The NQ Open hosted by Thunder Barbell Club in ‘warm’ Townsville on the 28th November was a great success with 60 entries received. This heralded a very busy day of lifting with first weigh-in kicking off at 6.00am and the competition wrapping up at 9.30pm that night.
The coach education session presented by Greg Hobl on the Friday evening was well received by the regional attendees. Referee mentoring over the weekend was a great success with a number of regional referees upgrading from Club to State Level referee.
Best lifter awards with prize money provided from competition entry fees and Thunder Barbell Club waiving their competition hosting fee, went to:
Female:
Senior: Sarah Cochrane – Thunder Barbell Club, Townsville
Master: Penny Tudberry – Dungeon Barbell Club, Cairns
U23: Catrin De Jonge – Output Barbell Club, Townsville
Junior: Halle Mifsud – Thunder Barbell Club, Townsville
Youth: Tymaniah Newman – Thunder Barbell Club, Townsville
U15: Nya Hayman – Cougars, Brisbane
Male:
Senior: Luke Gardner – Cougars, Brisbane
Masters: Mark Henry – Thunder Barbell Club, Townsville
U23: Lachlan Keevers – Thunder Barbell Club, Townsville
Junior: Jaspa Hope – Whitsundays Weightlifting Club, Proserpine
U15: Luke Wells – Berserker Barbell Club, Mackay
The Masters lead the way on the record-breaking front of the competition, with Sarah Cochrane also setting new State Senior records, and hitting an AWF Elite grade total. New personal bests were set by 23 of the competitors.
Congratulations to Jaspa Hope and coach Leanne Knox from Whitsunday Weightlifting, qualifying for the 2021 Oceania Junior Championships!
Records Broken
| Lifter | Bwt Cat | Age Group | Record Level | Record Type | New Record |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | AWF | SNATCH | 76kg |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | QLD | SNATCH | 76kg |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | AWF | CJ | 92kg |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | QLD | CJ | 92kg |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | AWF | TOTAL | 168kg |
| Graham Walker | M61 | Mast 50-54 | QLD | TOTAL | 168kg |
| Ignatius Papenga | M102 | Mast 40-44 | AWF | SNATCH | 108kg |
| Ignatius Papenga | M102 | Mast 40-44 | QLD | SNATCH | 108kg |
| Mark Henry | M96 | Mast 35-39 | QLD | CJ | 138kg |
| Mark Henry | M96 | Mast 35-39 | AWF | CJ | 138kg |
| Mark Henry | M96 | Mast 35-39 | QLD | TOTAL | 242kg |
| Sarah Cochrane | F64 | Senior | QLD | SNATCH | 95kg |
| Sarah Cochrane | F64 | Senior | QLD | TOTAL | 209kg |
A BIG thank you to Miles Wydall and his Cougars lifters for coming along to support the event.
Sincere thanks to Bryce Knight and the Thunder Barbell Club for a great competition with fantastic regional hospitality. Also thankyou to Daniel and Aimee Strickland owners of Crossfit Townsville for their significant support of the event.
Competition results can be found here
