Bringing the power

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This article was published 02/12/2024 (543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-two-year-old Andy Allden hasn’t done much heavy lifting in life just yet.

To this point, that’s mostly come on the stage where he’s already built up an impressive resume as a powerlifter since taking to the sport five years ago.

Allden, who competes locally and nationally, is old enough to know how quickly the strength sport has evolved in recent years and what competitions tend to look like in a niche community that must scratch for every dollar to put on a sanctioned event.

Typically held in a local gym or community centre, powerlifting meets don’t have much of a flare for theatrics. The sport — and its athletes — are gritty by nature, and competitions usually reflect that by maintaining the raw atmosphere of an iron paradise.

The scene includes incredible feats of strength — in the squat, bench press and deadlift exercises — on a small stage while lifters are judged by a pair of officials and cheered on by a small audience of close supporters.

“In the past, it’s definitely seemed very mundane, boring — almost not even a sporting event if that makes sense,” said Allden, who has lifted in a dozen sanctioned events.

So it’s no surprise that Allden and 53 other athletes were shocked when a brand new meet strayed from the norm last month.

Held inside the James Daly Fieldhouse on the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus, the inaugural Manitoba Collegiate Powerlifting Classic may have set a new standard for what local meets should look like.

A specially designed backdrop on a large platform made for a more professional look for lifters to showcase their training, while lighting effects, a top-tier sound system and an emcee gave athletes the feeling of competing in a spectacle.

“It was probably the best meet that I’ve seen personally in terms of production value,” said Allden.

“There was just this level of hype that was just amazing. I’ve never seen anything like that at any other local-level meet. This meet is probably on par with a lot of regional or even national level meets, in my opinion.”

It was the first event organized by 22-year-old Liat Schultz, a student in the U of M’s recreation management and community development program, who said her goal was to prove to the university that there continues to be a legitimate hunger for powerlifting on campus and that more resources should be dedicated to growing the sport.

Schultz, who has competed for three years, hosted the event on behalf of the U of M Powerlifting Club, which was formed in 2019 as a way for the mass of student-lifters to band together at a time when their intense training style was discouraged at the Active Living Centre.

The group is made up of 85 members today, although, it’s still fighting to be accepted on campus. An example is their use of hand chalk, which is a necessity for athletes when lifting heavy weights but is banned inside the Active Living Centre.

“I think there’s a lot of belief that powerlifting is kind of like an illegitimate sport because it’s not an Olympic sport, so because we had such a big community of lifters on campus, I could see that there was a need, and I knew that this would be a really great way to lift up powerlifting at U of M and show that it’s there and it exists and it’s strong,” said Schultz, who has also competed for three years.

While her meet proved to be a smashing success, Schultz said she was a little bit surprised at the lack of support from the university, and specifically, her faculty.

No one from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management attended the event, though, it did provide a small sponsorship. It only confirmed Schultz’ thought that there was a lack of respect for her sport on campus.

“I’m an undergraduate student. I’m 22 years old. I don’t exactly scream (experienced),” she said. “I can totally see how the university would second guess it or be a little skeptical about how this is actually going to turn out.

“But, specifically for the faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, I think they need to show up for their students and show that they believe in their students, and they believe that what they’re teaching their students is actually working, because it is.”

Lifters ranged from teenagers to their seventies, with most being young adults in university. Regardless of age, there was an appreciation for the product Schultz curated in her first event.

Even Janet Loesel Sitar, an official at last month’s event who has seen just about everything in her 10-year career, believes the grandiose style is the path to bringing in younger athletes.

“It was definitely a whole package,” said Loesel Sitar, a board member of the Manitoba Powerlifting Association who has organized six meets in her career.

“I think the younger athletes really appreciate the way they make it a little bit more spectacular because it makes them feel more special. I’m sure older athletes appreciate it too, but we’re more in it for the health and the community, and so not necessarily needing extras to be attracted to the sport.”

The MPA is made up of 208 members, though, that number does not do the growth of the sport justice.

Loesel Sitar said there were 30 athletes in her first competition in 2014. At the time, that had been the biggest meet ever organized by the MPA. Now events have a minimum of 50 participants and will often exceed 100, and it can be the site for some awe-inspiring performances.

Through her schooling and experience in meets, Schultz took bits and pieces of information to create her event. Her vision was clear, and she pushed the boundaries of what’s widely become accepted.

She hadn’t thought of doing it any other way.

“Because it’s fun and because it makes people feel excited,” she said of creating a grandiose event. “It makes people feel like they’re paying to compete in something that’s actually an event, as opposed to just paying to be a part of something that they could mimic in their gym. And so I wanted to make our athletes feel really special. I wanted to show them that this is what powerlifting can look like in Manitoba because it’s what powerlifting looks like in a lot of other places.

“You see that showmanship take place. And we’ve been missing that.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam