaisance as "MoJo the Underdog").[4] They jokingly invited others to join in a ladies arm wrestling league they were starting, however, people took serious interest in the idea.[5] With her background in collaborative art projects, Tidwell convened a meeting of friends and interested parties (including other co-founders Sian Richards, Laure Galgano, and Dolly Joseph)[1] at the Blue Moon Diner to plan a theatrical ladies arm wrestling league. There they established basic elements of the league including wrestler personas, entourages, music, and charitable fundraising efforts.[6]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).[7]

On February 12, 2008 CLAW held their inaugural arm wrestling tournament inside Blue Moon Diner. Wrestlers included Debbie "The Debutante" Danger (Wistar Murray), The Sssssidewinder (Rosamond Casey), Southpaw Stiletto (Bree Luck), Ex-President Reagan (Reagan Greenfield), The ChemMistress (Lauren Neese), Magellan (Margaret Murray), Left Red (Sandy Goodson; voted Crowd Favorite), and Kaity the Harrible (Kaity Harr; winner of the competition). The judges were Charlottesville local musicians Sarah White and Jim Waive[8]. Following a second tournament on March 11, CLAW organized eight more monthly arm wrestling tournaments at Blue Moon Diner, with a different beneficiary every month. Beneficiaries included P.E.A.C.E Scooter[9], the Charlottesville Derby Dames, Shelter for Help in Emergency (SHE), Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA), Food Not Bombs, Books Behind Bars, Performers Exchange Project (PEP), and Computers 4 Kids. The last tournament of 2008 (called the CLAW "Smackdown!") was held on November 11[10] in which the winners of the previous arm wrestling competitions faced off.[11][12][13] The tournament series became increasingly popular and successful throughout the year. The number of attendees increased from approximately 75 to more than 700, which caused CLAW to move the tournaments from inside to outside in the Blue Moon Diner parking lot.[2][5][6] As a result, the amount of money generated for CLAW beneficiaries increased from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per event.[8][6]

CLAW USA

The success of the 2008 season spurred CLAW to host additional tournaments, typically one or more per year featuring different wrestlers, judges, and beneficiaries.[12] Word of CLAW spread throughout the United States via Facebook, national press,[14] and chance encounters, leading Tidwell to help women start their own CLAW-inspired ladies arm wrestling leagues in their respective cities. By 2010, nine U.S. communities (including New Orleans, Taos, Chicago, and Hudson Valley) had their own CLAW leagues in different stages of development.[2][5] In 2011, Tidwell and organizers from other leagues formed the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLAW USA)[3][15] as a mothership organization to "promote and support all CLAW-derived leagues across the U.S."[14][16]

In 2012, CLAW USA (including CLAW's Tidwell) organized the First Annual Super Championship of Lady Arm Wrestlers ("SuperCLAW") that was held in Charlottesville on June 16, 2012[17] at the Jefferson Theater.[18][19] At this tournament, eight wrestlers from the eight full leagues that made up CLAW USA[17] competed for the title of National CLAW Champion, with the winning competitor earning the "Cape de Claw" trophy. Proceeds from the event were divided among the participating leagues to donate to their respective charities.[20] The leagues included CLAW, CLLAW (Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers),[21] D/CLAW (DC Lady Arm Wrestlers),[22] LUEWWD (League of Upper Extremity Wrestling Women of Durham),[23] BRAWL (Broads Regional Arm Wrestling League, based in Hudson Valley),[24] NOLAW (New Orleans Ladies Arm Wrestling),[25] RAW (Rose City Arm Wrestling, based in Portland, Oregon),[26] and SLAP (Superhero Lady Arm Wrestlers of Portland, based in Portland, Maine).[17][26] CLAW was represented by the wrestler, The Homewrecker.[27]

Also in 2012, Charlottesville filmmakers/photographers Brian Wimer and Billy Hunt released a documentary about CLAW and CLAW USA titled CLAW: The Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers. Wimer and Hunt, who filmed[28] and photographed[29] CLAW tournaments since its beginning in 2008, successfully crowdfunded the project via Kickstarter in 2011.[30] The film debuted as the Centerpiece Film[31] to a sold-out showing at the 2013 Virginia Film Festival, premiering at the Paramount Theater,[4] and won the festival's Audience Award. The documentary features interviews with CLAW co-founder Tidwell, wrestlers, other participants, and organizers from CLAW USA sister leagues. The film also depicts the inaugural SuperCLAW tournament.[32]

The second SuperCLAW tournament was held November 2014 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. and featured sixteen wrestlers representing different CLAW USA leagues.[22] A third SuperCLAW tournament was held September 2016 at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans and featured eight wrestlers representing different CLAW USA leagues. CLAW was represented by the wrestler, Kary-OK?[33][34]

Champion era

Following the first SuperCLAW in 2012, CLAW continued to host arm wrestling tournaments in Charlottesville at the Blue Moon Diner.[12] Following the September 19, 2015 event, CLAW announced that they were moving their activities to the Charlottesville brewery, Champion Brewing, for the next tournament in July 2016.[35] CLAW continued hosting competitions at Champion[36] until the October 2020 tournament, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[37] After a hiatus, CLAW returned to host an in-person tournament back at Champion Brewing in October 2022.[38][39]

Random Row era

In June 2023, Champion Brewing Company announced that it would cease operations of its brewpub.[40] In response, CLAW decided to hold its September 2023 tournament at another Charlottesville brewery, Random Row Brewing Co. This event was unique in that it was the first CLAW tournament whose beneficiary was CLAW itself.[41] Since 2023, CLAW continues to host arm wrestling tournaments at Random Row. Two CLAW events are scheduled to take place at Random Row in July and September 2025.[1]

Arm Wrestling

Structure

CLAW events are organized and held in Charlottesville, with one or two events per year that benefit a local nonprofit or women-led organization. Each event features eight wrestlers who compete in arm wrestling matches, with the winner advancing in a single-elimination tournament style (a wrestler advances by winning the best three out of five[2] or two out of three[5] rounds in a given matchup). Intermissions between matches may feature live music, auctions, donation solicitations, and CLAW merchandise sales. Two victors are declared at the end of a tournament: the winner of the arm wrestling competition and the crowd favorite (determined by whoever raised the most amount of "CLAW bucks").[2][8][36] Following the announcement of the victors, the event ends with a celebration.[38]

The tournament begins with the host emcee(s) announcing the judges, referees, and other pertinent event information to the audience. Emcee(s) introduce wrestlers with limericks. As they're announced the wrestlers walk to the stage with their entourages, often set to chosen entrance music. The competitors are not professional arm wrestlers, but rather, local community members and/or representatives of the chosen beneficiary. Wrestlers are often women-identifying and adopt an outlandish persona, pseudonym, and costume to compete. A small entourage supports each wrestler, typically costumed to complement their wrestler's theme or persona. Throughout the night, entourage members solicit CLAW bucks from the audience, sometimes offering small items in exchange. CLAW bucks are a fake currency used at CLAW events to bribe officials, purchase food, buy merchandise, or donate to wrestlers who they want to win the title of crowd favorite.

With each wrestling match-up, the emcee builds excitement by providing live commentary to the audience. Two to three "celebrity" judges monitor the matches. They sometimes adopt a persona and can be bribed with CLAW bucks. There are two referees. One referee monitors the arm wrestling matches to ensure wrestlers are safely positioned and to call out any rule-breaking. The other referee, the "butt referee"(Coronado2010), sits under the table and ensures wrestlers remain seated during a match. Other important roles at CLAW tournaments include musical performers, photographers, event volunteers, stage managers, and event security (traditionally served by the Charlottesville Derby Dames).

Rules

There are two main rules in CLAW tournaments. One, wrestlers must remain seated when wrestling. Two, wrestlers must keep their elbow in line with their shoulder to prevent any limb fractures.

Theatrics

CLAW tournaments are considered part sporting event and part performance art, displaying many theatrical elements inspired by vaudeville and burlesque. Each tournament takes on the atmosphere of a festival, with comparisons made to events like Carnival and Mardi Gras. CLAW also takes inspiration from the World Wrestling Federation, as wrestlers adopt flamboyant, costumed personas along with their entourages and engage in outrageous antics during the event. For example, events may feature legitimate bribing of CLAW officials with CLAWbucks, the return of previously eliminated wrestlers, dance-offs, and other comedic skits.

Impact

Other Leagues

insert table here

Philanthropy

Philosophy

  1. ^ a b c Tilock, Xander (5 March 2025). "For CLAW, women's arm wrestling is more than a sport". The Cavalier Daily. Archived from the original on 5 March 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e Coronado, Kris (26 February 2010). "The ladies who answered a call to arms". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b Davis, Matt (30 December 2011). "Welcome to the world of women's arm wrestling". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b Maurer, David A. (8 November 2013). "'CLAW' arm wrestling documentary brings local muscle to Virginia Film Festival's lineup". The Daily Progress. Retrieved 16 July 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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  6. ^ a b c TOM TOM (21 December 2015). "Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell, co-founder, CLAW". Charlottesville Tomorrow. Archived from the original (Interview) on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  7. ^ CLAW. "Our Origin Story". CLAWville.org. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Brendan Fitzgerald, Brendan Fitzgerald (19 February 2008). "CLAWs out!". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
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  11. ^ Fitzgerald, Brendan (4 November 2008). "Girl on girl action". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  12. ^ a b c CLAW. "Matches & Events". CLAWville.org. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  13. ^ CLAW (10 November 2008). "CLAW X Smackdown of Champions on 11/11". CLAWville.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  14. ^ a b Milly, Jenna (30 June 2011). "Why You Should Be Afraid of Lady Arm Wrestlers". HuffPost. Turnstyle News. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
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  23. ^ LUEWWD. "WHAT IS LUEWWD?". LUEWWD.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013.
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  25. ^ Crawford, Kelley (8 November 2018). "NOLAW: Over the top in all the best ways". Via Nola Vie. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
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  28. ^ Fitzgerald, Brendan (4 November 2008). "CLAW gets reel". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
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  36. ^ a b Cantor, Dave (14 June 2017). "Over the top: CLAW's first summer fundraiser to benefit SARA". The Daily Progress. Retrieved 19 July 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  37. ^ CLAW [@cvilleclaw]; (October 20, 2025). "Virtual CLAW". Retrieved July 19, 2025 – via Instagram.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  38. ^ a b Drummond, Laura (9 November 2022). "Grit & guile, wit & wile". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  39. ^ DiCicco, Richard (23 August 2023). "Tooth and nails". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 May 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  40. ^ C-VILLE Writers (9 August 2023). "The champ falls". C-VILLE Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  41. ^ Williams, Alexia (29 September 2023). ""CLAW for CLAW" arm wrestling showdown". CBS 19 News. Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.

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