Don’t miss the next event in “The Weightlifting Trilogy” (TWT), a weightlifting competition started by renowned local strength and conditioning coach Nick Gindre as an extension of his Lifters of Gauteng organisation.
“I decided to start this organisation late last year as a way to help promote and develop the sport of weightlifting, and to host more local events so that the lifters in Gauteng have access to more competitions to prepare to compete at national and, hopefully, international levels,” explains Nick.
Developing local talent
As Nick started to promote Lifters of Gauteng, he met many more athletes, including an immense emerging talent in the form of Khati, a Soweto-based weightlifter.
“Khati is one of the best lifters in South Africa in his weight class, and he has taken it upon himself to train and develop young lifters in Soweto. Khati is so dedicated to his mission that he coaches out of his driveway and back garden, in the sun or bitter cold!”
This inspired Nic to support Khati’s efforts by donating a portion of the entry fees from his TWT competitions to the kids in the township.
“With these funds. they will be able to upgrade their equipment and training area, or use it to pay for their education.”
Nick adds that the competition also serves as an opportunity for these kids to come and participate in an environment where they are recognised and treated like the serious athletes that they are.
The first event was held on the last weekend in February, with the next competition scheduled for 4 July 2020.
“We had about 40 senior lifters and 20 youth lifters at the first competition, of which 15 were from Soweto,” explains Nick.
Providing exposure to athletes
Nick and his team are also really pushing the industry envelope when it comes to the standard of the event.
“The athletes really support event organisers around the country, but they aren’t always catered to adequately. We aim to make athletes feel as special as they should be. That is why we have paired up with an amazing company called Vuer.tv, which is a live internet broadcasting service.”
The company provides quality event coverage for the fraction of the cost of traditional broadcasting via satellite.
“They broadcasted a live feed of the first event at vuer.tv/trilogy, with plans to do the same for the next competition in July.”
Nick hopes these innovations will grow the sport and help lifters gain enough competition experience to successfully compete internationally. For more information, click here.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
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