IronMind® has a short list of people who have made what we see as substantial contributions to the development of strongman in the US over the last ten years and one of them is Jim Davis.

 
Jim Davis eyes his phone like it's a grenade about to go for a ride (St. Louis). IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

After helping to ramp up the sport, Jim retired from it a couple of years ago, and now he and some friends own Bird's Nest Lodge, the place to go if you want to go camping in the Ozarks or float down the Upper Meramec River, and wouldn't you guess it, Rick Fowler has convinced Jim that it's time to hold a strongman contest out there.

Set for September 10, this one will be a little different, because it's aimed at high school kids.

As Rick explained to IronMind®, "The contest is being held in an effort to get new people involved, and as a way to generate some strongman interest in the area's high school aged kids. We're keeping the events a little lighter so that it will inspire newcomers to come in and test the waters. If they like it, maybe they'll want to try out a full blown NAS show in the future. Overall we are trying to make it fun by having it right on the Meremac River where the lodge and canoe rental are located. We will even take advantage of the river by making competitors go into the water for one leg of the medley."

For full contest details, go to the website, and look here for full details on Bird's Nest Lodge.