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Saint Paul Hosts National Junior Weightlifting Championships at Radisson City Center April 1-3, 2005
(Saint Paul, MN) The Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Minnesota Local Weightlifting Committee will host the 2005 National Junior Weightlifting Championships at the Radisson City Center Hotel April 1-3. This national competition will feature 200 of the country's best youth weightlifters under the age of 21. There is no minimum age, but contestants must qualify by strength and meet minimum weight requirements, which is 48 kilograms for women. Most junior contestants are high school or college age. The lifters will compete by gender in various weight classes, similar to wrestling. Competitions run from 9 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday, and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. All competitions will be held in the skyway level Atrium of the Radisson City Center Hotel downtown Saint Paul located at 411 Minnesota Street next to Town Square. Tickets are $5 per person per day and are available on site. In and out privileges apply. Weightlifting is nearly as old as human civilization dating back to the ancient Greeks as well as the Chinese some 5000 years ago. It was also one of the sports included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The first weightlifters used stones, then later bells. In fact the term "dumb bell" is derived from the practice of removing the clappers from bells, thus rendering them soundless or dumb, while lifting them. About 40% of the competitors will be women, as the sport has increased in popularity among girls and women since it became a sanctioned Olympic event for women in 2000. Tara Nott, an American lifter at the 48 kg level, became the first female world champion weightlifter, earning a gold medal at the Sidney Olympics in Australia. On a state level, 11 women and 9 men will compete at the National Junior Championships in Saint Paul, where medals will be awarded to the top three lifters in each weight class. Cori Safe of Cannon Falls who placed 2nd two years ago and 3rd last year in the 69 kg category and Hanna Means of Northfield, who placed 2nd last year in the 63 kg class, are both hopefuls for a medal in the women's competition. Means will compete Saturday at 3 pm and Safe on Saturday at 7 pm. First time men's competitor, 18-year-old Taylor Feldmann of Farmington, won the State High School Championships in March in his 62 kg weight class, and he is also expected to do well. Feldmann will compete Friday at 3 pm. While Minnesota is not yet a hotbed for weightlifting at the elite level, the sport is catching on according to local organizer Roger Sadecki, president of the Minnesota Local Weightlifting Committee. "We have 220 registered lifters in the state, making us the fourth or fifth largest chapter in the country," he said. "We have some terrific young athletes who will compete in Saint Paul and we hope the popularity of this sport will catch on among other youth in the state." It will soon be easier for lifters to receive proper instruction and training in Minnesota, as the state's first Regional Weightlifting Training Center will be opening this fall. Jed Smith, a weightlifting coach and enthusiast will be heading up the program which will be sanctioned by USA Weightlifting and the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Program. The U.S. Olympic Committee donated all of the equipment for the facility, which will open in its new 40,000 sq ft Burnsville location in September. The training center will be open to youth ten years and older and will also be available to adults for training, sports medicine and physical therapy. According to Smith, all athletes can benefit from weightlifting programs. "Research has shown that the best technique for strength training is the Olympic style lifts used in the ‘snatch' and ‘clean and jerk' movements," said Smith. "The speed and athleticism required in these moves trains for peak strength and develops peak power that can be transferred to any sport, such as hitting a baseball, or slapping a hockey puck." During the competition, each contestant will perform two lifts. The "snatch" in which the bar is pulled up in one explosive motion from the floor to above the head, and the "clean and jerk" which is a two part movement in which the bar rests briefly at shoulder level, then is raised to a full arm's length above the head. Since the snatch is a quick single movement, it is easier to life slightly more weight than with the clean and jerk. The best lifters in the world in the lighter weight classes can lift 2.5 to 3 times their body weight with the snatch. World class super heavyweight lifters have lifted up to 500 lbs or 227.5 kg with this move. The National Junior Weightlifting Championships are expected to bring in 200 athletes and 300-400 spectators to the city, resulting in an estimated economic impact of $100,000. For more information on USA Weightlifting visit www.usaweightlifting.org. For information on lodging, a calendar of events or any other information on Saint Paul, contact the Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau at 651-265-4900 or 800-627-6101 or www.visitsaintpaul.com. ### Additional contacts: Roger Sadecki - President of Minnesota Weightlifting Committee: 612-725-2368 Jed Smith - Regional Weightlifing Training Center and School 952-201-3495 Wes Barnett - Executive Director, USA Weightlifting 719-866-4508