Arm wrestling bride-to-be

By Jeff Shultz

Earlier this month Courtney Cole of Moore called her fiancé, Corey Simmons, while he was on duty in Iraq.

The news was unusual, but good.

“I told him I won the contest,” she said.

At that point the Stratford native turned to his fellow soldiers in Iraq and proclaimed his girlfriend just won their honeymoon trip by winning an arm wrestling contest.

Cole, who admits the moment was somewhat surreal, said she never intended on attending the “Winner Takes The Cake Bridal Fair” two weeks ago, which was sponsored by The Economic Group, a retail merchant committee of the Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“I was apprehensive about it,” she said. “My mother raised me to be a lady and the thought of arm wrestling for a bridal prize package didn’t seem right.”

But, through the encouragement of Simmons, she decided she would give it a try.

“He said, ‘Come on babe. You can do it. You’ve got to do it so we can win the honeymoon package.’ So, I gave in and came to the bridal fair that day,” she said.

At stake was a $5,000 bridal prize package which included a week’s stay at Playa Grande in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, discounts on rings, a groom’s cake, a floral package, several photo sessions and free tux rental.

“I would have been happy to have just won a free cake,” Cole said. “I never dreamed I would win it all by arm wrestling.”

Simmons and his family told Cole about the bridal fair and arm wrestling contest. She admitted the idea of arm wrestling for the prize package was unique and didn’t expect there would be very many contestants.

“I was surprised at the turnout. It was a lot of fun,” she said, noting she had to wrestle through three rounds of competition to get to the finals of the contest.

A graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, Cole played softball for the Lady Broncos. It was her athletic ability she believes gave her the edge over the other arm wrestling brides.

“I really didn’t do anything to train for it,” she snickered. “I just stretched a bit before the contest.”

Cole and Simmons plan on tieing the knot in April of 2009.

According to organizers of the bridal fair, the event was successful for being a first time event in Pauls Valley.

“We had a good turnout and I think it’s something we might want to do again next year,” said Debbie Mott, president of The EG.

Will next year’s bridal fair include an arm wrestling contest again?

“Oh, I don’t know. It certainly made our first bridal fair unique, but we might want to consider other possible options next year,” Mott said.