The strength sport of Powerlifting is enjoyed by both men and women in over 78 countries around the world; Powerlifting is without doubt the ultimate strength sport. It is distinct from Weightlifting - a technical event made up of two lifts, the Snatch and the Clean-and-Jerk, where the weight is lifted above the head.

Powerlifting is a test of pure, unadulterated, brute strength, and comprises three lifts: The Squat, The Bench Press and The Deadlift. As in most sports, regional, national and international championships provide the setting for athletes to compete against each other, with all the associated glory and recognition that one might expect, but Powerlifting is essentially an individualistic sport where self-improvement is the greatest motivating factor. In Powerlifting competition, athletes are categorized by sex, age and bodyweight. Each competitor is allowed three attempts at each lift, the best lift in each discipline being added to their total. The lifter with the highest total is the winner. In cases where two or more lifters achieve the same total, the person with the lightest bodyweight wins.

The sport of Powerlifting is considered by most as the only true test of strength, mainly because it is a judged, equal playing field, and drug tested sport, the three disciplines, the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift test the overall body strength, unlike other strength sports where only partial body events are used.

The Squat:

The Squat is the first, and by far the biggest, of the three lifts. Standing upright with the barbell resting across the back of the shoulders, the lifter sits or 'squats' down to a required depth and then attempts to stand up again, returning to the original position. This may sound simple.... but not when the barbell concerned weighs 3-4 times your bodyweight!

The Bench Press:

Probably the most famous and best-loved exercise practiced by millions of people in gyms throughout the world, the Bench Press is the second lift in a Powerlifting competition. Lying flat on their back on a bench of a certain height and specification, the lifter holds the barbell at arms length above the chest. The bar is then lowered until it stops on the chest and then pushed or 'pressed' back up again.

The Deadlift:

The final lift of the 'Big 3', the Deadlift, as the name suggests, involves lifting a 'dead' weight. Gripping the barbell, which sits flat on the floor, the athlete attempts to lift the weight until they are standing upright with their shoulders back.

The sport of Powerlifting in Newfoundland and Labrador has long strong roots, in 1969 the first contest was held in Newfoundland and Labrador. Lifters such as Lester Butler, Bill Hollohan, Rudy Parsons, Fred Carberry, Terry Young, Frank Williams, Jimmy Gallant, Don Cormier and George Power participated in the earlier contests. Gallant and Power would later represent Canada at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Worlds in Perth Australia. In 2004 Don Cormier set two new masters II (age 50-59) Canadian Records one in the Squat and Bench Press and won 2 silver medals at the world Masters in 2005. Terry Young, an inductee to the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame won the IPF World Championships in 1995. In Perth Australia, 1987, Corner Brook native Joy Burt was the first Newfoundlander to become World Champion; she repeated this accomplishment again in 1992 in Gent Belgium by beating current World champion Carrie Bourdeau from USA. Joy Burt’s career on the World stage has earned her two World titles and runner-up three other times in five attempts. Irene King from St John’s have joined Joy in winning the World Championships twice, the first being Argentina in 1998 and in Moose Jaw Canada in 2001. Vasco Simpson from Labrador City won a bronze medal at the IPF Worlds in 1992, and Walt Forsey won silver in 1998. Mark Holloway was the first lifter in the CPU to Bench Press 600lbs. Newfoundland and Labrador lifters over the past 30 years have set in excessive of 65 new Canadian Records and, this mark have only been exceeded by Ontario. Newfoundland and Labrador lifters have also set 6 World Records, 5 by Joy Burt and one by 17 year old Ryan Rowsell. To date more than 20 fellow Newfoundlanders have competed at the IPF Worlds.

NLPA VICE-PRESIDENT'S (CHIEF'S) HISTORY

The history of Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting began for me in early 1969-1970 when I entered my first Olympic weightlifting contest. The sport actually began in 1967. 

For me it all started when a good friend of mine, Jim Gallant, came home from Memorial University in St. John’s. Jim had met with Lester Butler, one of the best promoters, builders and organizers of Olympic weightlifting and Powerlifting in Newfoundland and Labrador. Lester himself was a good powerlifter and was constantly in search of new lifters with potential; so when Les seen Jim lift, he instantly knew Jim had the desire and potential of becoming a world-class lifter. 

Jim went on to be the top Canadian powerlifter and was selected to represent not only Newfoundland and Labrador but also all of Canada at the Worlds. Les not only taught Jim about lifting but organizing and setting up a club as well. 

The first organized club in Stephenville was called the Trojan Horse Club; today we still carry that name. Jim became the first president and it wasn’t long before he put together an Olympic weightlifting team. Some of the early members were Jim Gallant himself, Don Cormier, Dan Gallant, Brian Russell, Raphael Cormier, Fintan Gillis, Larry Lavallee and George Power. These were all top-notch lifters that represented Stephenville and the province with pride. 

Members were coming into the clubs at a very fast rate and before long clubs were setting up in Corner Brook under Frank Carberry, Gander and Stephenville. Since there was an overwhelming interest, it was decided that a powerlifting association should be put in place, separate from the Olympic weightlifting association. At the time, Sport and Recreation had heard of the lifting results and wanted all sports organizations to become members in order to receive some level of government funding. Lester Butler, our first president of the Powerlifting Association, did as the government suggested and founded the Newfoundland Powerlifting Association. With his exceptional organizational skills Lester made many contacts. 

At that time one of Les’ contacts was Bill Jamison of the Ontario Powerlifting Association. Bill is still very active in the sport and is currently one of the National officiating chairpersons. Ontario was the powerhouse of the sport because of the coaches, equipment and facilities. But, Newfoundland and Labrador had dedicated lifters that worked long and hard, so they were always in the top rankings. 

In the past Newfoundland and Labrador hosted numerous powerlifting competitions and were always present at many of the competitions held in Nova Scotia. We won the team trophy from Nova Scotia so many times that they let the team keep the trophy. 

The sport of powerlifting has come a long way since 1967. When Lester Butler retired I (Don Cormier) became President then Terry Young, followed by Walt Forsey. Frank Williams is our current NLPA President. 

There are too many to name but I’d like to mention the following top organizers for building and promoting the sport:Les Butler, Jim Gallant, Terry Young, Fred Carberry, Frank Williams, Brian George, Ralph Payne, Don Cormier and Walt Forsey. 

I’d also like to mention just a few World caliber athletes:

• Jim Gallant 
• George Power Sr. 
• Terry Young 
• Ben Alexander 
• Don Cormier 
• Ashley McFatridge 
• Jerry Power 
• Van Downey 
• Joy Burt 
• Irene King