But before that there was another shock – Minh actually beat someone! (namely Phil the blind lifter, shades of the 1983 Worlds). This was at 67.5kg, immediately followed by a critical wipeout, fragile Neville Harris coming to grief on the Bench Press. Out in front in the 75kg class with a miraculous 685kg best ever, was Club associate member (no points though) Sean Muir.

Minh finishing up with a 217.5kg deadlift.

On to 82.5kg and things looked up. Ultra dedicated Chris Seville showed that virtue pays off, with talented newcomers edged out by his solid 687.5kg for a second title in a row. Back in 5th in a good standard field David Encino Man Platzer added another 40kg to his best, but spared most of the furniture and fittings in an unusually placid outing.

Up to 100kg and David Jame’s 330kg Australian Record Squat was a sensational, twisting repeat of the hard 321kg he did in April. David’s strength was not quite as good on the other two lifts, but 810kg was a good total at less than a full 100kg. Chris Schaerf stayed up at a tactical 103kg bodyweight but it didn’t matter, a bullish 272.5kg opening squat was dumped twice, then looked very good on a third attempt only for two referees to disagree, then a protest repeat being cut just high. The fizz was gone and Chris did only some passable Benches and Deadlifts, again with controversy as 280kg seemed to be still moving to lockout when the fateful ‘down’ came.

But out in front in the final session was newcomer Stephen Pritchard. His training didn’t look inspired but his lifting on the day was, with 8 successes and an enormous 940kg total for Best Lifter.

Stephen Pritchard Bench Pressing 270kg on his way to a 940kg total

The sometimes neglected Bench Press Championships produced some sparks too. Simon The Likeable Close needed 185kg to take the win, 17.5kg up on his best ever. The bar went up and up, there was the tiniest wiggle and tragedy, 2 reds. But fate evened the score later, Steve Little obliging with one of his regular bombouts and Noah Hannibal, non-compis after being mugged on the Friday night, came through with 180kg. When he comes to in about a week’s time, someone will tell Noah he won and he will be overjoyed.

Simon the Likeable pushing up 185kg

Back in another special event, Intervarsity, the Club lost out again, the mysteries of the Jame scoring method shunting us down to third. Very promising (although actually representing Deakin) Small Luke Helmke took out the 75s, whilst Adam Trudgeon benched well. Paris was there in body, if not spirit, to be pipped by only 377.5kg in the 100kg class.

Luke Helmke taking the intervarsity 75kg division

Next year will be back to the future, Melbourne and Rydges again. Organizing this year’s event took its toll with Sean The Penniless and Con Barbakas lifting more weight than any competitor in super-human efforts in building things and trucking weights in and out to set-up the venue. Also David Jame, Simon The Likeable, Small Luke and others were part of the crew there till 3.30am on Saturday and all still lifted well. Practice makes perfect and we will make the meet smoother and better next year.

Full competition results

- Robert Wilks

You can order a professional DVD of your lifting session from John Myers. For a lifetime memory of your lifting! Order a DVD of your session at the 2010 Australian Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships. $35 per session including postage. Contact John Myers (phone: 02 6562 7628)

Come and support our lifters at the 2010 Australian Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships.

Best lifter for the Club was 100kg David Jame, hesistant after yet another long enforced lay off. 300 miss, 312.5 miss, 321 good was the result in the Squat, the third an enormous twisting, hard Australian Record, breaking Peter Kyriakos’ eternal Club and National Record.

Minhdonitis (dictionary definition “Minh induced injury financial or physical”) in the elbow kept David to a token 160kg Bench. More angst in the Deadlift, a 315kg best went up, down and up again due to a sewn suit breaking half way, Tokyo tailors are what’s real, not Bundoora thimblers.

Elsewhere in the 100kg class a new market opened up for Titan Australia. Chris Schaerf finally came good with the 207.5kg Bench Press he had threatened to do for a long time, but was short on 3 Squats, painfully close on the third, 280kg and his long-time shirt, now suit, purveyor was ecstatic in waving the tape measure for a custom special even before the red lights were off.

Down in the 82.5kg class the other Original Hard-Gainer Chris Seville also went through trauma but came out on the right side of the lights with an easy 260kg best ever Squat, before moderate benching and deadlifting left Chris 2.5kg short of his best, at a still solid 662.5kg

But further down in the 82.5kg there was even more intense action. Encino Man, revealed as having an alleged name of David Platzer, shattered his personal best and half the Hawthorn furniture with a 600kg total. Can “Dave” improve to the 650/660 needed to sneak a place at the Nationals? Does P.A.’s insurance policy cover structural building damage? These questions will be answered at Rydges Hotel on July 24th.

Meanwhile Simon the Likeable’s usual charm failed to work on the Referees on 3 very choppy Squats, but he was still well above his best on those (almost) Squats, the Bench and the Deadlift.

Outside these two hotspot classes of the 100’s and 82.5’s there were the usual psychodramas of triumph and tragedy. From the bottom up, Minh was all at sea at 67.5, the Flanagan Family improved in their second contest and bests came from bencher Greg Peiris and both of the vegetarian fraternity, Andrew Clark and Noah Hannibal. Newcomers were Andrew Kirkilis, struggling with a genetic burden (remember Joel Kirkilis?) and Wei Chui at 75kg. Malaysian Wei is the Anti-Darren (i.e. he’s poor, works hard and pays his own bills), has trained 3 times ever and aims to eventually go close to doubling his 372.5kg debut here.

Last but impossible to be least firebrand Fiore Inglese came back after 10 years and his 8th place at the World Championships, with an electrifying 727.5kg, what would have been a Masters record if all was perfect in the world. 765kg or bust is Fiore’s target now, but if it’s bust it will be a spectacular one.

And those were the Club’s most experienced and stable lifters. Look out Mannum at the Australian Juniors in May, when Melbourne Uni’s even zanier B team will be unleashed.

Full competition results

- Robert Wilks

President – David Jame
Vice-President – Alistair Ballie
Treasurer/Public Officer – Chris Schaerf
Secretary – Chris Seville
Head Coach – Robert Wilks
Membership Officers – Andrew Clark and Michael Censori
Student MUSA Representatives – Adam Trudgen and Michael Censori
Social Coordinator – Minh Nguyen
Web Master – Noah Hannibal
General Committee – Fiore Inglese

A special thanks also to Mike Censori for his excellent work with the drinks.

Best of luck to all in reaching your goals for 2010 and I’ll see you in the gym!

-Dave

A huge 2-day Matti Tikka end of year competition in Sydney from November 21-22 saw 5 Melbourne Uni lifters venture north to take on 50 other competitiors and tropical heat to record 4 personal bests and the one obligatory disaster.

Ripped off in Sydney

Top of the tree were the two original Hard-Gainers, Chris and Chris. Chris Seville (82.5kg) fell over on 257.5kg Squat, came back and got it, then did the same routine on the Deadlift, 257.5kg flying up and then out of his hands before a valiant repeat. 665kg is a best by only 2.5kg but that puts Chris into the exalted EII ranks. In that session Club satellite member Sean Muir also improved, post hip surgery, with 640kg at 75kg.

Chris Schaerf is a prudent man, second only to Julian Ross in fiscal restraint, and is armed with an MBA, an honours degree in Commercial Law and now a Masters of Commerce. But he is no match for Minh, the Vietnamese shirt-peddler. Chris has now been sold 6 shirts, none fit, none work and now Minh is wearing gold chains. Here Chris narrowly missed a 1cm high best 277.5kg Squat, but on the Bench his special custom-made-to-fit-like-a-glove billowed and offered no resistance to 200kg. Chris came back for a best ever 280kg Deadlift and 740kg Total. However the big coin in Sydney for Chris was the great new bridge Minh sold him.

But all this Elite lifting was small beer compared to the death-match between the 82.5kg tyros, Al Baillie and David “Encino Man” Platzer. We all know Theo and Andrew sent Encino Man down to destabilize the Club before the big Melb v. Qld Unis clash next Nationals, but this primal force has been bottled (in a test tube) and will be turned on his former keepers in 2010. Here Dave merely hinted at the fireworks to come with 567.5kg total and victorious karate kicks to various inanimate and animate objects after each lift. But then came Al, also with a 30kg PB to pip the Encino Man on the last lift and the battle of wills will only continue.

Speaking of test tubes, Luke Bainbridge claimed to be experimenting on his Squat and successfully proved that if you Squat high you get red lights. But Luke will be back next week at Ross Productions Global contest to redeem himself (again).

And finally, Michael Censori overwhelmed an Einsteinian field, and Theo, to come dux of the Level 1 Coaching Course.

- Robert Wilks

The MUWPC nationals team wearing the new club t-shirts and displaying the ‘Best Club – Men’ trophy which Melbourne University won for the 3rd consecutive year.

MUWPC powerlifters wearing the new t-shirts

Chris Seville squatting his way to a win in the 82.5kg class

Anyway, in the “Classic” (ha) competition Alistair Baillie improved to 507.5kg at 75kg to win the coveted “Best LeftOver” trophy (which for some strange reason also seems to always go to Melbourne Uni). Another standout Melbourne Uni Leftover was Garish Shanker with 542.5kg at 90kg, after obliterating precious brain cells on the bar and still doing a best total despite suffering a concussion the severity of which was demonstrated by his choices later in the evening. And then we had Simon the Likeable Close with 475kg at 82.5kg. Greg Peiris also in his first comp at 100kg and ancient John Rutherford, still battling on with 437.5 at 82.5kg.

On to the Championships proper and an ignominious start with Minh Nguyen stone motherless last in the 67.5kg class – yet Minh’s 512.5kg was 20kg above his best and he did not fall over on any of his lifts, nor have to be cut out of any suits, so it was all good. Survival is the name of the game for Neville Harris at this stage and he nursed himself through to a hardy win at 75kg. The pace quickened in the 82.5kg class where Chris Seville was steady in never really being threatened for a win with 662.5kg

The third win in a row came in the 90kg class, with a sub-par David Jame finding expected challenges not to emerge. Also at 90kg Club visitor Wim Van Weenen pulled an Over 70 World Deadlift Record, before rushing off to more pressing assignations.

In the heavy classes the going got tougher. A Master of Laws and an MBA did not render Chris Schaerf capable of rational thought in the 100kg class and the lure of even figures saw him bomb on 200kg Bench Press. Before that Chris was promising with 275kg Squat, but the ringing in his ears of DeLulio’s laughter from afar saw Chris constrained to a similar figure in the Deadlift. At 125kg Con Barbakos improved to the magical 800kg level but still has more that can be drawn from the well. Also at 125kg Luke Bainbridge had to restrain himself before September’s World Junior Championships, but came through with an Australian Junior Total Record of 735kg.

Billionaire Borneo Bench-Presser Darren Low deserves a story to himself. After about a dozen training sessions for the year he boldly started with an AJR in the 125kg Bench Press Championships and equally boldly bombed. Undeterred, down to the pizza shop went Darren, an hour later he weighed in 3kg heavier and then defied the naysayers by again starting with an Australian Junior Record. And this time he got it! 202.5kg! Breaking totally free from reality Darren then called for 242.5kg, the spotters were nervous but nothing was going to stop Darren – nothing except 242.5kg of merciless iron that is and twice the audience was treated to some eerie supine contortions. But with eleven Bench bombs from the 100kg upwards lifters, somehow this Darren-Mania seemed normal – almost.

Next year there will be a double challenge for the club, as we will be hosting the Australian Championships and needing to build quality in the Special part of the world that is our membership, all the while meeting the University’s requirements. But for 30 years now we have come up with something exciting, strange and unexpected and 2010 will be no exception.

Full competition results

Robert Wilks