# World Strongman Cup Federation

The World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") was a worldwide organisation within strength athletics that claimed to be the sport's organising body with the aim of making "the Strongman Sport more popular and accessible for a wide range of the people." Its motto was "be strong". It was also a charity. The Federation organised the World Strongman Cup one of the main competitions in the field of strength athletics boasting participation from some of the foremost strongmen around the globe. It was a separate competition from the World's Strongest Man, the Strongman Super Series (producing a World Champion) and the IFSA World Championship). It has since been replaced by the World Strongman Federation's World Cup.

## History

Until completion of the 2004 World's Strongest Man competition, the IFSA managed the annual World's Strongest Man contest. However, that year saw an acrimonious dividing of the sport with the IFSA forming its own competition and with the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") continuing to be organised by TWI, an IMG Media company. The WSM itself was never a federation, but an event organised commercially. When the IFSA formed their own competition and banned their contracted athletes from competing in the WSM, the World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") filled a void and signed up many of the non-IFSA athletes. At the 2005 WSM finals, two thirds of the athletes were under contract with the WSCF. Since its inception the WSMCF has organised events in many countries including: United States of America, Canada, Germany, Austria, Russia, Serbia, Poland and Spain. Its flagship event was the World Strongman Cup.
Following a financial dispute with the World Strongman Cup Federation Vlad Redkin, one of its chief organisers, left to found the World Strongman Federation. Following Vlad's departure, the WSCF ceased to promote events and effectively disappeared from the strength athletics landscape. In September 2007 an event in Khanty-Mansijsk formerly affiliated to WSMC and featuring its athletes was promoted by Vlad Redkin. This event had its name changed at short notice from WSMC to the Grand Prix of Khanty-Mansijsk (Russia) and in effect was the first WSF event. The reason given after the competition by Redkin was that a combination of financial reasons as well as concerns over WSMCF's stated aim of forming closer ties with the International Federation of Strength Athletes led him to part company with WSMCF. He initially planned to cooperate closely with the World Strongman Super Series in 2008, but in fact set up a new federation called the World Strongman Federation.

## World Strongman Cup

The World Strongman Cup has been run since 2004. It is organised as a tour event with many competitions held throughout the globe. The overall winner is ascertained through the cumulation of points scored across the season.

### List of Champions

| Year | Athlete | Nationality |
| 2004 | Raivis Vidzis | Latvia |
| 2005 | Raivis Vidzis | Latvia |
| 2006 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland |
| 2007 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland |

### 2004

| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
| Gran Canaria, Spain Strongman Cup Spain | Mykhailo Starov | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | 28 February 2004 |
| Villach, Austria Strongman Cup Kärtnen | Glenn Ross | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | 3 April 2004 |
| Immenstadt, Germany Strongman Cup Immenstadt | Igor Pedan | Glenn Ross | Raivis Vidzis | 22 May 2004 |
| Plattling, Germany Strongman Cup Plattling-Luna Park | Ralf Ber | Mykhailo Starov | Raivis Vidzis | 26 June 2004 |
| Bad Häring, Austria Strongman Cup Bad Häring | Igor Pedan | Glenn Ross | Raivis Vidzis | 10 July 2004 |
| Świnoujście, Poland Strongman Cup Poland | Raivis Vidzis | Igor Pedan | Ralf Ber | 31 July 2004 |
| Subotica, Serbia European Masters Strongman Cup | Glenn Ross | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | 4 September 2004 |
| Moscow, Russia Strongman Cup Russia | Mykhailo Starov | Igor Pedan | Raivis Vidzis | 2 October 2004 |
| Edmonton, Canada Strongman Cup Canada | Dave Ostlund | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | 11 December 2004 |
| Overall placings | Raivis Vidzis | | | |

### 2005

| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
| Minsk, Belarus Strongman Cup Belarus | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | Antanas Abrutis | 7 May 2005 |
| Wexford, Ireland Strongman Cup Ireland | Antanas Abrutis | Tarmo Mitt | Glenn Ross | 21 May 2005 |
| Wakefield, England Strongman Cup England | Glenn Ross | Brian Irwin | Jesse Marunde | 5 June 2005 |
| Denver, Colorado, United States Strongman Cup USA | Raivis Vidzis | Glenn Ross | Ralf Ber | 2 July 2005 |
| Bad Häring, Austria Strongman Cup Austria | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Mykhailo Starov | Ralf Ber | 6 August 2005 |
| Ladysmith, Canada Strongman Cup Canada | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | Ed Brost | 28 August 2005 |
| Nuremberg, Germany Strongman Cup Germany | Franz Beil | Ralf Ber | Mykhailo Starov | 18 September 2005 |
| Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Strongman Cup Russia | Raivis Vidzis | Jesse Marunde | Elbrus Nigmatullin | 17 December 2005 |
| Overall placings | Raivis Vidzis | Ralf Ber | Tarmo Mitt |

### 2006

| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
| Riga, Latvia Strongman Cup Latvia | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Raivis Vidzis | Elbrus Nigmatullin | 6 May 2006 |
| Armagh, Northern Ireland Strongman Cup Northern Ireland | Ralf Ber | Glenn Ross | Tarmo Mitt | 27 May 2006 |
| Minsk, Belarus Strongman Cup Belarus | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Raivis Vidzis | Elbrus Nigmatullin | 17 June 2006 |
| Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany Strongman Cup Germany | Jarek Dymek | Mykhailo Starov | Tarmo Mitt | 1 July 2006 |
| Moscow, Russia Strongman Cup Moscow | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Janne Virtanen | Elbrus Nigmatullin | 31 July 2006 |
| Vienna, Austria Strongman Cup Austria | Stoyan Todorchev | Vasyl Virastiuk | Ervin Katona | 22 October 2006 |
| Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland Strongman Cup Poland | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Sebastian Wenta | Stoyan Todorchev | 25 November 2006 |
| Podolsk, Russia Strongman Cup Russia | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Elbrus Nigmatullin | Stoyan Todorchev | 16 December 2006 |
| Overall placings | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Tarmo Mitt | Elbrus Nigmatullin |

### 2007

| Name and Location | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Date |
| Riga, Latvia Strongman Cup Latvia | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Raivis Vidzis | Tarmo Mitt | 13 May 2007 |
| Moscow, Russia Strongman Cup Moscow | Janne Virtanen | Stoyan Todorchev | Derek Boyer | 1 July 2007 |
| Dartford, England Strongman Cup England | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Stoyan Todorchev | Terry Hollands | 22 July 2007 |
| Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Grand Prix of Khanty-Mansiysk | Stoyan Todorchev | Tarmo Mitt | Elbrus Nigmatullin | 8 September 2007 |
| Overall placings | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Stoyan Todorchev | Raivis Vidzis | |

## Charity

The charity aims to reduce and tackle obesity in children by helping more children to take part in sporting activities. It is the charity's belief that "As these children become more interested in and able to enjoy sports of their choosing, their physical and emotional conditions show significant improvement. This provides a strong foundation for improved self-confidence and happiness for all participants." The federation believes that their athletes can act as positive examples.