What to expect when you start competing in Weightlifting.
Category
Age groups
Youth: 17 y/o and under
Junior: 20 y/o and under
Senior: 21 y/o and above
Master: 35 y/o and above
Weight classes
Men: 55, 61, 67, 73, 81, 89, 96, 102, 109, 109 +
Women: 45, 49, 55, 59, 64, 71, 76, 81, 87, 87+
Day of the Meet
Athletes need to show up for the competition 2 hours in advance as they will be required to participate in the formal weigh-in. The order will be decided by a random drawing of the athletes in the group. Athletes are generally weighed wearing just their underwear, however if the athlete is a youth or junior, they may weigh-in wearing their singlet. If the athlete does not make their designated weight, he or she will have an hour to try to reduce their weight. During that time, the athlete will be allowed to weigh themself as many times as needed. Athletes that fail to make their declared weight will not be allowed to take part in the competition.
Closer to the posted start time for the athlete’s session, the athlete will go to the warm up area in order to get ready for the competition. The athlete and/or their coach will select a platform to warm up on and start that process as agreed upon with the coach. Once the session starts, the athlete’s name will be called. Depending on the other lifters in the session, the time between lifts will vary. If you are following yourself in a session you will have two minutes between your lifts. Each athlete will have 3 attempts for the snatch and for the clean and jerk. The order of lifters in the session will be ascending depending on the weight that each athlete declares.
Winner’s are chosen based on weight class. In some competitions, there may also be winners identified based on age category. The winner of the group will be the athlete who will have lifted the most when totaling the snatch and clean and jerk.
Clothing
During intra club or regional meets, it is not mandatory to wear a singlet for your first competition. However, you have to wear shorts that do not cover the knees and a t-shirt or tank top.
For higher level competition at the Provincial, national, or international level, it is mandatory to wear a singlet. You can wear a legging and a long sleeve or a t-shirt under your singlet.
If you are wearing a belt for support, note that the belt width should not exceed 120mm
Similarly, any knee sleeves or wraps should not have a width that exceeds 300mm and you should see a separation between your knee sleeve and your singlet. There is no maximum length for the bandage.
The wrist wrap width should not exceed 100mm.
Competition standards, doping et ADAMS
Athletes who desire to take part at the Provincial, National or International level often need to qualify for the specific event. The standards will be determined by the Provincial association, the WCH or the IWF.
Each athlete who takes part in the competition is subject to doping control.
Athletes selected to take part in an international competition will have to complete their whereabouts on ADAMS 3 months prior to the competition date in order to be eligible to compete. Athletes that do not meet this requirement will not be allowed to compete.
For more details on the anti-doping control and how to fill up ADAMS go on the following link;
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (cces.ca)
You can always reach out to WCH board members for more information.
