A group of 12 adults and four youth lifters took part in the ninth annual Grip Strength Kettlebell Open on Aug. 30 at Oliver Woods Community Centre. (Nanaimo Kettlebell Club)

By Dan Marshall

Getting Stronger

Ninth annual Grip Strength Kettlebell Open brings out youth lifters

Sep 7, 2025 | 6:50 AM

NANAIMO — The ninth annual Grip Strength Kettlebell Open brought out some younger athletes for the first time.

Co-organizer Solomon Macys says youth starting at age 11 will continue to be part of the event going forward.

“We had a new youth contingent this year,” Macys said. “It was a product of the youth development program I ran eight weeks prior to the competition. That was a new element his year.”

There were four youth lifters and 12 adults. Most were from Nanaimo with a small group out of Duncan. There were also five video submissions from Seattle and Victoria.

With the BC 55+ Games coming to Nanaimo in mid September the Kettlebell competition had to switch dates to the Labour Day long weekend.

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The date change was likely a one off but holding the Open at a new facility is almost certain to continue.

“We held it at Oliver Woods in the upstairs in their Salal Rooms. It just felt like the best setup this year. The space was right, the atmosphere was right and the location was right. Everything felt good about it and we also felt really welcomed by the staff and the co-ordinators there. They’re really interested in helping us out to promote our sport so we are looking at locking in our event for future years as soon as possible.”

One of the highlight performances from the competition was in the adult division with Naomi LaJeunesse coming off of a full knee replacement.

“She did a half hour event of half snatch and that was no small feat,” Macys said. “She did 356 reps and she did a 12 minute military snatch with the 16 kilogram bell. If you’re going to compete competitively and at worlds for example that’s the weight you’re using. She did 232 reps and 225 represents qualification numbers for Team Canada. Coming back from that knee replacement and hitting those numbers I think that’s worthy of commendation.”

There are two more Vancouver Island kettlebell events slated for 2025.

The Westshore Open is on Nov. 8 and the Pentathlon Holiday Challenge is an hour long fundraising event that will happen in December.

Fall kettlebell training sessions are about to begin and the Nanaimo Kettlebell Club is always looking for new members.

Macys said the focus on youth will continue this fall as well.

“We’re projected to start our next cohort of youth on Oct. 1 for another eight week session and I’m also looking for a younger group 11-13 and an older group which is 14 plus.”

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