Hey guys and gals! It’s finally time for our Mock Meet in our Barbell Level 1 and Level 2 classes! Because of this, I wanted to take some time and give you a little crash course in the sport of Weightlifting. Without getting super technical and overwhelming you with details, I am going to explain how a meet works.
As you know, the sport of Weightlifting consists of two movements, the snatch and the clean and jerk. During a meet, you will get 3 attempts in each lift. These lifts are performed on a platform in front of three judges. Each judge will signal either a white light for a good lift or a red light for a bad lift. In order for the attempt to be considered a good lift, at least two judges must signal a white light. Majority rules, just like kindergarten. A few things the judges are looking for include catching the snatch with fully locked out arms and not re-bending the elbows, no pauses in the lift at the hang position or hip, not hitting your elbows on your knees while catching the clean, and not pressing out in the jerk. Essentially, in the snatch, the bar must move from ground to overhead in one continuous motion and be received with fully locked out arms. In the clean it also must be continuous, and your elbows cannot touch your knees in the receiving of the bar. With the jerk, the bar must be received with fully locked out arms. No presses. Catching in the power is okay in all lifts. When the center judge signals you to drop the bar, you must drop the bar in front of you, not behind you, for it to be considered a good lift. An official platform is 4 meters by 4 meters and you must stay on the platform during the entire lift and the barbell must be dropped on the platform.
A little more on your three attempts at the lifts:
- All athletes’ snatch attempts will take place first, followed by the clean and jerk.
- During each session, weight will never be taken off the bar. We will be running the meet using an open format, where the person lifting the lightest load will go first.
- Weight will be added to the bar and lifters will be filtered in to lift as the weight reaches their declared attempts.
- You will get one minute after the bar is loaded to take your attempt. The only exception to this is when you follow yourself (there is no one between you and your next attempt), then you will get two minutes.
- To clarify, when I say “attempt” that means you get one try to complete the lift, you do not get the entire minute to continue trying if you miss.
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Olympic Lifter Mattie Rogers performing the “snatch”
This part can kind of be confusing, so I will give a quick example.
Lifter A’s first attempt is 50kg, Lifter B’s first attempt is 55kg, and Lifter C’s first attempt is 57kg.
Lifter A is first up. It was a good lift. Good job lifter A you get a gold star.
They have 30 seconds to declare their second attempt. They choose 54kg. Since there is no one in between them and their next attempt, they will ‘follow themselves’, thereby getting two minutes to take the attempt after the bar is loaded.
Attempt two was a good lift and they declare 58kg as their third attempt.
The bar will be loaded to 55kg and Lifter B will take their first attempt, they will have one minute to make the attempt.
This was a good lift, they declare 59kg as their second attempt.
The bar is then loaded to 57kg. Lifter C will take their first attempt.
And so on, you get the point.
If you successfully complete at least one snatch and one clean and jerk then you have a Total! This is your “score” in CrossFit terms if you want to think of it that way. Your total is your best snatch and your best clean and jerk added together. Which is cool! Basically the premise of the sport of weightlifting is to put the most weight over your head as possible. Highest total wins. There are no ties. In the event of the same total between two lifters the one who achieved that total first is the winner.
So, there you have it! That is how a Weightlifting meet works! The Barbell classes have been working so hard these last 6 weeks, and I am beyond excited for the mock meet to see that hard work pay off. If anyone is interested in checking it out or cheering on our awesome members, it is May 23rd starting at 6pm!
If you guys have any questions, feel free to reach out. Until then, happy lifting ya’ll.
-Coach Reagan