Power Hour
CGC Powerlifters Break Provincial Records
June 27, 2017
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of lifting maximal weight on three different lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift. Athletes often comment on how supportive the powerlifting community is of one another. You’ll find them constantly rooting for each other to break their personal records (PRs) and encouraging each other to be the strongest they can be.
Recently, powerlifting has become a sport for all ages, both young and young at heart.
On May 26th-27th, four members of the Canada Games Centre competed at the 2017 Combined NS and NB Provincial Championships in Bedford. These four members, also known informally as the CGC Powerlifters, qualified for regionals and even broke some provincial records, all while having fun. The team is made up of Claire Meagher (16), Jessica McNutt (23), Mark Breedon (24) and Robb Pattinson (33).
The excitement was evident as they cheered each other on during everyone’s attempts on the squat, bench press and deadlift. Claire, who only began training in January, qualified for Nationals and set Provincial records in the 57kg sub-junior women’s class for all three lifts. Jessica, who competed in the 84kg junior women’s class, benched close to 30lbs more than anyone else in her class but unfortunately was flagged on her third bench press attempt for incorrect form.
In only his second powerlifting meet, Mark won the 74kg men’s open category with a total of 968lbs, and his high energy and attitude helped push his team members towards success. Robb competed in the 93kg men’s open category and had a solid performance totaling 1127.5 lbs. He is already looking forward to competing in the next meet where he intends to significantly improve his records.
“It was a great learning experience. The other lifters provided a great atmosphere for attempting to max out PRs and the general powerlifting community support was phenomenal,” said Robb.
There was no shortage of support for the CGC Powerlifters at the competition. Fellow CGC members Missy Lavoie and Chris Whitmore were unofficial coaches and cheerleaders for Jessica and Robb, providing encouragement, assisting in warm ups and determining the weight for each attempt.
Thank you to all who came out to support our athletes! Stay tuned to for their next big competition – The Eastern Canadian Championships being held here in Halifax in October 2017.
All results from the meet can be found on the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s website or posted in the CGC Fitness Centre.