|
|
2015 EUROPEAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP - BANGOR UNIVERSITY
Sincere thanks to the staff of Bangor University for setting up such a perfect venue to organise this championship and for all your excellent organisation and cooperation throughout the 8 days of the championship. A "slideshow" of photographs from the championship has already been started and published to this website and more photos will be added in the coming days.
Very little criticism has been levelled at the championship but much praise has been lavished on the venue, the warm up area, the training facility, and the organisation; so much so that so many emails have been received they have now been pasted into a document which you can find just below this report published to the website.
One criticism levelled at the organisation was that there was no "diploma" for the lifters but I can tell you that this has now been corrected. Diplomas have been designed and printed and are currently having each lifter's details added before they are mailed to each nation that competed in the championship.
The medals and awards were praised for their design and quality and a special thank you to Eleiko for providing the two Grand Master awards which were not only an excellent quality but also unique.
The championship is over but I hope the memory of the championship and your visit to Bangor will remain with you for a long time.
Sincere thanks to the staff of Bangor University for setting up such a perfect venue to organise this championship and for all your excellent organisation and cooperation throughout the 8 days of the championship. A "slideshow" of photographs from the championship has already been started and published to this website and more photos will be added in the coming days.
Very little criticism has been levelled at the championship but much praise has been lavished on the venue, the warm up area, the training facility, and the organisation; so much so that so many emails have been received they have now been pasted into a document which you can find just below this report published to the website.
One criticism levelled at the organisation was that there was no "diploma" for the lifters but I can tell you that this has now been corrected. Diplomas have been designed and printed and are currently having each lifter's details added before they are mailed to each nation that competed in the championship.
The medals and awards were praised for their design and quality and a special thank you to Eleiko for providing the two Grand Master awards which were not only an excellent quality but also unique.
The championship is over but I hope the memory of the championship and your visit to Bangor will remain with you for a long time.
2013 European Masters Weightlifting Championship - Kusadasi, Turkey (Report)
For the second year in succession the number of entries was lower than expected with around 329 but very few failing to turn up to compete.
An apology is necessary to all the athletes who travelled to Kusadasi to compete. On the entry form the venue was the new Conference Centre but only a few weeks before the championship was due to start I was informed that the venue had been changed to a Sports Centre. This information was published to 3 websites and all National Masters Chairmen received information by emails. On arrival at our hotel on the Thursday before, with only 2 days remaining, I was informed that the venue was changed once more and would be again the Conference Centre.
Effort was made to send the new information but Internet connection was very poor and the only person and website receiving this information was Yves Ducos in France. The organiser was asked several times to put notices at the Sports Centre to inform people the championship was back in the Conference Centre. In spite of assurances that this had been done, a number of athletes complained and it was apparent that notices had not been posted at the Sports Hall, certainly not where athletes could see them. I will not criticise the organiser, nor will I state his name, I will say he did not follow any instructions regarding this championship and he was informed of his failures and instructed never to bid for a championship in the future.
The championship venue was not ready until the Saturday morning it was due to start. The stage, the platform, and the equipment on the stage and in the warm up and the training area was provided by the Turkish Weightlifting Federation. This was of a good standard and the competition was well run by the European Masters Committee with kind help from the Turkish Federation and those competitors who were thoughtful enough to bring their uniforms and volunteer to referee a number of sessions. With the venue ready and looking much better than in the previous 2 days it is fair to say that there were no complaints from the lifters who appeared to be satisfied with the training facility, the warm up area, and the stage. This, in spite of no actual designated changing and shower facilities.
Over 20 new World Masters Records were made and almost 40 new European Masters Records which shows that regardless of problems surrounding the venue, all the competitors did what they always do and gave their best on the platform and made it a good championship. Many people stayed in the venue through the day to watch the weightlifting and very few sessions were without an audience.
A special mention for Siba Tours a Kusadasi travel company who sponsored the entire championship and provided many of their staff to work in the venue throughout the 8 days of the championship. Without their sponsorship and capable staff the probability is that the championship would have ended before it began. Sufficient to say that they paid for the hire of the venue, the medals, and for the transportation of all the Turkish Federation equipment from Ankara to Kusadasi and it's return plus the expenses and accommodation of Federation officials who were an enormous help throughout.
An apology is necessary to all the athletes who travelled to Kusadasi to compete. On the entry form the venue was the new Conference Centre but only a few weeks before the championship was due to start I was informed that the venue had been changed to a Sports Centre. This information was published to 3 websites and all National Masters Chairmen received information by emails. On arrival at our hotel on the Thursday before, with only 2 days remaining, I was informed that the venue was changed once more and would be again the Conference Centre.
Effort was made to send the new information but Internet connection was very poor and the only person and website receiving this information was Yves Ducos in France. The organiser was asked several times to put notices at the Sports Centre to inform people the championship was back in the Conference Centre. In spite of assurances that this had been done, a number of athletes complained and it was apparent that notices had not been posted at the Sports Hall, certainly not where athletes could see them. I will not criticise the organiser, nor will I state his name, I will say he did not follow any instructions regarding this championship and he was informed of his failures and instructed never to bid for a championship in the future.
The championship venue was not ready until the Saturday morning it was due to start. The stage, the platform, and the equipment on the stage and in the warm up and the training area was provided by the Turkish Weightlifting Federation. This was of a good standard and the competition was well run by the European Masters Committee with kind help from the Turkish Federation and those competitors who were thoughtful enough to bring their uniforms and volunteer to referee a number of sessions. With the venue ready and looking much better than in the previous 2 days it is fair to say that there were no complaints from the lifters who appeared to be satisfied with the training facility, the warm up area, and the stage. This, in spite of no actual designated changing and shower facilities.
Over 20 new World Masters Records were made and almost 40 new European Masters Records which shows that regardless of problems surrounding the venue, all the competitors did what they always do and gave their best on the platform and made it a good championship. Many people stayed in the venue through the day to watch the weightlifting and very few sessions were without an audience.
A special mention for Siba Tours a Kusadasi travel company who sponsored the entire championship and provided many of their staff to work in the venue throughout the 8 days of the championship. Without their sponsorship and capable staff the probability is that the championship would have ended before it began. Sufficient to say that they paid for the hire of the venue, the medals, and for the transportation of all the Turkish Federation equipment from Ankara to Kusadasi and it's return plus the expenses and accommodation of Federation officials who were an enormous help throughout.
2012 European Masters Weightlifting Championship - Lankaran, Azerbaijan
(EMC Chairman and Vice Chairman's reports)
2012 European Masters venue - Lankaran
Athough this event had a lower number of entries than is usal for a European Masters Championship it was still a high standard competition proved by the fact that 40 new World and European Masters records were made, 36 men's records and 4 women's records. The venue was ready before anyone arrived and it was the equal of any past World or European Masters Championships and most certainly better than many. The warm up (and training) room had more than enough platforms and weights, and the access to the stage and lifting platform was quick and eay for everyone taking part. The results, scoreboard, and electronic attempt board were all connected to the Eleiko "result system" to ensure accurate calculation of the results which can be found already published on this site.
The following countries all had athletes competing in this championship in Lankaran -
1. Germany 2. Azerbaijan 3. England 4. France 5. Austria 6. Finland 7. Russia 8. Czech
9. Denmark 10. Belgium 11. Sweden 12. Belarus 13. Ukraine 14. Estonia 15. Turkiye
16. Georgia 17. Ireland 18. Scotland 19. Hungary 20. Italy 21. Poland 22. Greece
23. Norway 24. Cyprus 25. Nederland
This is a great national representation and a big "thank you" goes out to all competitors.
The Organising Committee did everything they possibly could (and more) to ensure that everyone who needed their help got it, particularly when it came to getting visas. Help was also available at the airport to organise transport from Baku to Lankaran and return. The venue for the Wednesday's Electoral Congress was at a hotel venue about 1 km away from the venue, transport was arranged to take everyone to the Congress and return them back to the venue. For those that wished to stay, the Organiser Natig Agayev,
invited everyone attending Congress to his birthday celebration evening, food and drinks, at the earby beach restaurant.
Although fewer sessions the lifting throughout was of a high standard as stated previously. It also required a good number of officials and as usual many of the usual officials were there to help, and the famous "Kurt Rosenberger Referees Board" (now operated by Michel Vereecke) was filled with officials for the entire week before the final days. A special "thank you" for all of you who officiated at this championship. Also many thanks to Johan Erling from Eleiko who worked hard all the week to keep the scorebaord operating and to produce the competition results.
It was pleasing to welcome yet another new nation to the 2012 European Masters in Azerbaijan - Georgia had maybe 5 or 6 lifters and they were accompanied by their Federation Chairman, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, the former World and Olympic Champion. The lifters from Georgia told me how much they enjoyed the Masters and they will send a stronger team to the 2012 World Masters in Lviv, Uktaine.
Electoral
Congress
Election results -
Chairman Bill Barton
General Secretary Denise Offermann
Treasurer Kurt Rosenberger
Vice Chairman Technical Jan Hinrichsen
Vice Chairman (Chief Referee) Michel Vereeke
Anti-Doping Melvyn Barton
Jozef Lazou
Co-opted Members Marga Jorgensen
(non elected) Yvonne Maier
A special mention for Anton Huber who has stood down from his position as a Vice Chairman after serving for the last 14 championships starting with the original committee formed in 1999 n Kazincbarcika, Hungary. Anton has been a very loyal member of the committee supporting the Chairman and the committee in every way possible and he will stay close . "Thank you Anton for your help and unswerving loyalty over the past 14 years".
The following countries all had athletes competing in this championship in Lankaran -
1. Germany 2. Azerbaijan 3. England 4. France 5. Austria 6. Finland 7. Russia 8. Czech
9. Denmark 10. Belgium 11. Sweden 12. Belarus 13. Ukraine 14. Estonia 15. Turkiye
16. Georgia 17. Ireland 18. Scotland 19. Hungary 20. Italy 21. Poland 22. Greece
23. Norway 24. Cyprus 25. Nederland
This is a great national representation and a big "thank you" goes out to all competitors.
The Organising Committee did everything they possibly could (and more) to ensure that everyone who needed their help got it, particularly when it came to getting visas. Help was also available at the airport to organise transport from Baku to Lankaran and return. The venue for the Wednesday's Electoral Congress was at a hotel venue about 1 km away from the venue, transport was arranged to take everyone to the Congress and return them back to the venue. For those that wished to stay, the Organiser Natig Agayev,
invited everyone attending Congress to his birthday celebration evening, food and drinks, at the earby beach restaurant.
Although fewer sessions the lifting throughout was of a high standard as stated previously. It also required a good number of officials and as usual many of the usual officials were there to help, and the famous "Kurt Rosenberger Referees Board" (now operated by Michel Vereecke) was filled with officials for the entire week before the final days. A special "thank you" for all of you who officiated at this championship. Also many thanks to Johan Erling from Eleiko who worked hard all the week to keep the scorebaord operating and to produce the competition results.
It was pleasing to welcome yet another new nation to the 2012 European Masters in Azerbaijan - Georgia had maybe 5 or 6 lifters and they were accompanied by their Federation Chairman, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, the former World and Olympic Champion. The lifters from Georgia told me how much they enjoyed the Masters and they will send a stronger team to the 2012 World Masters in Lviv, Uktaine.
Electoral
Congress
Election results -
Chairman Bill Barton
General Secretary Denise Offermann
Treasurer Kurt Rosenberger
Vice Chairman Technical Jan Hinrichsen
Vice Chairman (Chief Referee) Michel Vereeke
Anti-Doping Melvyn Barton
Jozef Lazou
Co-opted Members Marga Jorgensen
(non elected) Yvonne Maier
A special mention for Anton Huber who has stood down from his position as a Vice Chairman after serving for the last 14 championships starting with the original committee formed in 1999 n Kazincbarcika, Hungary. Anton has been a very loyal member of the committee supporting the Chairman and the committee in every way possible and he will stay close . "Thank you Anton for your help and unswerving loyalty over the past 14 years".
2011 EMG Lignano, Italy
The Venue - 2011 EMG Lignano
EMG Report
At the first EMG, September 2011, Lignano, Italy, weightlifting was one of only 4 sports to achieve its objective in attracting a required number of competitors. The Games Director, Mr. Ernesto Zanetti, made a huge effort in the 2 years leading up to the Games, to gain an understanding of exactly how a Masters weightlifting event is organised and worked hard to ensure that weightlifting met its objectives and was well organised. He also invited 4 members from the European Masters Committee to help run the 4 days of the competition - Chairman Bill Barton, General Secretary Denise Offermann, Melvyn Barton, and Jozef Lazou. Furthermore he organised all the referees from the Italian Federation on the correct presumtion that there would not be enough referees amongst a lower number of competitors. We have Mr. Zanetti to thank for the success of the Games championship and for all his hard work for the weightlifting.
With three sessions a day over four days of lifting the championship ran smoothly and overall the standard of refereeing was good even though most of the referees were national standard. The standard of weightlifting was also on a par with a European Masters Championship which was to be expected as many familiar faces seen lifting in this Games also lift regularly in the European Masters Championships. Without checking each total for each lifter it would not be far wrong to suggest that almost every competitor achieved the European Championship Qualifying Standard. With 170 lifters including 18 women it is reasonable to say that this was a very successful weightlifting championship for the first official European Masters Games. More so when one takes into account the fact that it was organised only 6 weeks before the 2011 IWF World Masters in Limassol, Cyprus.
No anthems were allowed at the medals ceremonies and no flags either but there was some compensation as competitors were able to compete for three medals with the Games giving medals for the snatch, the jerk, and the total. The outside temperature during the 4 days of the competion was around 36 degrees but no one allowed this to affect them and there were some good performances.
It would be good if future European Masters Games can be organiser earlier in the year around the month of May, and also if the European Masters Committee have greater input and cooperation with the Games Organisation The results and some photographs can be found elsewhere on this website.
Bill Barton
European Masters Chairman
At the first EMG, September 2011, Lignano, Italy, weightlifting was one of only 4 sports to achieve its objective in attracting a required number of competitors. The Games Director, Mr. Ernesto Zanetti, made a huge effort in the 2 years leading up to the Games, to gain an understanding of exactly how a Masters weightlifting event is organised and worked hard to ensure that weightlifting met its objectives and was well organised. He also invited 4 members from the European Masters Committee to help run the 4 days of the competition - Chairman Bill Barton, General Secretary Denise Offermann, Melvyn Barton, and Jozef Lazou. Furthermore he organised all the referees from the Italian Federation on the correct presumtion that there would not be enough referees amongst a lower number of competitors. We have Mr. Zanetti to thank for the success of the Games championship and for all his hard work for the weightlifting.
With three sessions a day over four days of lifting the championship ran smoothly and overall the standard of refereeing was good even though most of the referees were national standard. The standard of weightlifting was also on a par with a European Masters Championship which was to be expected as many familiar faces seen lifting in this Games also lift regularly in the European Masters Championships. Without checking each total for each lifter it would not be far wrong to suggest that almost every competitor achieved the European Championship Qualifying Standard. With 170 lifters including 18 women it is reasonable to say that this was a very successful weightlifting championship for the first official European Masters Games. More so when one takes into account the fact that it was organised only 6 weeks before the 2011 IWF World Masters in Limassol, Cyprus.
No anthems were allowed at the medals ceremonies and no flags either but there was some compensation as competitors were able to compete for three medals with the Games giving medals for the snatch, the jerk, and the total. The outside temperature during the 4 days of the competion was around 36 degrees but no one allowed this to affect them and there were some good performances.
It would be good if future European Masters Games can be organiser earlier in the year around the month of May, and also if the European Masters Committee have greater input and cooperation with the Games Organisation The results and some photographs can be found elsewhere on this website.
Bill Barton
European Masters Chairman
2010 Ukraine Open Masters Cup
Lviv, Ukraine
(Report by Mark Beck)
More photos to follow.
The international Masters Cup was held over a long weekend in mid December in L’viv, Ukraine.
Over 90 competitors took part and the event was held in the imposing and impressive Training and Sports Headquarters of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. The venue was large and spacious with a good warm-up area leading out onto a sports hall with tiered seating and a well-built platform in the middle of the room.
The standard of competition was high with several world masters champions in competition and a good entry across all age groups.
L’viv has its own small international airport a short distance from the city centre and entry was straightforward with no need for us to apply for a visa in advance. It was fantastic to be met at the airport by one of the competition organizers, world masters champion Gennadii Yurkevych, who took us straight to the venue where we were welcomed by all the organizers and watched the end of the first day’s lifting and the impressive Opening Ceremony with military band, dancers and speeches from weightlifters, politicians and religious leaders. However, after a mammoth 40 hour journey due to snow in Germany we were quite glad to get back to our comfortable hotel for some rest at the end of the day.
It has to be noted how well everything ran in L’viv. At a time when Britain and much of wealthy western Europe was grinding to a halt under a few inches of snow, taxis, trams, buses and planes all seemed to manage fine in much colder conditions in L’viv , much less fuss in a much poorer country.
The lifting started early for us the next day and despite the less than ideal preparations of cancelled flights to Germany and through-the-night journeys via Heathrow to Warsaw and then on to L’viv, World Champion Jo McManus took it all in her stride. She not only won her age group Gold medal but also walked off with the Best Female Lifter trophy with 5 out of 6 lifts and personal bests in competition of 45kg Snatch and 60kg Clean and Jerk.
The hospitality and friendliness of everyone at the event (spectators, officials, and other lifters and coaches) was remarkable and heart-warming. With varying amounts of English they all went out of their way to make us feel welcome and took time to shake hands and say hello. We felt like they were very glad to have us there and it was indeed a pleasure and privilege to lift in such a high standard of competition amongst such friendly people.
Given that the Gold and Silver at the World Championships in my age and weight category were both taken by Ukrainians I didn’t hold out much hope of a medal myself but in the event I managed a silver with 4 out of 6 lifts, Snatching 75kg and Clean and Jerking 101kg. A thoroughly enjoyable day’s lifting.
As the day was drawing to an end we were told that we would be required to attend the venue again the following morning for the final presentation as, much to our surprise, between us we had won 3rd place as the English Team in the team competition, behind the Ukrainians and Russians obviously! Fantastic news, though something of a problem getting the extra trophy into our hand-baggage.
After this presentation we were treated to some fantastic hospitality and generosity by Gennadii who spent several hours showing us round the beautiful city of L’viv. He took us on a walking tour of the historic old town himself (and some of the lovely coffee shops) and then joined us on a fascinating bus tour around the rest of the city, generously treating us to souvenirs of his town and proving once again what tremendous hosts the Ukrainians will be for the World Masters Championships of 2012.
Mark Beck
2nd January 2011
Over 90 competitors took part and the event was held in the imposing and impressive Training and Sports Headquarters of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. The venue was large and spacious with a good warm-up area leading out onto a sports hall with tiered seating and a well-built platform in the middle of the room.
The standard of competition was high with several world masters champions in competition and a good entry across all age groups.
L’viv has its own small international airport a short distance from the city centre and entry was straightforward with no need for us to apply for a visa in advance. It was fantastic to be met at the airport by one of the competition organizers, world masters champion Gennadii Yurkevych, who took us straight to the venue where we were welcomed by all the organizers and watched the end of the first day’s lifting and the impressive Opening Ceremony with military band, dancers and speeches from weightlifters, politicians and religious leaders. However, after a mammoth 40 hour journey due to snow in Germany we were quite glad to get back to our comfortable hotel for some rest at the end of the day.
It has to be noted how well everything ran in L’viv. At a time when Britain and much of wealthy western Europe was grinding to a halt under a few inches of snow, taxis, trams, buses and planes all seemed to manage fine in much colder conditions in L’viv , much less fuss in a much poorer country.
The lifting started early for us the next day and despite the less than ideal preparations of cancelled flights to Germany and through-the-night journeys via Heathrow to Warsaw and then on to L’viv, World Champion Jo McManus took it all in her stride. She not only won her age group Gold medal but also walked off with the Best Female Lifter trophy with 5 out of 6 lifts and personal bests in competition of 45kg Snatch and 60kg Clean and Jerk.
The hospitality and friendliness of everyone at the event (spectators, officials, and other lifters and coaches) was remarkable and heart-warming. With varying amounts of English they all went out of their way to make us feel welcome and took time to shake hands and say hello. We felt like they were very glad to have us there and it was indeed a pleasure and privilege to lift in such a high standard of competition amongst such friendly people.
Given that the Gold and Silver at the World Championships in my age and weight category were both taken by Ukrainians I didn’t hold out much hope of a medal myself but in the event I managed a silver with 4 out of 6 lifts, Snatching 75kg and Clean and Jerking 101kg. A thoroughly enjoyable day’s lifting.
As the day was drawing to an end we were told that we would be required to attend the venue again the following morning for the final presentation as, much to our surprise, between us we had won 3rd place as the English Team in the team competition, behind the Ukrainians and Russians obviously! Fantastic news, though something of a problem getting the extra trophy into our hand-baggage.
After this presentation we were treated to some fantastic hospitality and generosity by Gennadii who spent several hours showing us round the beautiful city of L’viv. He took us on a walking tour of the historic old town himself (and some of the lovely coffee shops) and then joined us on a fascinating bus tour around the rest of the city, generously treating us to souvenirs of his town and proving once again what tremendous hosts the Ukrainians will be for the World Masters Championships of 2012.
Mark Beck
2nd January 2011
Vision - the Masters Now and the Future
Masters weightlifting maintains a strong growth and this is evident as one observes the increase in numbers competing in age groups M35 and W35.
It is essential to create a sporting and a social environment where Masters can compete and renew and enjoy their friendships during the period of the championship.
It is also essential to enable everyone to compete in a drug free environment and at the same time recognise that everyone can development illnesses that require prescribed medicines. Attention is being paid to this now and will continue to be given attention in the future.
To be able to achieve all of this and make the vision clear, there must be rules. At 2010 IWF Masters Congress in Ciechanow, Poland, a new rulebook was presented to Congress and accepted unanimously. Embedded in this rulebook are the very clear principles for a clear vision for Masters weightlifting - no racism, no religion, no politics, and no sexism.
Friendship is the key word.
It is essential to create a sporting and a social environment where Masters can compete and renew and enjoy their friendships during the period of the championship.
It is also essential to enable everyone to compete in a drug free environment and at the same time recognise that everyone can development illnesses that require prescribed medicines. Attention is being paid to this now and will continue to be given attention in the future.
To be able to achieve all of this and make the vision clear, there must be rules. At 2010 IWF Masters Congress in Ciechanow, Poland, a new rulebook was presented to Congress and accepted unanimously. Embedded in this rulebook are the very clear principles for a clear vision for Masters weightlifting - no racism, no religion, no politics, and no sexism.
Friendship is the key word.
2010 IWF Masters Weightlifting Championship, Ciechanow, Poland. 18th - 25th Sept.
From the start to the finish and in every way possible, this was a very successful championship with great cooperation between the Polish Masters Organising Committee led by Jerzy Zalejko, and the IWF Masters Weightlifting Committee working under stand-in Chairman Jan Hinrichsen.
From the start to the end the entire championship was filmed and put out live on to the internet for the world to see. Within a short time competitors were receiving text messages from home to say that they had been seen on the internet broadcast and with such a great championship it has to be wonderful publicity for Masters weightlifting.
All the sessions ran virtually to the timetable laid down in the Competition Schedule and on the few occasions a session was running late, the time was usually made up. This is not difficult to do if a championship has good and fluent Speakers and loaders who can do their job quickly and efficiently. The lifters also fulfill their part and get to the platform in good time. In the Women's weightlifting 23 World Masters Records were set and in the Men's, 10 World Masters Records. In the final session a new men's World Record snatch of 172 kg by the Russian lifter, Vladimir Sushchak at 105+ and M35, was the heaviest snatch lifted in the history of Masters weightlifting.
Well done and thank you to the 2010 Ciechanow Organising Committee.
From the start to the end the entire championship was filmed and put out live on to the internet for the world to see. Within a short time competitors were receiving text messages from home to say that they had been seen on the internet broadcast and with such a great championship it has to be wonderful publicity for Masters weightlifting.
All the sessions ran virtually to the timetable laid down in the Competition Schedule and on the few occasions a session was running late, the time was usually made up. This is not difficult to do if a championship has good and fluent Speakers and loaders who can do their job quickly and efficiently. The lifters also fulfill their part and get to the platform in good time. In the Women's weightlifting 23 World Masters Records were set and in the Men's, 10 World Masters Records. In the final session a new men's World Record snatch of 172 kg by the Russian lifter, Vladimir Sushchak at 105+ and M35, was the heaviest snatch lifted in the history of Masters weightlifting.
Well done and thank you to the 2010 Ciechanow Organising Committee.