What do YOU know about The Arnold Sports Festival? By Dave Varhol

As a newcomer to the Sports Nutrition Industry, I’ll be honest, when I heard I was going to be joining the Sportika team at the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival, as excited as I was, I did not know what to expect. My thoughts were somewhere along the lines of thinking I would be attending a giant gathering where over-the-top, muscle heads from all over the world get together to show off their bodies and compete against each other for a giant trophy. Turns out, The Arnold Sports Festival is a LOT more than that.

The festival has grown to become the worlds largest multi-sport fitness weekend since its spawn in 1989, where at the time, it was a single day men’s bodybuilding competition. During this time, one of the Industry’s most influential personalities, Rich Gaspari, walked away the winner of the first ever Arnold Classic.

It all began when 15-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger discovered weightlifting in his native Graz,     Austria. At the time, Schwarzenegger’s presence was virtually unknown in the US.  A few years later in 1970, Arnold Sports Festival Promoter, Jim Lorimer, recognized young Schwarzenegger’s talents. Lorimer invited him to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Mr. World Contest. He won the event, which launched his career as an iconic bodybuilding legend and brought professional bodybuilding to Columbus, Ohio to stay.

Since then, the festival has exploded into a giant sports and fitness extravaganza. This year, more than 18,000 elite athletes will compete in 45 sports and events, including 11 Olympic sports. Events like strongman, Bikini International, archery, table tennis, fencing, and powerlifting have all been added over the years and are going to be a true eye-opener for any newcomer to the business. New for 2012 will be the unveiling of an 8-foot bronze statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger, addition of the amateur Men’s Physique contest, Olympic Team Trials and National Championships for Weight Lifting, Zumba Fitness & more.

Coming from a marketing perspective, not too many sports supplements advertisements make it to mainstream TV; their presence can mostly be found in magazine ads and on the Internet. It will be interesting to learn more about these products straight from the source at one of the largest showcases for Sports Nutrition products ever.

The events take place March 1-4, 2012 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. For more information, visit www.arnoldsportsfestival.com.

See you there!