By The Prince Albert Daily Herald Staff, April 24, 2016
Inaugural P.A. weightlifting meet draws dozens of participants
When Whitney Darchuk-Parenteau agreed to hold her first weightlifting competition at her new gym, she didn’t expect to end up hosting the province’s second-largest meet of the year.
The Prince Albert Saskatchewan Weightlifting Association Open competition attracted 38 Saskatchewan weightlifters, ranging in age from seven to 39, to P.A.’s Pure Athletics gym on Saturday.
“We were very humbled and blown away by all the support we got, it was amazing. Right from Sask Weightlifting helping out to all the people who volunteered … and then the amount of spectators we had come in that day was fantastic,” Darchuk-Parenteau said.
“We had no idea that the event would turn out to be this big, so that was really exciting and rewarding for our first one.”
The meet came late in the season, and with competitive qualifiers already decided Darchuk-Parenteau said it was a good time for newer athletes to aim for new personal bests and participate without the pressure of competition.
Pure Athletics only opened this past year and Darchuk-Parenteau said the members are mostly just getting into the sport. She said they’ve come a long way.
“That’s why I wanted to get all of them involved in it and get them to start doing the meets, because they’ll only continue to get better from there,” she said.
“You’ve got to start somewhere.”
One of those new members is Chelsey Kaglea. The P.A. meet was her first experience in a competition setting.
“I’m glad I did but it was really nerve-racking,” she said.
“I wish I would have done a little better, but it was good for my first time trying.”
Darchuk-Parenteau said most athletes get nervous at their first meet, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“If you’re an athlete and competitive you’re always going to be nervous because you want to do your best,” she said.
“I’d maybe be a little bit worried if they weren’t nervous because then it probably means they don’t really care.”
At 13 years of age Hollis Finlayson was on the younger end of participants, but she has already attended two competitions in Saskatoon. But even with that experience, the nerves are still there.
“It just took a lot of practise and confidence,” she said.
Darchuk-Parenteau said she had never seen so many young junior weightlifters at a meet before.
“There was one young boy who was at the meet this weekend and he had told us he had started weightlifting when he was five-and-a-half years old. That’s crazy,” she said.