North Bay Lifters in Montreal

The 41st edition of the Young Louis Cyr weightlifting contest went Saturday in Montreal with over 100 athletes under 16 years of age competing. The meet drew 14 club teams from all regions of Quebec along with an Ontario contingent of 10 lifters added to the mix. Half the provincial squad came from the local Norsemen/Valkyries program.

Fourteen-year-old Courtney Simkins of the Valkyries was one of the stars of the female field. Simkins made all six of her attempts and came out on top in the 63 kilo class. Normally a 58 kilo class performer, the St. Joseph’s– Scollard Hall student went up a weight class to face the pre-contest favorite, Josee Dumais, of the Pointe-aux-Trembles team. Simkins made 56 kilos in the snatch to Dumais’ best of 54. In the clean and jerk Simkins did 64 and 66 and waited for Dumais to max out. On her third and final attempt Dumais made 68 to tie Simkins. With one attempt left Simkins made a solid success at 69 kilos to total 125 to Dumais’ 122. Amanda Bourgeois of the Monteal Giants team was the bronze medalist with a 120 total.

Norsemen club member, Reid Martel, was the runner up in the smallest weight class for males, the 46 kilo and under division. Martel did 36 kilos in the snatch and 46 in the clean and jerk. Later, in the 62 kilo division, Logan Baker finished fourth with best marks of 65 kilos in the snatch and 81 in the clean and jerk.

Last year a new category of competition was added to the Young Louis Cyr contest; this division, dubbed the mini-Louis Cyr, features youngsters 10 to 12 years old. The scoring is based half on the amount lifted, according to the Sinclair bodyweight formula, with bonus points added for successful attempts; the other half comes from technical points based on each lifter’s execution of certain phases of the snatch and clean and jerk lifts.

Jake Staples of North Bay was chosen to compete for Ontario and he left a lasting impression on the audience and officials. Indeed, not only did he lift the most on a kilo to kilo basis, but he received extra points for being the only competitor to make all six attempts. To top everything off, he scored the highest on technical points with 57 out of a possible 60. Staples, a 12 year old who lifts primarily for hockey, weighed in at 38 kilos and did best lifts of 34 kilos in the snatch and 42 kilos in the clean and jerk. There were 13 lifters in the boy’s mini-Louis Cyr division.

The girls’s mini- Louis Cyr competition had 18 competitors, including 11-year-old Carla White of the Valkyries. White made personal bests of 19 kilos in the snatch and 26 in the clean and jerk. By final calculations she finished 9th.

Submitted to BayToday.ca