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Page last update on 24 January 2008

Weight Lifting News

Burton’s Powerhouse Weightlifters raise Money for Cancer Research!

This year, Burtons own ‘Powerhouse Gym All Round Weightlifting Club’ added a charitable twist to their annual club competition; all of the lifters had previously sought sponsors, in an attempt to raise money for Cancer Research. The competition was a real ding dong battle with ten weight lifters trying to out perform each other, and raise more money. Finally, Andy Goddard emerged as the top lifter, followed closely by John Gardner, Jim Mills and Mandy Hughes. When all was said and done, the team managed to collect the terrific sum of £686.

Team Coach Steve Gardner, said that he was proud of the club it was nice to see local athletes doing something to help others in the community. Charity fund raising is nothing new to the Powerhouse Gym Weightlifting Club, in recent years they have also raised money for : Guide Dogs for the Blind, The Air Ambulance, MS, MD and the Border Collie Trust. This years cheque for £686 was presented by Steve Gardner, to Wendy Barnes, who received it on behalf of the ‘Burton Cancer Patient Fund’.

24 January 2008

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Burtons All Round Weightlifters lead the way as the Magnificent Seven Lift the Gold Cup

The International All round Weightlifters Association held their annual Gold Cup World Record Breakers competition at Leicester on Saturday 10^th November. Steve Gardner took seven of his Burton based ‘Powerhouse Gym Weightlifting Team’ to compete in the tournament, which had competitors from the USA, Germany, Scotland and England. The rules of the competition are simple, it is a World Record breakers event, and the lifters can attempt records in any of the 150 different all round lifts that IAWA has on its books. The biggest difficulty is that all first attempts must be straight in for the record, and previous records must be exceeded by half a kilo or one pound.

The lifters at the Burton club had prepared well and trained hard for the competition and all seven attempted the event maximum of two lifts, and with all seven being successful, the Powerhouse club from Burton dominated the event. The successful lifters were:

Coach Steve Gardner said: the Burton team not only did themselves proud, several of the records they performed  were the heaviest lifts on the books across all bodyweight classes. Such as Mandy Hughes 60 kilos Middle Finger Lift, Karen Gardners 2” Bar Straddle with 102.5 kilos, James Gardners Full Gardner lift with 60 kilos and John Gardners Middle Fingers Straddle Deadlift with 150 kilos and the very difficult Zeigler Clean with 75 kilos.

Several of the Burton team will be in action lifting at the IAWA Hall of Fame Sports Dinner and Show at the Coors Visitor Centre in Burton on 18^th November, hosted by Burtons former World All Round Weightlifting Champion and Hall of Fame inductee Steve Gardner, which is a sell out event!

22 November 2007

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All Round Weightlifter James Gardner  lifts World Open Title in New Zealand

James Gardner 23, of the Powerhouse Gym International All Round Weightlifting Team from Burton, and son of former World Open Champion and Coach Steve Gardner, has struck gold at the IAWA 2007 World Championships in New Zealand.  The World Championships for IAWA which stands for the International All Round Weightlifting Association, (a dedicated drug free weightlifting body) are held annually, and attract lifters from all parts of the World. James from Barton under Needwood has been involved in all round weightlifting since he was 12 years old, and has been a Junior World Champion (winning the Gold medal in Boston USA in 2000 for the Juniors 16/17 age category). James, who works as a Physical Education  teacher at Belgrave High School in Tamworth trained hard for the tournament, and was supported in his quest to make it to New Zealand by the school. All round weightlifting is an amateur sport where lifters basically raise their own funds to compete, usually by personal savings and sacrifice and sponsorship when it can be found. James was overjoyed at the support he received from all of the pupils and staff at Belgrave High School and went to New Zealand determined to do well, representing England, his Burton club and especially Tamworth’s Belgrave High School.

The competition consisted of six different disciplines designed to test all areas of all round strength and ability, with three lifts to be completed on day one and three on the second day. The lifts were: The Dumbbell Swing, the Two Hands Snatch, the One Hand Deadlift, the Two Hands Press, the Hands Together Bench Press and finally the Straddle Deadlift. James lifted superbly to win his 90 kilos Open Men’s category Gold Medal, pulling an impressive One Hand Deadlift of 190 kilos. At the end of day one James was also holding second place in the overall Champion of Champions award. This was an unexpected honour for James, who was in second place to Peter Phillips from Australia by less than 2 kilos. It was always going to be difficult for James to hold on to the coveted position and the lifts on day two suited some of the other lifters better. When it was all done and dusted, James Gardner came away with the Gold Medal for the Men’s 90 kilo class, and a super trophy for winning the Overall Best Open lifter (20yrs - 39yrs). James also managed to stay in the leading group for the best Overall Champion of Champions title, eventually finishing in a great 4^th place, 2.5 kilos behind Masters supreme Frank Allen, from England who took third, Al Myers from the USA who took second, and Peter Phillips from Australia who took the top title. James will be looking to retain his World title in 2008, but this time won’t need to travel as the championships are to be staged in Burton on Trent under the direction of local promoter: Steve Gardner.

Coach and proud Dad Steve Gardner said “ I am very excited for James, he has worked hard and deserved the success, there was no one more proud than me as we stood for the National anthem and applauded James on the podium”  James Gardner said “ I am pleased with the result and knocked out at winning the overall best open lifter title, I did it for my club, my coach, and especially for Belgrave High School”.

For more info contact:: Steve Gardner: 18 Holly Road, Barton, Staffs. DE13 8LP
Tel: 01283 713464   E Mail    steve-g@powerful.co.uk

25 August 2007

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The IAWA(UK) Open - Midlands Weightlifting Championships

Promoter Steve Gardner hosted the IAWA(UK) Open - Midlands Weightlifting Championships on Saturday 7th July at the Powerhouse Gym, at BMS Motaquip, Derby Street, Burton on Trent. Burton lifters competed on home soil in the 'Olympic Weightlifting Competition' performing three lifts :the Press, the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. Local successes were:

Mandy Hughes, Andy Goddard and Colin Hughes, all set new record marks in the Clean and Jerk. The overall best lifter at the competition was Steve Andrews from Leicester, second was Paul Doyle from the West Midlands and third was Burton Clubs Jim Mills.

10 July 2007

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Burtons Powerhouse Gym team crush Glasgow rivals in their annual weightlifting ‘international club match’

On Saturday 24^th February Steve Gardner promoted the 18^th annual IAWA (International all round weightlifting Association) international club match between his Burton Powerhouse team and the Castlemilk Gym from Glasgow, Scotland. The match took place at the Burton clubs new premises at BMS Motoquip in Derby Street, Burton, where the lifters had to complete four different weightlifting disciplines to make a total, the lifts were :

Ø      The Continental Snatch

Ø      The Clean and Jerk on a 2” thick bar

Ø      The Fulton Deadlift  on a 2” thick bar

Ø      The 2 hands anyhow, with Dumbbell and Barbell

The two clubs compete for two different shields, the A match and the B match. Going into this competition Steve Gardner’s team were 9 w inch to Scotland’s 8, in the A match series, after winning in 2006 in Scotland. Lifting commenced at 11am and very quickly it became apparent that the visitors were out to try and level the score by taking the 2007 total, the Glasgow team performing their lifts very well and at a very high standard, but if they thought they were taking the winners shield north of the border this year they had another thing coming. The Burton club had prepared well for this event and were ready to defend their grip on the winners shield. The lifting finished at 5pm and when all the totals and amended scores were figured out the result was a resounding success for the Powerhouse Gym, winning both the A and the B matches.

The A match team had the biggest winning margin, due to the great work and performances of Steve Angell, John Gardner, Jamie Gratton, James Gardner and Andy Goddard. Steve Angell was in great form taking the top lifter spot just ahead of James Gardner who broke three IAWA World records during the competition. Jamie Gratton was amazing in his first major competition and lifted superbly taking personal bests in all 4 lifts. John Gardner put up a solid performance and was very good in the Fulton deadlift, whilst Andy Goddard continues to mature as a very good Masters (over 45) lifter.

The B match was a closer result, but was again won by the home team, Karen Gardner finishing as top lifter this time, leading Burton home to the B match win with team mates, Mandy Hughes, Scott Pagett, Colin Hughes and Johnny Eccleshall. Mandy Hughes 15 and Scott Pagett 17 both put in very good performances in their junior lifter categories, with Colin Hughes taking several personal bests, and a very positive display from new lifter Johnny Eccleshall who showed great future potential.

With the team scores now standing at 10 to 8, the Powerhouse team are already looking forward to their trip to Scotland next February where I suspect the Glasgow team will be in tip top form.

20 March 2007

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Burtons Powerhouse Gym Lifters take 7 titles at 2006 World All Round Weightlifting Championships in Scotland

Steve Gardner took a team of 7 lifters from his Burton based Powerhouse Gym,  to the IAWA World All Round Weightlifting Championships which were held in Glasgow, Scotland over two days – Saturday and Sunday 14^th and 15^th October.

The Burton team were on fantastic form and came away with no less than 7 titles and several new records which they broke between them during the six lift competition. The gruelling event which saw lifters travel from Germany, Australia and the USA, to lift along side a strong representation from England and the host Country of Scotland, demanded that the lifters completed three disciplines on the first day and three further disciplines on the second. The lifts were selected to test all round weightlifting ability.

The lifts contested on day one were :

The Lifts contested on day two were :

The successful Burton Weightlifters were :

In addition to the above titles, Mandy Hughes was Best Overall Female Junior Lifter and Karen Gardner was Best Overall Female Masters (Over 40) Lifter, and Scott Paggett finished  Second  in the Overall Best Male Junior rankings.

The performances by the Burton lifters were all tremendous and the Powerhouse Gym was by far the most successful club represented at the event, it is difficult to pick one out because they were all so good, but the Trap Bar Deadlift performed by 14 year old Mandy, with 150 kilos ranks as one of the highlights of the weekend

2 November 2006

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Burton weightlifters become 2005 Champions at the All Round Weightlifting World Championships

Steve Gardner took a team of four lifters from his Powerhouse Gym to the ‘International All Round Weightlifters Association' (IAWA) World All Round Weightlifting Championships held in the USA on Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th October, and was delighted to come away with four Champions. All Round Weightlifting is similar to a decathlon in Athletics, with the competitors having to complete several lifts over the two days, all designed to test different areas of strength and ability. The lifters with the highest overall totals win the titles in their respective age and bodyweight divisions. The lifts contested were:

This was the 18th IAWA World Championships, and it was held by Promoter - Denny Habecker at the Quality Inn Hotel, in Lebanon, Pennsylvannia, USA. The Four Burton champions were:

Coach Steve Gardner was very proud of all of the Burton team, Mandy and, dad, Colin Hughes are from Shobnall Street, Andy Goddard is from Stapenhill and Karen Gardner is from Barton. All of the lifters performed well and deserved to win their titles, but special mention should be made of Colin Hughes who was competing in his first International event, and won his Masters over 40 title in style.

20 November 2005

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Burtons Weightlifters take Titles at the British Single Arm Weightlifting Championships

The International All Round Weightlifters Association UK Division held the annual British Single Arm Weightlifting Championships at Leicester on Saturday 13th August 2005. Steve Gardner accompanied seven of his Powerhouse Gym members who participated in the event. The result was just fantastic, with 6 winners and one runner up placing, 21 year old James Gardner lifted the title of Overall Best Lifter, Champion of Champions, and Mandy Hughes took best overall Female and Junior Lifter titles.

To take part in the single arm Championships, competitors must complete three different disciplines, all three lifts demanding the use of just one arm. The three contest lifts were:

The Burton team, coached by former WorId All Round Champion Steve Gardner took 6 titles and a second place.

All of the Burton lifters put on a fine performance and were a credit to their club, Mandy Hughes broke several Junior Records in her division, and James Gardner from Barton under Needwood lifted 'out of his skin' pulling a 407lb One Hand Deadlift to clinch the 'Overall Best Lifter' title.

19 August 2005

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Burtons Magnificent Seven take Titles at the Midlands (Open) Olympic Weightlifting Championships

The International All Round Weightlifters Association UK Division held the annual Midlands Open Olympic weightlifting Championships at Burton on Saturday 9th July 2005. This annual competition has been held by Burton Weightlifting Promoter Steve Gardner every year since 1986, making this the 20th year. The event attracted all round weightlifters from all across the Country and the lifters had to compete on the three different disciplines that comprise the 'Olympic Set'. The three contest lifts were:

The Burton team, coached by former World All Round Champion Steve Gardner took 7 titles and a second place. There were three w inch in the Ladies Division for:

There were four w inch in the Men's Division for:

Runners up Trophy went to :

24 July 2005

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8 British Champions for Burton All Round Weightlifting Club

The International All Round Weightlifters Association UK Division held their annual British Weightlifting Championships at Leicester on Saturday 4th June. The competition attracted all round weightlifters from all across the Country and the lifters had to compete on three different disciplines, selected to test different areas of strength and ability. Burtons Powerhouse Gym Coach took a team of 10 lifters.

The three contest lifts were:

The Burton team, coached by former World All Round Champion Steve Gardner took 8 titles and took two second places. 

15 June 2005

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Burtons All Round Weightlifters lift titles at Powerlifting Competition

The International All Round Weightlifter Association UK Division held their annual Powerlifting competition at Burton on Trent on Saturday 23rd April. The competition was run by local weightlifting promoter Steve Gardner, at his Powerhouse Gym, based at Uxbridge Street Community Centre.

The Burton team won 7 titles and took two second places. IAWA International records were broken by Mandy Hughes in the Junior Girls 13 and Under division and by Melanie Laban in the Ladies Masters (40+) division. Contesting the Squat, the Bench Press and the Deadlift, the successful Burton club lifters were:

Seven Title Winners:

Two runners up spots went to :

26 April 2005

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Burton Lifters win Midlands All Round Weightlifting Titles

On Saturday 19th March 2005, Steve Gardner took a team of lifters from his Powerhouse Gym in Burton, to the IAWA(UK) Midlands All Round Weightlifting Championships held at Grimsby. After a great day of tough competition the team came away with three Champions and two Runners’ Up. The lifters, taking part in the competition held under the auspices of the International All Round Weightlifting Association (United Kingdom) Division, had to contest each of the four different disciplines, each designed to test different areas of strength and ability. The lifters four best marks from the four different disciplines are added to make their total. The lifters with the highest total win the titles. The four lifts for this competition were:

The Powerhouse Gym Club Champions are:

The club are now in training for the British Open Championships which will be held in Leicester in June.

1 April 2005

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Burton Lifters win the day

Steve Gardner promoted the 16th Annual International Club Match between his Burton team “The Powerhouse Gym” and their annual opponents “The Castlemilk Gym” from Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday 12th February. The match changes venue between Burton on Trent and Glasgow and this year it was the turn for Burton to play hosts. The match was held at the Uxbridge Community Centre where Steve’s Powerhouse team are based. The four disciplines contested by the weightlifters were:

The match was very well contested; every lift was foug