Arnold Sports Festival - Weekend Opener

Visit http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com for more info! Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer held the First Annual Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic in 1989 as a one-day event. Today the Arnold Sports Festival is recognized as the largest multi-sport Festival in the nation and the greatest sports-fitness experience of a lifetime. The growth and popularity of the event led to the Ms. International Professional Womens Bodybuilding contest in 1989; the now 700 booth Arnold Fitness EXPO in 1993; the Fitness International, a contest of female athleticism and appearance in 1994; The Arnold Martial Arts Festival in 1996; The Arnold Cheerleading Competition in 2000; and the Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships, Arnold Gymnastics Challenge and the Arnold 5K Pump and Run in 2001. Since then the addition of many more events including the MHPs Arnold Strongman Contest, The Arnold Archery Competition, The Killerspin Arnold Table Tennis Challenge, The Arnold Fencing Classic, and The Arnold USA Powerlifting Championships have created a 4 day event that annually welcomes 17,000 athletes and 170,000 fitness enthusiasts to five premiere Columbus, Ohio venues including the Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Dispatch Ice Haus, The Greater Columbus Convention Center, LC Pavilion, and Nationwide Arena. Every year the event gets bigger. New in 2010 are the Arnold Badminton Challenge, The Arnold Figure Skating Exhibition, and the Arnold Amateur Strongman. Saturday evenings Arnold Cirque-Us Party With The Pros will begin at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 6 at the LC Pavilion.