MANITOBA OPEN
MEET REPORT
Just to remind some of my fellow lifters out there………the meet does not solely consist of the day of lifting. I say this as a
not so subtle reminder to all lifters out there that our sport really relies on the hard work of our volunteers. That includes the Meet Directors, Officials, spotters and loaders and the set up crew. This past Sunday I filled out a few of these roles as did Rob Snow and we both were competing. Now I’m not the first to do this nor will I be the last however, we need some more involvement here in the Keystone province and I am open to ideas and suggestions on how to accomplish this goal. Enough of the sermon and onto the meet report.
Sunday morning came fast after the set up on Saturday afternoon. It was nice to arrive and handle minor logistics instead of worrying about getting the equipment carried in and in the right place. The 17th Wing Strength Club Gym is just what you need for the no – nonsense powerlifter. It was in the basement, had enough weight and was warm (something which my joints were thankful for). My warm ups went well. I finished off with a modest 200kg single before stepping up to the platform for my opening Squat. Now I do pride myself on my squatting but today was far from a stellar day. I had been successful in attaining a lighter bodyweight and had tipped the scales at 122.5 (my lightest weight in years). The opening weight of 235kg was not bad but I felt that I was slower than usual through the midrange. This would prove to be prophetic! With only six lifters the second and third attempts came fast. I went to 250kg for the second. Now this is usually an easy attempt for me, in fact I did this weight last year in a belt and knee wraps at this very same contest (although heavier by 11kg in bodyweight). The second attempt was sl l l o o oo wwww. I stalled out about halfway up and needed help to get it back in the rack. The funny thing was the weight did not feel heavy on my back! So onto attempt # three; I set up better and narrowed the stance slightly, it felt better and I was confident it was going up. However, Mother Nature and gravity said, “not today” and I stalled out again and could not grind it out. Yeeesh, only one squat!
Bench warm ups went well and I was feeling ready. The first attempt of 155 went very well and I confidently took 170 for a second. This did not go good as I stalled out quickly after the press command. So, in went the attempt card for 170 again. I focused and concentrated and had a better set up and felt tighter at the bottom. When the command was given I pushed hard and was moving the weight well but I stalled out again! No lockout strength! My dear wife said I was close to lockout as she felt the bar had reached the height of the pins when it stopped. Any way you slice it I wasn’t strong enough and now I was 2/6 in attempts. The 155 equaled my best raw bench from last year so it wasn’t looking too good.
The Deadlift came and I was wearing a Titan Deadlift suit for the first time in competition. I have chronicled the follies of this suit in my workout logs. Needless to say the reduction in bodyweight allowed me to attempt to use this suit in the contest. Opening weight was 235 and it went up well. The second attempt was 250 which is the weight I needed to qualify for Nationals as an M1 125kg lifter. This too went up and I was happy. I put 257.5 on the bar in an attempt to push things further however, my arse was left up in the air and for some reason I had a huge belch that was forced into my throat with the pressure of the attempt. I humbly put the weight down and suppressed the belch and uttered my apologies for the rudeness. So, I was 4/9 on the day but I had qualified for Nationals, wasn’t hurt and had done it all at a lighter bodyweight!! It was Bittersweet but to be expected.
My fellow competitors had some good performances as well. Rob Snow aka the Stud Juice fueled “Snowdaddy” had a two pronged approach to the day. He wanted to push up his raw total and also test his max shirted bench. Rob pushed up the squat, matched his best unshirted bench and then blew away his shirted bench PB by pressing a huge 190kg which was good enough for third place by coefficient! Of course Snowdaddy had trouble keeping from falling over laughing when Derek pulled up the straps on my borrowed singlet and produced the largest “Moose Toe” seen south of Thompson.
Although Derek’s voice may have been slightly higher due to the support of the non – supportive singlet he too attained his goal of a 182.5 Benchpress under competition standards. Congratulations Derek!
Harvey Hanec had a wonderful day stringing together a Canadian Record Bench with a 160kg press surpassing the existing record by 2.5kg. Harvey also had it in his mind to try and give a world record a ride and bumped the weight up to 181kg (ya got away with one here Harv as the call should have been 182.5). Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful on the attempt.
Harvey’s training partner Trevor Winfield put on an impressive display of pressing as well pushing up 260kg for a new Manitoba Open and M1 125 record. He also managed a total record with 720kg! Now just round out the Squat and Deadlift to match that Bench and an 800kg total is not far away ;D Trevor took two tries at 272.5kg in the Bench but was unable to lock the weight out.
Ryan Espey took some time to show off his pressing prowess as well with an easy 230kg opener. This surpassed the existing Manitoba record by 10kg. Ryan tried to increase the margin with a 240kg attempt but he was unsuccessful on two tries. He however demonstrated that he can be in the thick of the 125+ Bench wars and walked away with the trophy for the best Benchpresser of the contest! Congratulations Ryan I believe there will be some more records in your future.
Ed Dufour showed that he is on track for bigger weights as he pressed 192.5kg on his second attempt. Ed brought another son of Dauphin with him by the name of Shaun Caruk who managed his opener at his first contest.
Matthew McKellar from Saskatchewan came for the full meal deal at his first contest as he did the full meet and the bench only contest as well. Matthew traveled with Lucas Tetreault and both these young men showed some impressive technique on the wood and I’m sure there are many more contests for them to come.
The best lifter in Manitoba came out to play but he left his gear at home. Steve Powell did his first ever Raw contest to see where he stood without his gear. Steve showed good strength in the squat and bench but was slightly disappointed that he missed the 182.5 shirtless bench. However, Steve is known for his Deadlift and he did not disappoint with a
H U G E deadlift of 290kg for a third attempt. I guess that suit doesn’t give you a whole lot for your pull does it Steve? This was a fantastic pull and ranks up there with the largest Raw pulls in provincial powerlifting history.
I mentioned the volunteers at the beginning of this lengthy report and now I will try to remember them here at the end. There were some regulars who always seem to be there when we need them and some pleasant surprises and much needed help from some new comers to the sport. Spencer was recruited by Rob to run the computer and did a wonderful job for his very first time. Tamara walked her way into our hearts and assisted at the head table. This went very smooth and was a job well done by both of these people.
Again, out of nowhere, Andrew Bryant used his Powerlifting Spidey sense and called to see if we needed help. He showed up with enthusiasm and a smile and spotted all day and then disappeared into the forest again. I don’t know how he does it but he left as quickly as he had come and I didn’t get a chance to personally thank him for the wonderful effort. Thanks Andrew! If you need help with the training and want a workout just call anytime.
Newcomers TJ (a protégé of Snowdaddy’s) helped all day as well foregoing a day at the Mall with his teenage friends. There was another gentleman whose name I don’t recall (sorry
) that willingly stepped up and spotted and loaded and did a fantastic job. Gary Lacoursiere also appeared out of nowhere and helped all day as well. Gary is being reposted as well and will be moving on to Ottawa later in the summer. Good Luck with the new posting and lifting in Ottawa Gary. There are some good Powerlifting clubs out there so check the OPA website for training partners and places to go if you need help.
Of course there were our capable officials. Annette Powell fresh from attaining her National Referee’s Badge sat in the head chair and ran a smooth contest. The side Referees were Susan Haywood (my lovely wife) and Michael Lange (longtime powerlifter, our webmaster and all around great guy) who made fair and consistent calls all day long.
The MPA would like to extend our gratitude to the staff of the 17th Wing Recreation Centre for allowing us access to their wonderful facility. The MPA’s relationship with the 17th Wing is solely the result of the efforts of the Snowdaddy, Robert Snow. Rob and his family are headed back to Nova Scotia shortly and although we are losing a good friend to his home province we are much richer for his time hanging and banging with the Prairie Powerlifting Pundits and we will ensure that our paths cross in the future either on the wood or during our travels. Have a safe journey Rob and Kathy and good luck in your new home.
Well I have prattled on long enough. Feel free to add your comments and observations. We will be looking to Rehband and Mr. Leudy to continue the excellent tradition of the 17th Wing Fall Contest in November ’08.
Stay healthy and lift big,
Brock
Although Derek’s voice may have been slightly higher due to the support of the non – supportive singlet he too attained his goal of a 182.5 Benchpress under competition standards. Congratulations Derek!
) that willingly stepped up and spotted and loaded and did a fantastic job. Gary Lacoursiere also appeared out of nowhere and helped all day as well. Gary is being reposted as well and will be moving on to Ottawa later in the summer. Good Luck with the new posting and lifting in Ottawa Gary. There are some good Powerlifting clubs out there so check the OPA website for training partners and places to go if you need help. 
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