Once again it's the time of year when rumors and questions are flying about invitations to the "World's Strongest Man" television show.

In the US, both Phil Pfister and Mark Philippi have already been invited, on the basis of their IFSA elite athlete contracts, but it is expected that a total of five Americans will receive invitations. IFSA's Douglas Edmunds, Ph.D. reaffirmed that, as he had promised, Jim Davis's contest this weekend in St. Louis remains the official US qualifier, and that the top three Americans will be invited to WSM. It needs to be understood, however, that IFSA's support for this selection requires that the competition be run fairly, and it should always be remembered that the bottom line is that TWI actually issues the invitations.

Edmunds has faced tremendous pressure this year as he has struggled to establish a legitimate US qualifier for WSM, but he has remained steadfast in his commitment to this concept in general, as well as to the specifics surrounding Jim Davis's contest in this capacity.