2017 Australian Weightlifting Calendar

The Australian Weightlifting Federation (AWF) has published the 2017 Australian Weightlifting Calendar, with all the big national and international events up for the new year. With it, the AWF has made some big changes to the qualification and grading standards that it has used in the past. I’m pretty happy with the direction that the AWF is taking with the grading standards, especially at the national levels (where I’m most familiar with). With the explosion of growth in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it makes sense make it harder to qualify events like the Australian Open and National Championships. what this means is that in most cases the qualifying totals have gone up, to reflect the performances at the 2016 National Championships. This will challenge athletes to shoot for higher totals in order to qualify for national events (which is harder but definitely achievable).

—–>>> 2017 AWF Weightlifting calendar <<<—–

What is great is there are loads of open and club competitions to do though. Although it’s not compulsory to do so. I’d like to see as many people as possible to register with NSWWA, and start competing. It is a great way to measure your progress, it tests your mental strength and will allow you to hit your goals that much faster.

Check out the calendar below to see some of the NSWWA Comp dates:

—>>> NSW Weightlifting Competition Schedule <<<—

Karen Competing at a local ‘All Comers Competition’

A video posted by Raw Barbell Club (@rawbarbellclub) on Oct 17, 2016 at 9:07pm PDT

As much as I like the ‘direction’ the AWF is heading in, the grading table I discussed before is a little cumbersome and complicated. So if you’re serious about weightlifting and are looking to take that extra step. You can set a goal to qualify for a national or even international competition! All it takes is a little talent, some hard work, commitment and time reach some frankly awesome goals.

Check out the big comps that are on this year below and see how close you are to qualifying for these events:

Big Comps – 2017 Australian weightlifting Calendar

*to make it easier I’ve even included the exact totals (Snatch + Clean and Jerk) with the weight categories next to them (U56 means under 56kg weight category etc.)

Australian International Open

– 17-19th of March (Melbourne, VIC)

Qualifying Standard – Men B.II /Women C.I

Men: U56-163, U62-177, U69-194, U77-204, U85-215, U94-222, U105-227, +105-254
Women: U48-101, U53-110, U58-118, U63-124, U69-133, U75-138, U90-145, +90-151

Australian Senior National Championships

– 2-4^th of June (Hobart, TAS)

Qualifying Standard – Men A.II /Women B.I

Men: U56-188, U62-205, U69-224, U77-236, U85-248, U94-256, U105-262, +105-293
Women: U48-118, U53-128, U58-138, U63-144, U69-155, U75-161, U90-169, +90-176

Commonwealth/Oceania Championships

– 4-9^th of September (Gold Coast, QLD)

Qualifying Standard – int. III grade (minimum) *may need more

Men: U56-213, U62-232, U69-254, U77-267, U85-281, U94-290, U105-297, +105-332
Women: U48-144, U53-156, U58-167, U63-175, U69-188, U75-196, U90-205, +90-214

IWF World Championships

– 28-5^th of December (Anaheim, USA)

Qualifying Standard – int. III grade (minimum)

Men: U56-213, U62-232, U69-254, U77-267, U85-281, U94-290, U105-297, +105-332
Women: U48-144, U53-156, U58-167, U63-175, U69-188, U75-196, U90-205, +90-214

Comm games Trials

– 17^th of December (Sydney)

Qualifying Standard – invite only

Check out the the original AWF tables for grading and qualifying if you want to explore yourself. Just remember that, even if it is one,two, or 5 years off, It is still a worthy goal to qualify for a national or international competition. If you are nowhere near close I still implore you to compete and get involved in the sport. You will only see greater progress, and who knows where you will end up!

Andy Competing at the 2016 Australian National Championships

A video posted by Raw Barbell Club (@rawbarbellclub) on Sep 11, 2016 at 2:46pm PDT

If you’re an older athlete (35 years and above) there has never been a better time to get into the sport of Olympic weightlifting. Check out my next post to see the amazing opportunities that lay ahead!

MY NEXT POST – 2017 Masters Weightlifting Calendar