NORTHERN UNDER 18s AND UNDER 23s

22^nd AUGUST 2010 AT YORK UNIVERSITY

It is the day after the international Tri-Nations competition at York where the northern Under 18s and Under 23s were held with six Under 18s, six Under 23s and three guests. The lifters were split into two groups and the two age groups were added together to simplify the numbers. First up in the 56kg class were two of the young guest lifters, Sam Crow, who began with a 30kg snatch, and Jordan Edgerton who followed with 32kg. Sam took 32kg for his second and Jordan`s second with 35kg was also Sam`s third and final lift. Jordan then finished his lifts with a great 39kg. Josh Howard in the U23 group was up next with 55kg which he missed but successfully took again. Next to lift was Luke Jones in the U18s and the 62kg class. He missed his first with 57kg, then Alex Stokes in the U18s 62kg class was also up with 57kg and was successful. Luke however failed again on his second attempt with 57kg. Finally Luke needed his third lift with 57kg to stay in the competition but again he missed the lift and so bombed out of the championship. In reality his coach let him down and should have known better. The bar rose to 60kg for Alex’s second attempt and he was successful. Josh also succeeded with the same weight. Alex then missed out on 64kg for a PB attempt. The bar rose to 70kg for Jordan O`Conner’s first attempt in the U23 62kg class. He failed his first attempt but managed it easily on his second. However he missed his third attempt at 75kg. The bar then took a leap up to 95kg for Kive Mubarak’s first attempt in the U23 62kg class. He was successful and also succeeded at his second attempt with 100kg. His third lift was close at 103kg but he failed.

In the clean and jerk our two young guests started off with Sam at 40kg. Jordan opened with 42kg which was also Sam`s second lift. Jordan rose to 45kg and Sam then took 46kg for a clean sheet and succeeded to finish with 81kg. Jordan`s third lift with 48kg also gave him a clean sheet and a total of 87kg. The bar then went up to 65kg for Josh to take his first attempt and he was successful with it. It then went up to 67kg for Alex’s first lift but he failed and went onwards to 70kg after Josh managed to lift it. Alex was also successful with 72kg and a total of 132kg in the U18 62kg class. Josh failed with his third lift of 75kg but his total of 130kg in the 56kg U23s give him the title. Luke was given the opportunity to lift in the clean and jerk and so opened and was successful with 77kg. Unfortunately he was not able to complete his second or third attempts. The bar rose to 100kg for Jordan `O Conner to make a total but unfortunately he failed all his lifts and so was the second lifter of the day to bomb out of the championship. The bar then rose to 135kg for Kive’s first attempt and the U23 62kg class title. He was also successful with 140kg but failed his last with 145kg. He did however steal the show with a very impressive back flip!

In the second group the first lifter was guest George Guest who after a week on holiday managed all three lifts of 38kg, 40kg and a PB of 43kg. It just shows what a week’s rest can do! The bar then went up to 50kg for two of the lifters. First out was Michael Baker who lifted in both the U18 and U23 69kg class. He failed his lift but Matty Carr in the U18 69kg class (who is going to China to represent Britain in other sports so good luck to him there) was successful. Michael managed 50kg on his second lift and Matty moved to 53kg. The bar rose to 55kg and Fraser Chadwick started in his first competition in the U18 77kg class. Unfortunately Fraser failed all his snatches and so became the third lifter to bomb. Unlucky young man! Michael also failed with 55kg and Matty failed with 56kg. The bar went up to 58kg for Chris Cowling’s first attempt in the U23 94kg class. He was successful with this but failed his second and third at 65kg. Next on the 75kg bar were the first attempts for both Peter Askew in the U18 85kg class and Anthony Rothwell in the U23 69kg class. Both were successful and Peter was also successful with 80kg where Anthony failed. Anthony moved up to 82kg and managed a good lift but Peter failed with 83kg. Next came the clean and jerks and first out was guest George, who after failing with 56kg managed it on his second but failed at a third with 58kg. The bar moved up to 65kg for openers Matty and Fraser both of whom were successful, and then 68kg for Michael in between before the bar rose to 70kg for the second attempts of Matty and Fraser. Again, both were good lifts. Michael got a good lift with 72kg and so did Matty for his last lift at 74kg which gave him a total and the title with 128kg. Fraser failed with 75kg as did Michael but Michael ended with a total of 122kg and the title in the U23 class and second place in U18 class. Next up as the bar rose to 88kg was Chris with a successful first and second attempt of 93kg. The bar then went to 95kg for the first attempts of Anthony and Peter. Both were successful and they also succeeded with 100kg along with Chris` final lift and the U23 94kg class title. For the last weight of the day both Anthony and Peter tried 105kg but unfortunately both failed. However, with the totals they made Peter won the U18 85kg class and Anthony won the U23 69kg class. Well done to all the lifters who lifted on an international platform and a big thank you to all the referees, loaders and speakers who gave their Sunday to be there to help out. And thanks of course to all those who helped in loading the wagon and unloading at the other side - it was a good day, again well done to all!

E.Halstead NWL Secretary.