Nanaimo’s Hercules Weightlifting Club will test itself against some other strong men and women.
The club is hosting the Island Invitational Olympic weightlifting championships Saturday (Sept. 10) at Island Optimal Health and Performance on Dufferin Crescent.
The event is sanctioned by the B.C. Weightlifting Association and held in partnership with CrossFit Nanaimo.
Raf Korkowski, one of the coaches at the Hercules club, said the meet will mark the first time that an official competition has been held in Nanaimo, and it’s also the first qualifier of the year for provincials.
“It’s definitely the first opportunity to benchmark and get those athletes qualified for provincials and basically kick off our season,” he said.
Hercules club members have been working hard during the summer, but haven’t lifted competitively since the spring.
“They’ve had a lot of training between then and now, so we’re looking, definitely, for everyone in the club to improve,” Korkowski said. “Training’s been excellent, everyone’s injury-free and we’re excited.”
Spectators are welcome and admission is free. The lifting starts at 11 a.m. and the men’s heaviest weight classes lift at 5 p.m.
“Weightlifting is exciting,” Korkowski said. “There’s a lot of direct competition that we’re going to have here. People are going to be trying to reach standards for provincials, some for nationals. So there’s going to be a lot of intensity.”
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