2016 Westman Embark Open Meet Report

Saturday April 2, 2016 turned out to be quite a day for the powerlifting community of Brandon Manitoba. This was the first time that the MPA has had a powerlifting event hosted in Manitoba’s second largest city…….the “Wheat City” (a theme that will be elaborated on later). By all accounts it was a successful event as the performances by the lifters was an excellent representation of how our sport is growing. The spectator turnout was very good as Embark Fitness 365 our venue and the facility owned by Carrie White proved to be a cozy, energetic and buzzing facility yesterday as 32 Powerlifters and their training partners, friends and family descended to the building at 101 Industrial Drive in Brandon Manitoba for yesterday’s event.
This event was the brainchild of Amanda Moffitt, a long time Benchpress competitor in our sport and Mathew Bowen, a young lifter who is grabbing life by the horns and wrestling with it with enthusiasm. Amanda has been making the drive to Winnipeg in the treacherous spring conditions for years and thought; “why not lift at home?” Mathew is one of our most recently certified Provincial Referees. He is also just graduated from University, competed at his first Nationals, earned his first Manitoba record for the squat (and announced the successful attempt when it was surpassed at this meet) and he chose to move the day before the event!!
As with most events there is a lot of behind the scenes activities that occur to ensure the meet is organized, well run and runs with as few glitches as possible. Amanda did a lot of the leg work of connecting with Carrie, arranging for chairs and curtains. Mathew was connecting regularly with Susan Haywood discussing the entries, paperwork, trophies etc.
The MPA competition equipment needed to be transported from the 17 Wing to Brandon. On Thursday March 31st Krista Vandewaeter, Rob Snow and yours truly met up and schlepped the weights onto my truck and Rob’s van. On Friday April 1st Ryan Kolesar and Ben Langley picked up the remainder of the weights and brought them out to Brandon. Friday was a flurry of activity as the trucks were unloaded and the venue arranged after Carrie’s last class of the day at 18:30 hrs. Understand that Carrie had to post to her gym members that she was closed on Saturday! Amanda, her husband (name?) and her brother (name?) helped with the unloading and set up.
On Saturday morning everyone was there bright and early for weigh-ins. The officiating duties were being handled by Rob, Krista and Shawn McCarthy (another newly minted Referee). Sarah Farr training partner and travelling companion of Krista (also a BIG fan of David Bowie apparently) was there to assist with the setting up of the head table and then worked the entire day running the score cards. Sarah’s presence and personality made the long day enjoyable for everyone. The attempt cards and scorecards were handled flawlessly and she kept her cool throughout the day. Sarah was also one of the last to leave as she was vacuuming the gym while Carrie was mopping after it was all over.
Rob, Krista and Shawn each took turns sitting in the head chair throughout the day. This was only the second time in recent memory where this writer was not sitting in the referee’s chair. The officiating was consistent and provided an excellent opportunity for all to build on their experience in the chair.
I know the next line is often a theme of mine in these reports but …we cannot do this without volunteers and the most important people on the platform are the spotters and loaders!! We had a good mix of experience and new blood at this competition. Portage la Prairie was well represented by the Meet Directors for our next event (The Portage Strength Classic) in the persons of Vince Green and Travis Mattice. Both were fresh off an excellent performance at the Nationals and handled some of the heavy lifting throughout the afternoon. Kurtis Tallaire was there too! Brining his enthusiasm, speed and sense of humour to the platform. Devin Laferriere worked very hard throughout the day as well. There were several gentlemen from Brandon that Mathew had recruited Eduardo, Ronnie, Matt, Elliot (Amanda’s better half I believe). I think it was an eye opener for the first timers when they realized how hard spotting and loading was/is. As mentioned on the Head Table was Sarah Farr – time cards and timer, Mathew Bowen – announcing (as well as number calling for one of his lifters), Travis Campbell sat in at the computer while I was coaching Susan other than that I was running the lifting program and doing some timing, etc. Lana Lorenco was there to assist as well both during the set up on Friday and throughout the day on Saturday. Mathew also secured some sponsorship in Katy’s Cookies as samples and gift bags were supplied for the winners of the classes. In advance, I would like to apologize if I have missed anyone’s name. Please reach out to me and I will make the necessary acknowledgements if I have overlooked anyone.
Onto the meet! I will try to keep it briefer as there are a lot of competitors to keep track of. The women made up Flight A and the lightest lifter was Jennie Wilson in the 63kg class. Jennie had a very good day going 8/9 only missing one squat. She had a nice cheering section of Nieces who were yelling and encouraging “Auntie Jennie” onto to success. Jennie totalled 272.5 for the Gold.
The 72kg class had a sequel to the battle in February at the Brickhouse meet. Kristine McLean and Johanna Theroux went head to head in February and again here in April. During the first encounter Kristine came out on top, at this meet the positions were reversed and Johanna was the winner by 2.5kg. Kristine has the bigger squat, but Johanna has the stronger bench, and yesterday they were equal on the deadlift which left Johanna’s bench as the deciding factor as she held the 2.5kg lead she had at the subtotal through to the end. Congratulations ladies! I’m sure you will entertain us with more close contests in the future.
Megan Smith has a solid debut in the 84kg class missing only a single bench to achieve a 240kg total and first place. Well done Megan!
Alyssa Amanda Burg and Lexie Elias were set for battle in the 84+Kg Women’s Open class. Both ladies also competed in Regina at the Nationals. Amanda achieving a Gold in the Benchpress and Lexie fought it out in the very competitive 84+ Women’s Open class placing well. Yesterday, Lexie had the advantage in weight on each of the lifts totalling 410kg to Amanda’s 340kg total. Both only missed two lifts to get there and Lexie was pleasantly surprised that she had won the Gold after the dust settled.
There were four Benchers at this contest. Two were Unequipped and two lifted Equipped and each one was in a weight class on their own. Co-Meet Director Amanda Moffitt was going for a Provincial Record in the 72kg Women’s M1 Benchpress. Amanda was successful with two of her three attempts for a 57.5kg total. Susan Haywood was looking for redemption from her performance at Nationals. There was a solid game plan with Sue opening in her T-shirt and then donning the Bench Shirt to take a crack at her own M3 84+ record. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as there was difficulties touching the bar to her chest. So, a total was achieved but her goal was not met. John Skeavington risked an almost due pregnant wife’s ire as he came and lifted well in the Men’s Open 105kg class going 3/3 and taking home the Gold with a 112.5kg bench for the new baby to be. Robert Waller was stepping over to the “Dark Side” by lifting for the first time in a Bench Shirt. Rob did well achieving a 157.5kg total in the 93kg Open Men’s class and qualifying for Nationals. Rob was the Best Benchpresser and achieved the “Wheat Thins” award to go with it!
We had a good mix of Junior lifters at this competition. There was some solid competition in several classes. The Best Junior Lifter or “Mini Wheat” was none other than Ben Langley!! Ben was on fire in the 74kg Men’s Junior Class and was fulfilling the anticipated battle between another 74kg Open lifter Nhan Nguyen. Both gentlemen had been using Social Media to call each other out and challenge each other to higher totals. Ben went 7/9 totalling 637.5kg and achieving a Wilks Formula Total of 466.778!! Ben’s last deadlift would have given him possibly the highest Unequipped Wilks in the Province but it proved a little too heavy.
There were three lifters in the 83kg Men’s Junior class. Riley Bertrand, Mikal Thrones and Michael Chan. There was some excellent lifting by all three. I believe Riley destroyed the aforementioned 83kg Open Provincial Squat record with a very easy 220kg after some nerves and forgetting the signals on his first attempt. Riley played it conservative on his Bench and took a single deadlift due to a nasty scrape on his thigh that was bleeding through the medical tape. My understanding is that Riley did enough to qualify for the Westerns which was his goal. Mikal squatted well but ran into some difficulty in the bench and then pulled opener at 227.5 but re-aggravated an injury preventing a second pull, he waved his third for a 542.5kg total and a second place. Michael Chan also missed his first squat but then settled down until missing his third bench at 145kg, he was good for 140kg on his second. The deadlift proved to be Michael’s lift as he solidly went 3/3 finishing with a strong pull of 275kg and a total of 607.5kg and a 413 Wilks at his first meet! A very good weight class of lifting!
The 93kg Men’s Junior Class had two lifters Nicholas Thrones and Teagan Friesen. Interestingly, both young men had difficulty with their respective benches. Nicholas getting his first and subsequently missing the next two. Teagan really needed his third bench to stay in the meet and when he sorted out the technical glitches he got it! Deadlifts proved easier as Teagan pulled 3/3 for a best of 187.5 and a 440kg total for the Silver. Nicholas pulled 237.5kg in the deadlift and totalled 547.5 for the Gold.
The 105 Junior class had three competitors. Ali Jasim, Theodore Farough and Dominic Picard. These three chose their attempts wisely as between the three there was only a single failed attempt in the 27 attempts. Ali missed his last bench with Theo and Dom going 9/9. Dominic was the winner with a 602.5kg total to Theo’s 460kg total and Ali’s 452.5. An excellent display of lifting and I think it bodes well that we have competitive Junior classes in Manitoba now.
There were also two 120kg Junior lifters in Colby Falk and Brandon Sutherland. Again, as in the 105 class above there were few misses with each lifter missing only a single bench. Colby had the edge in the squat which proved enough to stay ahead of Brandon’s stronger Bench and Deadlift. Colby earned the Gold with a 610kg total to Brandon’s 580! This too should be a rivalry to watch in the future.
In the Men’s Open Unequipped classes there was also some excellent first time competitors showing off their hard work. Nhan Nguyen was “alone” in the 74kg class buts as previously mentioned he and Ben Langley have been pushing each other to better performances and have been trading the MPA Open records back and forth for the past year. Nhan looked to be slightly off yesterday as he struggled in his squat only getting his opener. Benches were easier and he was able to pull 2/3 of his deadlifts for a 612.5kg total and a 443 Wilks which made him; “Cream of Wheat” as the best Open Male lifter of the meet.
The 83kg Open class had FIVE (5) lifters vying for a spot on the podium. Chad Walls had gained some weight and confidence to lift at his second event. Chad improved on all of his lifts totalling 452.5 and fifth place in this full class. Adrian Theroux came to lift at his first meet sporting a fiery red beard and some solid training to help him go 8/9 and totalling 565kg for fourth. He was not far away from the podium as there were two lifters above him with identical 572.5kg totals! Dino Camire and Reuben Doerkson finished with identical totals. Dino had a 2.5kg lead after the squats and a 7.5kg lead after the benches. Reuben was the lighter man and he pulled 7.5kg more than Dino to snatch the Silver medal by tying and beating Dino by being the lighter man. Quin Ferguson returned to the platform sporting a “devil may care” haircut and a smart mustache. Since last year’s Nationals in St. John’s, Quin has been injured. Quin went 7/9 achieving a 605 total and a 417 Wilks for the Gold medal in this close weight class.
The 93kg Men’s Open class had two newcomers battling it out in Tynan Friesen and Devan Normandin. Tynan went 8/9 missing only his first Bench for raising his head off the bench. He totalled 537.5kg for the Silver. This was an excellent first performance for Tynan, brother Teagan and their gym mates. Devan displayed some serious bench chops by succeeding with 160kg on his third for a 577.5kg total.
John Williams had some real challenges with the technical aspects of the lifting yesterday. John was alone in the 120kg Men’s Open Unequipped class but could not secure a squat to the satisfaction of the judges. He also found the bench a challenge as he took three tries to nail his opener. John then made two solid deadlifts before failing with his third. Therefore, John did not achieve a total and did not place. I am sure that he will learn from his errors and return to the platform to show us what he is truly capable of. Good luck next time John.
Jericho Belmonte needed three tries to get his opening squat before he settled down to take control of his nerves and achieve a total and the Gold in the 120+ Unequipped Open Men’s category. Jericho looks like he has a lot of potential and a good sense of humour as he completed a lovely “hair flip” (Avi Silverberg should have been watching) during the final deadlift of the day where Jericho pulled 250kg for a 587.5 kg total.
We only had one Equipped lifter in the powerlifting event and it was Jeremy Lundgren from Saskatchewan. Jeremy has been a long-time friend of the MPA and has come here to compete in the past. He was able to squat 260kg, bench 197.5 before being humbled by his deadlift only succeeding with his first at 240kg and failing with 250kg twice. This was good for a 697.5kg total and the win. Jeremy was close to a 400 Wilks as well. The sky is the limit Jeremy……………………….you decide.
So there you have the synopsis of yesterday’s events. Tear down was quick with help from everyone and another powerlifting convoy took the equipment to Portage la Prairie for the 2016 Portage Strength Classic on June 18th. Again, I cannot express enough thanks to the owner of the venue Carrie White for allowing the MPA to use the facilities at Embark Fitness 365 for a very successful first time meet in Brandon. We will see you on the wood in Portage.

Brock

2016 Brickhouse Power Challenge
Meet Report

This was the first time we have held a meet at Brickhouse Gym’s new facility on Route 90 here in Winnipeg. Paul Taylor and his staff did a wonderful job of setting the gym up for a day of Powerlifting. For this first meet of the year here in Manitoba we had 12 competitors and 9 of them were first time lifters!! We had an excellent turn out of volunteers for this meet and as is my custom I would like to list them first before getting into the details of the meet.

Rob Snow made himself available for a couple of Paul’s helpers when the equipment was picked up from the 17 Wing. He also assisted in getting the platform set up on Friday night so everything was just so.

On meet day Rob Snow, Krista Vandewaeter and Susan Haywood handled the officiating duties. Rob and Krista are Provincial level Referees with Rob studying up to take his National Referee test in Regina next week and Krista recently becoming a Provincial Referee. At the Head Table was yours truly running the scoresheet and announcing. I received very competent assistance from a new recruit courtesy of Bruce Markham from Gaby Valmont. Bruce had been helping Gaby and her boyfriend John Percy (who worked his buns off spotting on Saturday) with their training at the gym. He convinced them to come and see what a meet was like. Gaby handled the Lifter’s Cards and attempts and did very well.

On the platform we had Colby Falk, John Percy, Rob Waller, Jarrette Beck, Shawn McCarthy, Ryan Kolesar and Mathew Bowen as Platform General. These gentlemen worked very hard to ensure the bars were loaded properly and the lifters were kept safe while pushing themselves to the limit. I do not believe there was a misload during the event which is always an excellent indication that the team is working well. A HUGE thank you to these gentlemen for a job well done. I believe that Shawn, Ryan and Mathew are lifting at Nationals next week, which to me makes their effort a very special one indeed. Thank you from the MPA Executive!

Margo Morberg Berry who happens to train with Paul at Brickhouse decided to test herself at this meet. Margo is a Masters I lifter as well which makes this all the more impressive. To start your competitive lifting career in your fourties is quite a testament to your grit and determination. Margo lifted quite well managing an 8/9 day only missing her second squat which she was successful with on her third attempt with 80kg, Bench was good for 50kg and a 120kg Deadlift for a 250kg total and first place in the Female M1 72kg weight class.

Kristine MacLean and Johanna Theroux were able to go toe to toe in the Female Open 72kg class. Both ladies went 3/3 in the squat with Kristine ahead with a new Provincial Record Squat of 115kg to Johanna’s 90kg squat. The Benchpress showed a change in fortunes as Kristine really was struggling with her technique or signals as she missed her first at 52.5kg, her second at 62.5kg and then needing it for the third we got the crowd behind her and she made the second try at 62.5 look easy to stay in the meet. Johanna was obviously waiting for the Bench to showcase her skills as she too broke the Provincial Record with a 70kg first attempt and a 75kkg second try. Her third at 80kg proved to be just a little too much but she is the new Provincial Record holder for Benchpress in this class. Both ladies were successful with all three of their deadlifts. Kristine opened up 2.5kg heavier than Johanna with 112.5kg. Johanna wanted to make a move on the 15kg deficit she had and jumped to 125kg. Kristine was able to keep pace with 120 only losing 5kg of her cushion. For third attempts Johanna took a 7.5kg jump to 132.5 and Kristine was unaware that her coach CJ Stewart and Bruce Markham conspired to boost her total by going up 10kg to 130kg which she did with ease. When the dust settled Kristine was the winner with a 307.5kg total and a 312.5 Wilks Coefficient to secure the class and Best Female Lifter Award. Johanna too pulled her third at 132.5 for a very respectable 297.5kg total and almost breaking the 300 Wilks barrier in her first meet. Nice lifting ladies!

Alyssa Amanda Burg who also trains at Brickhouse seemed to have healed from her back injury from late last year. Alyssa (or Amanda is you are a friend in the crowd) was fresh off of a first place finish in the Benchpress at the Western Canadian Powerlifting Championships last December in Moose Jaw. Alyssa was up against Jessica Antony who had decided to lift at the Westerns too as her first meet. The squats were completed without issue as Alyssa finished with 117.5kg for the lead to Jessica’s 85kg. The Benchpress saw both ladies getting two of three lifts and both missing the same weight of 62.5kg. However, Alyssa missed this on her first attempt and Jessica missed it on her third. There was a 10kg separation in the bench with Alyssa finshing with 67.5 and Jessica with 57.5kg. This gave Alyssa a commanding 42.5kg lead at the sub total. Deadlifts went well for Jessica who completed all three attempts finishing with 122.5 and a 265kg total! Alyssa pulled 147.5 and 152.5 on her second but stalled out with 157.5. She totalled 337.5kg and was close to a 300Wilks for First Place in the Female Open 84+ weight class.

Chad Walls came out to try his hand at competitive Powerlifting and was the lone individual at the Men’s Open 74kg weight category. Chad was quite conservative with his opening attempts as you will see. Chad opened with 75kg in the squat and then made two 25kg jumps to finish with 125. A similar pattern followed in the Bench and Deadlift as Chad opened with a 65kg bench, jumped 30kg this time to 95kg and finished with 102.5. There was a 60kg differential between the opener of 100kg and the third of 160kg. Overall Chad did very well and totalled 387.5kg. I think we shall see some bigger numbers next time now the first meet jitters are out of the way.

Dan Collette was the also by himself in the Men’s Open 83kg weight class. Dan lifted well only missing his thirds on Squat and Bench. Dan finished with a 150kg squat, 112.5kg bench and he was able to enter the 400lb Deadlift club by pulling 182.5 for a max effort on the third pull. This gave Dan a 445kg total and a 304 Wilks.

The two strongest lifters at this contest were both in the 93kg weight class. But, Olimar Gutierrez was lifting as a Junior and Oladele Akano was lifting in the Open category. Olimar proved that he had put in the work as he did not miss a lift going 9/9 at his first competition. Olimar Squatted 200kg and then put on a Bench Clinic as he pressed 175kg on his third. So now after squatting over 400lbs and pressing almost 400lbs Olimar was able to pull 227.5kg or 501lbs to tick off that box and total a very respectable 602.5kg total and a 389.9 Wilks at his first meet!! I hope that Olimar continues with his training as the future is looking good for him.

Oladele returned almost a year after his first foray into the sport last February to put together a 9/9 day as well. Oladele squatted 220kg, benched 167.5 and pulled a very impressive beltless 275kg deadlift for a 662.5kg total and a 417.9 Wilks!! Oladele pointed out to me that he felt he had not done too bad last year as he finished second to the eventual National Champion Dan Lamoureux at his first meet. What he also did was to increase his total by 45kg in a year which is very good progress indeed. Oladele took home the Best Lifter Award with his 417 Coefficient.

Dominic Picard was another Junior who just happened to get his picture in the Free Press this Saturday by Trevor Hagan. You see, we had a photographer snapping all sorts of pics of the lifting for a photo collage and Dominic’s determined squat look made the cut. Dominic was lifting in the Men’s 105kg Junior class. He had some challenges in the squat as he missed the first and third squats but was able to get his second at 205kg. The Benchpress went a little better with a best of 137.5kg on the second and a miss at 140. Deadlifts were clear sailing for Dominic as he steadily built on his total managing to finish with 220kg and a 562.5kg total!

Mark Colley seemed to have the largest fan contingent in the crowd. They were vocal, loud awnd all Team Colley! Mark was lifting by himself in the Men’s 120kg class. The squat proved to be a challenge as Mark needed all three tries to be successful with 190kg. He then reversed his travails by benching a solid 1475kg for his opener and then struggling with 157.5 on the next two attempts. It was just too much on this day. The nerves seemed to be settled by the time Deadlifts started as Mark went 3/3 with 212.5, 232.5 and 237.5 for a 575 total! Nicely done Mark and cheering section!

Daniil Naumov was the only man in the Open 120+ category. He put together a 6/9 day and also had his picture in today’s paper. Daniil managed a 190 squat missing 205 on his third. Benchpress proved to be a challenge as Daniil was good for his opener at 120kg but could not press out 130 in the next two attempts. Again though Daniil provided me with the only example of a Sumo Deadlifter as he pulled all three attempts finishing with 200kg and a 510 total.

We were fortunate enough to have the CCES attend the event and do some in meet testing as part of the CPU Doping Program. This is a very important aspect of our sport as the MPA is the Provincial representative of the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) which is the National representative of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). The IPF is the “Gold Standard” of Powerlifting around the world for the consistency of our officials and the fact that the IPF affiliates all follow the WADA Doping Control standards which are identical to the Olympics.

Hats off to Paul Taylor Co-Owner of Brickhouse Gym for hosting this event in his fine new facility. Thank you to the volunteers, the lifters and the spectators which made this event a very well run and fun event for all. Our Vice President Bruce Markham payed the spotters and loaders a very high compliment by mentioning that they were well organized, quick and professional during this event. Thank you all as the meet could not happen without your efforts and continued support.

Our next event will be in Brandon at the 2014 Embark Open. The Entry Form is on the internet both on the CPU website and the MPA website and Facebook Page. We will see you all again on April 2nd in Brandon. Be sure to watch the 22 MPA lifters as they step onto the National platform at the 2016 CPU National Powerlifting Championships from February 15 – 20th in Regna Saskatchewan. I’ll see you on the wood!

Yours in strength,
Brock Haywood
MPA President
IPF Category I Referee

Portage Strength Classic
Meet Report Continue reading 2015 Portage Strength Classic Meet Report →