News

Weightlifting Video competition for the inaugural California-Celt Invitational Challenge

A new way for Lifters to enjoy communication and participation within our "weightlifting family"! On Saturday November 6th a combined team of Irish and Scottish lifters will compete in the inaugural California-Celt Invitational Challenge against the might of California weightlifting. The competition, which has been sanctioned by USAW, Weightlifting Ireland and the BWLA, will be the first time that teams will compete from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The competition will take place over the internet at 6pm Scottish/Irish time and 10am California time. It will be broadcast live via Skype and will see eight male weightlifters from California, including US team members Don Shankle who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Pan-American Weightlifting Championships, competing against a combined Irish-Scottish team which includes Peter Kirkbride of Scotland who won silver at the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi. The idea for the concept competition came about when Irish weightlifter Barry Kinsella spent a fortnight training in the United States in early 2010, which included a week's training with top US coach Glenn Pendlay at California Strength. Friendships were made, rivalries formed and the rest will soon be history. The Celtic Team is made up from weightlifters from East Coast Barbell in Bray, Dublin and from the Kilmarnock Club in Scotland, coached by top Scottish coach Charlie Hamilton. The California team is made up with weightlifters from across the great state of California, including the top lifters from California Strength and will be coached by Glenn Pendlay. The competition will be decided on the total of each teams Sinclair formulas and results can be found at

International Seminar for Weightlifting Coaches in Bratislava

This week, under the IWF Development Program the Slovak Weightlifting Federation will organize an International Seminar for Weightlifting Coaches. The theme of the workshop will be “Sport preparation of Young Weightlifters”. The event will take place at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Comenius University in Bratislava on the 6th of November 2010.   The Agenda includes optimization of training loads, periodicities of strength, selection process for young weightlifters and specificities of building muscles.   Well known and recognized experts will hold lectures about health conditions and their effects and give information about methods of sports anthropology in training.     Mr. Attila Adamfi, IWF Competition Director will deliver the inaugural speech on the Opening Ceremony. On behalf of PhDr. Pavol Mutafov, President of the Slovak Weightlifting Federation and the IWF, we invite everyone interested to participate on this gripping and instructive seminar.

IWF Delegates at the ORIS Meeting for 2012 London OG

The Olympic Results and Information Services (ORIS) meeting was concluded on the 28th of October 2010 in Montreaux, Switzerland where beside the IOC and LOCOG, the IWF also participated represented by Mr. Robert Nagy, Technology Director and Mr. Attila Adamfi, Competition Director.   On this meeting the technical requirements for results and information services for the 2012 London Olympic Games were discussed that will have to be delivered by the technology provider (OMEGA). The compiled document that has been set up includes the processes, time limits, and information for those responsible for the system.   A second meeting was held in Corgemont, in the premises of the Swiss Timing company where the participants tested and implemented the system.

Successful Technical Course in Ha Noi, Vietnam

For the initiative of the Vietnam Olympic Committee and the Weightlifting Federation of Vietnam, a Technical Course took place in the city of Ha Noi, VIETNAM from the 13th until the 20th of October 2010. Under the leadership of Mr. Do Ding Khan, President of the Vietnam Weightlifting Federation, 39 persons from various cities participated to the lectures.   The venues to host this practical and theoretical course were the offices of the NOC of Vietnam and the Ha Noi City National Stadium.   The theoretical lectures were held by Mrs. Reiko Kato CHINEN, Member of the IWF's Technical Committee. She included many topics in her lecture such as the requirements of a Technical Official, the major rule changes within the current quadrennial, the role of a Referee and a Chief Marshal and some more technical issues.   During the practical exercises, Youth athletes of Ha Noi City participated to a special competition by being alternately lifters and loaders. The competitions were performed in 2 sessions, Men and Women. Under the direction of the coaches and Mr. VO Ngoc Toan, one of the two International Category 1 Referees in Vietnam who officiated at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, the lifters intentionally wore many prohibited outfits and/or performed many incorrect movements in order to see and correct the mistakes and review the work of the officials. The review of the practical exercise helped to point out the problematic of officiating Good Lift or No Lift, and gave answers to the questions raised by the participants.    After the successful exercises, a special examination with 50 questions was completed by the attendees.  Right after, 6 Vietnamese International Referees (Two Category 1 and four Category 2 Referees) evaluated the examination.  All participants passed the educational test and received a certificate. We noted with pride that one of them showed 100% correct

IWF Intercontinental Clubs Grand Prix

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) organizes an international competition in the city of Penang, Malaysia held from the 11th until the 16th of December 2010. In order to reach a wider audience, the 1st IWF Continental Clubs Grand Prix is open to every Weightlifting Club that is member of an IWF National Federation.   Besides medals to be awarded for the Total Results in each bodyweight category for Men’s and Women’s, trophies and Prize Money will also reward the best six Club Teams.   In accordance with the Team Classification, a Prize Money of 5,000 $ will be awarded to the best Men’s and best Women’s Team.   It is important to note, that being an individual Qualification event the IWF Grand Prix presents another opportunity for athletes to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic

Weightlifting’s attention turns to Paris

IWF Competition Director Mr. Attila Adamfi, Member of the IWF Technical Committee Mr. Robert Nagy and Communication Manager Ms. Lilla Rozgonyi were in Paris during last week for a technical visit in order to discuss the latest details concerning the preparation of the World Weightlifting Championships Paris 2011. Weightlifting Competitions will be held at the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium from the 12th until the 20th of November 2011. According to the preliminary timetable, the verification will be on the 10th of November 2011, while the Congress and the Opening Ceremony are planed to take place on the 11th of November. The first competition day of the event will be the 12th of November 2011. During their formal call the IWF delegates had several meetings with the Organizing Committee of Paris 2011 and discussed numerous topics regarding the venue layout as well as the accommodation of the Delegations. The IWF is looking forward to the World Weightlifting Championships 2011 held in Paris, France and is grateful to the organizing committee for weightlifting's requirements receiving maximum focus with regard to work and