By Dan Marshall

Grip Strength kettlebell competition in Nanaimo this weekend

Sep 13, 2018 | 8:55 PM

NANAIMO — The Grip Strength kettlebell competition is back for a second year.

It takes place at the Coast Bastion on Saturday with about 30 competitors signed up.

The majority of the lifters are from Nanaimo, Victoria, or Vancouver but there are athletes coming from the Okanagan and as far away as Moose Jaw.

Organizer Rachel Robertson with Ballistic Strength Nanaimo says there is a thriving kettlebell community in BC.

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She and her partner Solomon Macys went to the world championships last year and several of the other lifters coming to the Grip Strength event this weekend are international competitors.

Robertson says Team Canada finished 14th at the last world championships. 

Video (snatch) from training at Ballistic Strength:

Saturday’s competition will feature three kinds of lifts – jerk, long cycle (clean and jerk), and snatch.

Athletes had the option of signing up for five or ten minute intervals for their lifts but Robertson says all of the competitors opted for ten minutes.

Training video from Ballistic Strength in Nanaimo:

Last year’s kettlebell competition was held in conjunction with a weightlifting event in Nanaimo.

Robertson says the Nanaimo Kettlebell Club still has a strong relationship with Hercules Weightlifting but the two groups split up their dates to allow the weightlifters to lift on a schedule that better aligns with their qualifying period.  

Grip Strength won’t qualify the athletes for any bigger competitions, but next year changes are coming.  

The Nanaimo Kettlebell Club is going to become a part of the National Development Camp.  That will create a circuit with some prize money available.  

It will also allow for lifters to gain some much needed funding which isn’t available currently. 

Athletes are responsible for their own travel which makes it difficult to get to a lot of out of town events.  

The competition this weekend will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Coast Bastion in the basement ballroom.  

More information about the event is available on facebook.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com    

On twitter: @danmarshall77