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Guy Greavette |
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I have been an athlete all my life. I began Olympic weightlifting in
1973 at the age of 13. I started off in this sport training in my
father’s garage and now, 33 years later, I find myself training
athletes in my garage. That is hardly a sign of an improved sport
system.
Many facilities are constructed for sport in Canada, but there has
never been one facility constructed for the sport of Olympic
weightlifting. You know that you are in a serious sporting nation when
you walk into weightlifting training centres and see platforms built
right into the floor, numerous platforms, and plenty of space dedicated
to Olympic weightlifting training. Imagine having adequate training
facilities where the sport of Olympic weightlifting was able to work
with athletes and coaches from numerous other sports who could realize
the cross-training benefits of Olympic weightlifting techniques and
skills. Olympic lifts are known to improve explosive power and core
stability for sport, yet there are few resources dedicated toward the
development of this sport in Canada.
A study conducted at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal confirmed that
Olympic weightlifters were the quickest of all the Olympic athletes,
had the best vertical jump and were able to run step-for-step with the
best sprinters up to 20 to 30 metres. As an athlete who specialized in
Olympic weightlifting, I found that my training helped me to run
faster, jump higher and farther and throw farther, even though I did
not train specifically in these disciplines. Imagine the effect that
Olympic lifts could have on athletes in most sports if they were
introduced to this type of training at the right age and taught the
correct skills (long-term athlete development). To steal a phrase from
a good friend of mine, Sam Maxwell (USA Weightlifting): “Don’t forget:
Power equals mass times velocity! So the next time you think of Olympic
weightlifting—especially two lifts: the snatch and the clean and
jerk—think speed, baby!”
There have certainly been better days for the sport of weightlifting in
Canada as far as funding is concerned. At one time, the Canadian
Weightlifting Federation Haltérophile Canadienne (CWFHC) had a budget
close to $500,000, a national office in Ottawa, a national training
centre in Montreal, a national coach and sponsors of the national
program. When I constantly hear about an improved sport system in
Canada and increases of funding to sport, I find it difficult to
believe that the sport that I love has increasingly become a
kitchen-table operation. Currently, weightlifting in Canada does not
have a national office, a national training centre, a national coach or
sponsors. If you follow this sport in Canada, you may ask yourself how
Canadian Olympic weightlifting has the success it is having on the
international stage: three top-10 finishes at our last World
Championships, seven medallists of 11 athletes at the 2006 Commonwealth
Games (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, and best women’s team) and the
highest participation that we have seen in a number of years at our
most recent Canadian championship.
Whatever the answer might be, all I can think about is where our sport
might be if we received the same kind of support we had in the past or
at least funding similar to that of other sports. I was never satisfied
with the amount of support that weightlifting received when I was on
the national team and I most certainly cannot accept the lack of
support we receive today. How can I encourage others to get involved in
the sport when fewer and fewer opportunities are made
available?
I think that every sport could make an argument for why their sport
should be part of a high school program, as there is no better venue to
recruit youth into sport. Most high schools have weight rooms, but very
few allocate space for Olympic weightlifting or a budget for the
necessary equipment. Due to the many cross-training benefits of the
Olympic lifts in sport, it is time for schools to consider beginning
Olympic weightlifting programs. The Quebec Weightlifting Federation has
a very successful program at La Magdelaine High School in La Prairie,
Quebec. The program has a room dedicated to Olympic weightlifting and
two paid coaches, and every year 200 or more students choose this
year-long program. Every year, the coaches take athletes to the
surrounding schools to introduce and demonstrate Olympic weightlifting
to students who will attend the school the following year, and this
helps to create further interest in the program.
There is a perception that there are plenty of facilities for
weightlifting in public gyms. Unfortunately, most of those gyms do not
cater to Olympic weightlifting, do not have adequate and safe equipment
and do not have qualified staff to teach even the basic skills. If it
is recommended that you find a qualified personal trainer to teach
Olympic weightlifting, I would caution that very few trainers are
actually qualified to teach the correct skills unless they have an
Olympic weightlifting background. You need to find a qualified Olympic
weightlifting coach; if she or he is not producing Olympic
weightlifters, then chances are that that coach is very limited in
knowledge of the sport, and there could be a danger of injury to the
athlete. Remember, the better the skill is performed technically, the
less stress there is on the body and the better the overall
performance.
Final opinion: Let’s stop talking about improving the sport system in
Canada and actually put the dollars toward doing so. Let’s provide the
provincial and national sport organizations with the tools that are
required not only produce to the best athletes for the international
stage but to actually make all sports accessible to our youth.
Guy Greavette
is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Weightlifting
Association and an International Category 2 official currently working
toward completion of his NCCP Level 3 certification. Guy resides in
Lake Country, British Columbia, with his wife, Kristine, and their two
children, Shawna and Matthew.
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