Principal Karen Hitchcock redeemed herself in the eyes of Queen’s arm-wrestling aficionados earlier this week by defeating Rector Johsa Manzanilla in the main event of a Queen’s Control Arms
fundraiser at The Grad Club.
The club held its second annual arm-wrestling tournament on Tuesday, raising $260, half of which
will go to the Rachele Rehabilitation Centre in northern Uganda. In last year’s competition, Hitchcock competed against a Golden Words editor and lost the match.
This year, she came with a strategy. “Well, they say it’s all in the wrist,” she said.
As a crowd of more than 50 people watched the best-of-three match, Hitchcock won twice in a row and swept the match. “It was payback time; I got killed last year,” Hitchcock said, adding that she participated because of the cause’s importance. “It’s a very clever and engaging way to raise funds for a very important cause,” she said. Manzanilla was surprised at her speedy defeat.
“I didn’t even practice, but let’s just say I wasn’t expecting so much,” she said, adding that she thinks the event succeeds in raising awareness to the issue of controlling arms. “I would not have known about it if it was not for this publicity,” she said. “It actually inspired me to go and find out more.”
Following the kick-off event, the tournament began. Teams of five ed for $20 to compete in the tournament and spectators paid $2 cover. Half of the money that was raised went to Team Swashbucklers, the winning team, and the other half will go to the centre in northern Uganda.
The centre is a place where former child soldiers in Uganda, which has been plagued by civil war for more than 20 years, are rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, said Control Arms co-presidents Katie Ferri and Ashley Hill.
Hill said the event clarifies what their group does, adding that many people incorrectly assume they’re involved with gun control in Canada.
“We’re more focused on the international level,” she said. The competition was close, and in the end it was down to the two final teams: defending champions Team Grad Club versus newcomers Team Swashbucklers, who came in outfitted with eye-patches.
As a final task, the two teams were given five minutes to come up with a theme song about controlling
arms in five minutes. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, Team Swashbucklers became the champions.
Swashbucklers member Amrit Ahluwalia, ArtSci ’10, said he wanted to participate in the event
because the proceeds were going to Uganda. “You get a war going on for 20 years and you want it to stop,” he said. “This event is another chance to learn more about it.”
Ellen Drum, ArtSci ’10 and a member of Queen’s Control Arms, said small arms also pose a threat.
“Nuclear weapons are a huge threat but what kills more people every year is small arms … and there’s no international regulation around it.”
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