If you’re wondering what MUWPC has been up to between Raw Nationals 2012 and Raw Nationals 2013, here’s what you’ve missed:
Hawk’s Challenge – June 10, Hawthorn.
A monster of a competition, with over 40 lifters battling it out for PB’s and trophies. It seemed like all of Melbourne University was lifting, with the full spectrum from first timers right through to some of our most experienced lifters taking to the platform.
2012 Raw World Cup – June 12-17, Stockholm, Sweden.
One of the biggest ever Australia World’s teams was fielded for the inaugural IPF Classic World Cup, including MUWPC’s own Katie Tushuizen, Nghiep Luu and Russel Gan. Highlights included Nghiep’s run at the deadlift world record, which he unfortunately couldn’t quite hold onto.
2012 Equipped Nationals – July 28-29, Newcastle.
With the phenomenal growth of Raw lifting in Australia the 2012 Equipped Nationals were just under half the size of the Raw nationals, with some 36 lifters competing. The MUWPC contingent was significantly smaller than previous years, with only 4 lifters willing to make the long drive to Newcastle.
Starting Strength Challenge – September 16, Hawthorn.
Another massive local competition for Melbourne, the Starting Strength Challenge saw just shy of 60 lifters taking to the platform. As with most Hawthorn competitions, there were far too many MUWPC lifters to single out. Ex-MUWPC lifter Lucas Helmke made the long trip down from the gold coast in order to snag the Junior 74kg squat record of 191kg. This competition was perhaps immortalised by Kelvin Aitken losing consciousness after pulling a huge 300.5 for the National Masters I&II record. Just one of the many lifters to fall through the now infamous Powerlifting Australia banner.
2012 World Open Powerlifting Championships – October 30 – November 24, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Senior MUWPC lifters Chris Seville and Dave Jame headed to Puerto Rico to take on the world in equipped powerlifting. Both battled jet lag, the climate and the beginnings of a hurricane to post totals and represent the nation. Chris put up the respectable total of 695kg and placed 17th in the 83kg class. Dave put up a strong 810kg in the 105kg class to place 15th. Congratulations guys!
Victorian Extravaganza – November 25, Hawthorn.
November saw another round of first timers, with the usual mix of disappointments, PBs and miracles for MUWPC lifters. Max Riebl attempted to reclaim his Junior 105kg bench press record with a 166.5kg press, only to discover it had been beaten the day before. November also saw Linh Vu return to the stage, hitting very cautious numbers to go 9/9 after battling numerous injuries.
2012 Oceania Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships – Dec 7-9, Sydney.
After the enormous task that was Raw Nationals 2012, MUWPC was offered a reprieve with Sydney winning the bid to host the 2012 Oceania Powerlifting Championships. After an administrative debacle saw the competition being switched to Raw only, Melbourne Uni’s team shrank even farther. MUWPC regulars Chris Seville and Dave Jame were still recovering from Open Worlds, leaving room in the Australian team for some new faces. In one of the biggest competitions ever held in Australia, Melbourne University proved it is a force to be reckoned with in the powerlifting world with club veteran Nghiep Luu claiming the Men’s 66kg deadlift record with an incredible 271kg lift. Also of note was young Cameron Mackenzie, who took the men’s 120kg Junior deadlift record with a 320kg pull.
2012 Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships – Dec 10-14, Coimbatore, India
In Melbourne University’s last competition of 2012, 3 lifters accepted invitations to compete at the Asian Raw Powerlifting Championships in India. Byron White, Colin Chang and Yue ‘Mark’ Sun all lifted well and proudly represented both Australia and Melbourne at this International event. As juniors, all three have their eyes on higher levels of competition and it is good to see more and more of our lifters heading overseas to compete.
Melbourne Summer Bash – Feb 17, Hawthorn.
February traditionally marks the opening of the powerlifting season after a summer hiatus, and 2013 is no exception. With the majority of our lifters training hard for Raw Nationals, February often sees a smaller contingent battling it out, with perhaps a few looking to qualify last minute. This competition also marked the return to the platform of Leo Lazarus, having failed to find El Dorado and looking to make a name for himself in other ways. Unfortunately for Leo he was just shy of qualifying for nationals after his last deadlift slipped from his hands, after attempting to imitate club icon Nghiep Luu’s style perhaps a little too closely. The Summer Bash also saw Sean Connelly return to the platform to struggle out a respectable 465kg after battling numerous injuries. Also in the 83s was Bernard Balustrade, benching 155kg on his way to a 530kg total and a ticket to Raw Nationals, along with newcomer Stefan Romeo in the 74s with a 427.5kg total. In the women’s Priscilla Smoot and Michelle Robson-Gart totalled 220kg and 155kg, respectively, while Nadine Tey went 5/9 to end the day was 212.5kg in the 72s.
Special thanks to Tom Sheeran for these comp summaries, and Noah Hannibal for the continued hosting of our club website. Feel free to send me any updates!
