The meet was a huge success!! I think it was our best meet ever. Each meet is a little different and each one seems to get better.
What made this meet stand out is the number of lifters, we had 38 lifters, and the number of new to CPF and new to our meets lifters and first time lifters. Also, we had more volunteers than before and we had big name lifters there lifting with the rest of us. Bill Crawford came and had fun, he handled Glendy and she didn't even know who he was and he helped Al Mehan hit his stride on his squat and huge bench PR.
What stood out for me in the is meet was the energy level of the lifters, the volunteers and the audience. We had three flights of squatters which made for a longer meet, but by the end of the day, the audience still packed the house, no one left. There was a supportive energy where everyone was equal from the beginner to the Pro each helping each other, rubbing shoulders in the packed warm-up area which nobody complained about. It was also the first meet where it was run by the volunteers and I was able to focus on handling Shawna and being be her side for her first real important meet. Cameras, videos, everyone was trying to capture the moment, but you really just had to be there to experience the energy, the camaraderie, the courage, effort and successes and excitement of both the new lifters and the experienced lifters.
All-Time HIstorical World Records were set by Glendy Randal in her raw with knee wraps squat 330 lbs and total 865 lbs, and by Al Mehan in the best meet of his life with his 1157 lb squat and 2657 lb total. Clint Harwood benched a very impressive 783 lb bench press which he made look easy, then missed his attempt at regaining his All-Time Canadian Bench Press when he tried to press 815 lbs.
Equally impressive were the real courageous and eager first time lifters
Janet Warne not only went 9 for 9 which is a great day but also got all white lights, the 27 white lights and not a single red light, now you know that is a great day of lifting.
The Metal Militia Montreal Team did very well. Chris Skoda just joined us and started powerlifting as we were ramping up for the meet, so he got thown right into it with heavy training and trying to learn to use gear right from the start. Chris showed up nervous for his first meet, but well prepared and he fought like a warrior and had a fantastic first meet with a 601 lb squat. Joanick Boilard got his 800 lb squat in and asked and paid for a drug test to lock that in as a Canadian Amateur Record and he also benched an easy 540 lb bench PR. Shawna, well she had what she called the best day of her life. She got an easy 380 lb squat a huge PR, and did a perfect 281 lb bench press which was her biggest goal of the meet and a 330 lb deadlift all for a 991 lb total. This was the first meet that Shawna really trained and prepared hard for and put it all on the line. Me well, I decided that my bench was in a pretty good place and I would do the bench only. I opened with 474 lbs and threw it up like I never did before, it shocked me because I didn't really know if it would go, but it just flew. Then I went to 529 lbs and missed it at the top and on the third I didn't get my feet right and lost my arch and blew it right from the beginning. Next time....
This meet was also has a special memory and feeling for me because I got to support and work with my daughter. Anyone with a daughter or son probably knows the feeling, but I got to share a raw closeness and bonding with Shawna and see her strength and desire come out and see her risk more andr try harder than ever in her life and see her happiness when she succeeded. The day spent quietly with her amidst the energy of the packed gym was filled with special moments and feelings and all this was unexpected extra.
The volunteers - I know that every meet director goes on profusely thanking the volunteers, but our meet volunteers really were incredible. Everyone worked very, very hard and kept the meet running. Leo Tilly and Niko moved the whole gym into the container outside, Pamela Harwood came from Toronto and worked the scorers desk running the meet from the computer and keeping everything smooth. Imagine, she sat at the desk focusing from the time she walked in in the morning when lifters were weighing in, all the way through to the end of the day when she and Clint totaled up the results of the day and she presented the Awards. Also, Imagine Phil Bourret who emailed me weeks before the meet to volunteer and we put him as a platform manager where he had to make sure that every lifter's weights were loaded accurately - I've done this job and it takes a lot of concentration. (Phil later wrote on his Facebook status, "who knew that staring a coloured charts all day could be so stressful". LIfters were spotted by some of the best in the world. People were back spotted by Jay Nera one of the strongest raw squatters in the world and by Mike Guay a huge squatter and Canada's current biggest bencher. On the sides they had BIG Leo Tilly, Jared, Carmine, Leo Tsakalofas all very strong and experienced spotters, as well as some extra spotters who we asked to help on the big lifts. Shany Gilbert two time ALL-Time Historical World Record holder was operating the arm on the monolift, also a very important position. All these spotters, most of them drove in from out of town, came to help the lifters and make them feel safe. Then, there was Martin Cormier, a famous Canadian bodybuilder and judge who greeted everyone at the front desk, and Nicole Hebert who happily volunteered to come in mop the floors and then on Saturday do everything that needed to be done to keep the meet running smoothly while she also sold t-shirts. Ooops, I forgot Cheryl McKenzie, after being away from home for three weeks working, she flew in Friday at midnight and worked and judged all day to make the meet "run by itself", got up the next day had breakfast and flew back to Florida to go to work on Monday. For judges, Clint Harwood sat in the judges chair all day after benching, Mat Court came down from Sherbrooke and also judged all day, Bill Crawford judged for a few flights, Shane Church judged and administered the drug test. Art Chan brought us 6 x 25 kg plates so Big Al Mehan would have enough plates to squat 1157 lbs. and Art brought lifters and helped them and helped spot and load as well. (Art is my silent partner / hero who just shows up and does what needs to be done quietly to run the meet.)
I didn't get to see all the lifters, but some of the highlights for me for what I saw were: Scott McDiarmid benching 474 lbs, Ryan Tingman attacking all his benches and getting 524 lbs, Nathan Robertson hitting a 568 lb bench, Jamie Seguin bombing and still excited saying it was the best experience of his life, Kevin Lacombe disappointed with twisting his knee in the squat and then against all advice getting up there and benching 320 lbs raw, Clint Harwood's 783 lb bench made to look so easy, Jane Stabile pulling though on her 375 lb deadlift when it wanted to pull her back down. Glendy Randall who dropped weight until it hurt then came back and hit an All-Time squat record of 330 lbs raw with knee wraps on her fourth attempt, Janet Warne with 27 white lights, Stacey Jensen squatting 347 at this meet one week after doing a meet in Ontario, Gracie Vanasse just beginning and attacking her goals aggressively, Hilda Siegel pushing really hard and enjoying it, Andrea McDougall's impressive 402 lb squat at 148 lbs body weight, Nicole Gervais doing her first full power meet and squatting 292 lbs raw with knee wraps, Leslie Hammil, Wie Seah, Sean Fahey, Mathew Giesa, Jordan Moffit, Andrew Kueber, Alastair MacNicol, Simon Beaulieu, Steve Sidhu, Matt Brass, Chris Skoda, Marc Demers, John Kolesar and Thom Lamb all first time lifters at our meet and doing very well. Big squats by Joanick Boilard, 800 lbs, Joffrey Laurinn 733 with a really bad knee that was swollen up to 27 inches just four weeks before the meet. Shane Church with a smooth 931 lbs, Mario Piatelli with a nice 900 lb squat until he lost his balance at starting back up, Ryan Selk with a 904 squat opener, Al Mehan with the best meet of his life, strong squats by Chris Skoda, Marc Demers, Nicholas Morneau and John Kolesar. Also, very impressive was Thom Lamb who came from New Brunswick for his first meet in years and managed a 661 raw squat and a 705 raw deadlift, all looking very strong.
The after party was fun too. We started at Cage Aux Sports for food and drinks and then we got convinced to go to Traffik a dance bar, where the owner recognized Al Mehan from 8 months ago, and brought out 4 bottles of Champagne and keep bringing us all free drinks and shooters all night. I think we are happy that we didn't bring our cars and took cabs back to the motel and home. It was great to spend time with everyone.
Nicole and Shawna cleaned up and mopped the gym and Tuesday Jeffrey Morse, Carmine and I unloaded the trailer and put back all the gym equipment in record time, 1 hour and 20 minutes - unbelievable, including moving the three monolifts. Jeff is a master with the jigger.
I guess the best thing about this meet was that everyone is really motivated to get back in the gym and train harder and people are already starting their training for the next meet - THE 2011 CANADIAN PRO/AM CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!