Tasmania in June! One may be lead to believe that it could be cold that time of year. You would be right. However, Weightlifting Tasmania should be given a lot of credit for not only providing a well run competition but a well heated venue as well.

The Queensland contingent consisted of eight female & five male lifters, a Coach/Manager and three Officials. We are claiming Lawrie Townsend here. Lawrie is the Australian Masters Co-ordinator but he did do all the Technical Controlling and he is a Queenslander. I will take this opportunity to thank Debbie Keelan for giving up her time and money to travel to Tasmania and assist with organizing the refereeing. Kathleen Harden was also one of the referees.

I am not going into actual results, as these are reported elsewhere. I will just try to give a little insight into the event itself and I’ll give an account of the Coach/Manager later in this report as you will have a greater understanding and appreciation of his role.

The first session consisted of the women from (50-54) to 65+ age group. Queensland was represented by four competitors. I did not know it at the time but there was more at stake than a gold medal. All four ladies were using this competition to qualify for the 2008 World Masters Championships in Greece. At the completion of the session there was mixture of celebration and deep disappointment. I am sure Miles must have heard Valerie Silver celebrating her last lift all the way back in Brisbane. Not only did she qualify for Greece but she broke the Australian snatch, clean & jerk and total records. Well done.

Vicki Brady did not quite match Valerie’s celebration but it was obvious she was very happy with her performance. Six out of six lifts and a qualifying total left Vicki with a very big smile. Both Leandra Miscamble and Julie Davis had a goal in mind and gave it their best shot. Unfortunately, the snatches did not go as planned which put too much pressure on the clean & jerk. Both ladies impressed me with the way they fought for their weights and they way they handled their disappointment afterwards. Mind you the totals were still very respectable and all four ladies took home a gold medal.

Keith Penney was our only competitor in the second session that included the age groups from (55-59) to 80+. The old saying “when you’re, hot you’re hot” applied to Keith this day. Except that he pushed his last jerk out a little in front he would have finished with six out of six, but it didn’t matter by that stage, Keith had already broken the Australian snatch, clean & jerk and total records. Keith also led the “best male lifter” award all day until he was pipped by the last lifter of the day.

The rest of the ladies graced the platform in session three, (30-34) to (45-49) age groups. Sue Cox had a battle on her hands with very experienced lifter Lina Vukojevic. As always, Sue produced a very polished performance but it was not quite good enough to beat Lina on the Day. I am looking forward to this little battle becoming an annual event. Michelle Kinnane lifted brilliantly with a six out of six total and a gold medal. “No fuss” Michelle always gives the crowd the impression that her last lift was her best until she comes out and gets her next one. This really helps to get the crowd involved.

The Selectors counted on Jenny Butler doing a personal best as she has done at every competition so far and she did not disappoint. Jenny just keeps getting better. I think she must have frightened her competition off because the poor girl missed all her snatches leaving Jenny to accept the gold. Diana Loy might not have been happy with her performance but it is only because she has such a high standard.

Diana’s total guaranteed her the “best female” award for ….. I really don’t know how many years in a row.
In the last session the men from (35-39) to (50-54) age groups competed. John Hanlon and Tim Steel competed against each other but John had other problems. Tim lifted extremely well finishing with a 20kg personal best and six out of six. John had a battle with Victoria’s Michael Torriero for the gold medal. John set himself up well with three out of three snatches. After John had successfully completed his first clean & jerk he was left with two attempts on 108kg to secure gold. I will let John tell you what went wrong. Never
mind, it was a gutsy effort and hopefully next year the result will be different. Peter Foster is like Diana Loy, keeps getting better with age. His speed and focus was inspiring. Peter was well and truly back to his best. Six out of six and he did it with ease. The crowd really got behind him because of the enthusiasm he attacked the weight with. I also made an appearance in this session. Let’s just say that I might listen to Dave a little more next time.

Speaking of Dave. Queensland’s Coach/Manager was Dave DeRose. Dave had a big job in front of him as in three of the four sessions he had four lifters to work with. I was impressed with Dave from the start. His handling of the “Manager” part of the role was very professional. It was a long day and Dave was just as enthusiastic and precise with the last lifter as the first. His technical advice was excellent. If the lifter did not perform well on the platform then it was no fault of Dave’s. I would also like to mention Jenny Butler and thank her for her support through out the day.

The only really downside of the Day was Victoria kicking our butts for the Team Trophy. We came second again. Come on all you Queensland Masters. Let’s make a plan to get them next year. Finally, I would like to thank Weightlifting Tasmania for a good venue, a well-run competition and a well-attended function afterwards.

I will just leave you with this quote from Jason Roberts, Tasmanian and Australian Heavy Weight (Retired). (At the function after the competition). “I did not know there was anything wrong with being a Tasmanian until I went to the mainland for a competition”.

By Barry Harden

September 22nd, 2008 | Category: Articles |  Print This Post | Leave a comment