Vaughn Strength and Conditioning - Competition Recap

Recently, Vaughn Strength & Conditioning decided to host a non-OWA sanctioned Olympic weightlifting competition. The event was very well attended and was a lot of fun. Ryan was there competing at his first official lifting meet, representing Guelph Barbell Club.

Ryan is relatively new to lifting and has been making some serious gains since he began training. Since he easily hit his current snatch PR 3x before the competition, coach Adrian decided that he should open at his max. I'm not sure exactly what was going through his head as he walked out onto the platform for the first time.... but Ryan did look a little bit like a deer caught in headlights. I should note that this is completely expected for first time competitors, and it still happens to even experienced athletes!

At any rate, Ryan attempted his opening lift at 84 kg..... and missed. He took a quick break, walked out to the bar, and tried agin. No lift. On his third attempt, Ryan hit that snatch and made it look easy. I'm going to guess that he was ridiculously nervous to be competing and just needed to shake the nerves off.

Up next, was the clean and jerk. For Ryan's first attempt, the confidence was clearly there as he just walked out onto the platform and ripped that bar off the ground. There was audible shock amongst the crowd as the bar came up so quickly and easily. In the snatch, Ryan took a lot of time getting set up and focusing at the bar before he began the lift. Clearly, this was not required for the C&J.

While he failed his 2nd C&J attempt due to a disqualification by the judges (elbows softer than Charmin!!), the clean had been easy. Coach decided that Ryan was ready to hit a huge PR and asked for 121 kg to be loaded on the bar for his final attempt. Similar to his other lifts, there was no hesitation, Ryan walked out and ripped the bar easily off the ground. After a slight pause to prepare for the jerk, Ryan punched that bar up and got under it easily, winning him first place in the C&J! Those of us sitting close to the platform heard a celebratory "MOTHER FUCKER!!" escape his lips when he saw the 3 white flags go up, indicating a complete lift. This was a huge PR for Ryan, who had previously hit 116 kg in practice.  

After a successful first time on the platform, we look forward to Ryan joining us as a competitive member of Guelph Barbell Club for future competitions!

Blame that one on Coach!

Your Coach ... They are always there for you. Coach plans your training, gets you to the competition, and calms you down when you are nervous. They tell you to slow down, sit down, and get you out to the platform on time. But every now and then, Coach can be a bonehead. 

At the Ontario Masters, Dawn had the luck of lifting first for both lifts. After we completed the the snatch, there was a 5 minute break as they set up for the clean and jerk and during this time, they set the clock to count down until the start of the next lift. 

The venue wasn't exactly a great set up and we couldn't hear the announcer or see the clock from the warm up area. The next thing I know, I hear a muffled "Dawn Larson" coming from the announcer. Suddenly, coach looks at Dawn and says: "They are calling, you better get out there!"

Dawn has a slight moment of panic to which coach tells her to suck it up and get out there and lift. So, Dawn pauses, gathers herself and runs out onto the platform (running is a warm up, right??). She looks at the clock and it is counting with less than 20 seconds to go. With very little time remaining, Dawn grabs the bar and rips it off the platform. In her haste, her hips come up faster than her shoulders which results in her rowing the bar. No matter, she is able to get the bar up to the front rack position anyway and completes the lift. As she looks around for the judge to give her the "OK" to put the bar down, Dawn notices that there are no judges at the tables! 

And the realization set in, Dawn had not been called to the platform. The clock had not been counting down her lift. Rather, the announcer had stated that Dawn would lift first and the clock had been counting down to the end of the break period. Everyone had a good laugh as Dawn walked off the platform from a "warm up" lift. She then proceeded to trash talk Coach while she waited for the C&J session to begin. 

Thanks Coach, you're normally always there for us ;)