​This past June is when Canada hosted the North American Powerlifting Championships, and soon the Canadian Powerlifting team will have the privilege to step onto the international stage again, in their home country, at the Commonwealth Championships. This years’ Commonwealth Championships will be hosted in Richmond, British Columbia at the Olympic oval. Team Canada will be defending multiple titles, and world records as they send the best of the best to take on the rest of the Commonwealth countries.

Right now, Jason is going into the Commonwealth Championships ranked first in the 59 kg Junior class and is hoping to come out with gold. ​

​As a coach, Avi’s favorite competitions to go to are the Canadian National Championships because it is about more than just lifting -- it's also about the community. 

​Avi started coaching through working at the Calgary Olympic Oval as a practicum student and strength coach for the hockey, speed skating, and football teams. He then decided to complete a Master’s degree in Kinesiology with a focus on Master-aged powerlifters at the University of Victoria. Since then, Avi has coached at four World Championships and runs his own coaching company called Pursuit of Strength. ​His favorite aspect of coaching is the complexity that comes along with managing different lifters and ever-changing competition variables. 

​Being immersed into the coaching world has lead Avi to some very proud moments, such as coaching Team Canada at the 2015 World Championships in Finland, watching Kelly Branton claim third overall out of all classic men at the World Championships, and most of all watching his own mother break National records at 63 years of age. Going into the Commonwealth Championships Avi is hoping to develop a positive team atmosphere in order to aid every competitor to reach their highest potential, and of course, secure the highest rankings possible. Overall, Team Canada has a promising chance of claiming multiple world records and awards so it will be an exciting week in the city of Richmond!

Surprisingly, Bryce’s first class he ever instructed was an all women fitness group and despite feeling awkward the class went great and he knew that this was the industry for him. What then led Bryce to powerlifting was when his boss at the time, Neil Tkatchuk, took him to compete in his first competition in 2012. During his first competition, Bryce was inspired by the work ethic and physical strength that the other lifters had and eventually Bryce decided to move to Calgary to do a 2 year program at Mount Royal. Bryce then worked with Peak Power to put all his extra energy into becoming a powerlifting athlete. Bryce remembers “nearly dying multiple times” because of the demanding programs he was put through, but the hard work paid off when he won his first provincials and went on to take silver at the 2014 Canadian Nationals.

But this was nothing compared to the success that Bryce would experience at the 2015 North American Powerlifting Championships where he delivered a groundbreaking performance. That July was Bryce’s first international competition where his main goal was to take the Open 105 kg World Record for Deadlift. But not only did Bryce break this record pulling a 343 kg (755 lbs) deadlift. He also went on to win the Best Overall Classic Male award with a wilks score of 490 along with taking around 15 other national and international records. The surreal feeling of accomplishing this milestone was well deserved for Bryce as he has spent many years working hard to be one of the biggest lifters in the world. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, Bryce is also the proud owner and founder of the Calgary Barbell Club which has around 40 members that participate in multiple strength based sports. The tight knit community at Calgary Barbell is what Bryce attributes to his international success, he believes that his own personal development wouldn’t have been so great if it weren’t for those who are around him. In fact, Bryce’s favourite part of powerlifting is the people he has met and the business opportunities he has been able to seize along with it. Through powerlifting Bryce has found focus, passion, and the opportunity to teach new lifters that it takes patience, consistency and surrounding yourself with the right people to be successful. At this moment Bryce is preparing for the 2016 National Championships with the hopes of winning the spot to represent Canada on the World Stage in Killeen, Texas.

One year prior to this competition is when Christine tested her maximum squat and hit 102 kg, which is a far cry from her 137.5 kg squat that she smashed during the Evolve Open (that is a 78 lb difference).  Testing her squat, along with the encouragement from her boyfriend is what motivated Christine to eventually sign up with the Strength Athletes and focus completely on powerlifting. Overall, she had only trained 10 weeks before competing in her first powerlifting competition and needless to say she has a bright future in the sport. Christine aspires to one day make the national team and compete on the world stage. Now, not only is Beaverlodge home of one of the biggest animal statues in Alberta, it is also home to one of the biggest deadlifters in the province.