PHOTOS:
Team SAW
Niamh & Simon Roach
More local action from the event
A strong team of five young weight lifters from Strength Academy Wales, Haverfordwest, recently competed in the British Schools Weightlifting Championship at Oldbury Academy, Birmingham and came away with five medals and 15 Welsh records in what was the first British Championships for all!The British Schools is a major event on the calendar and to give an idea of the scale of numbers competing, it began at 8am and finished at 8pm.
The weekend away was organised by Simon Roach and the team travelled on Friday afternoon, enjoyed a team evening meal and a relaxing evening at a local hotel before the big event on the Saturday.
The team consisted of James Hart, Alex John, Rhiannon James, Niamh Roach and Chloe Hood. Rhiannon and Chloe members of the Milford Weightlifting Club, but compete under the umbrella of SAW.
Rhiannon James and Chloe Hood were coached by Stephen James and they both won Gold. Rhiannon competed in the development group, a category for the younger lifters, where they are marked on technique and not how much weight they lift. Rhiannon's technique stood out in her field and she gained excellent marks throughout the competition.
Chloe once again broke Welsh records in all disciplines and over various age groups. Since being invites on to the Welsh Talent Squad, Chloe has become more focused and has worked hard to develop her technique further - which was evident in her performance. Chloe has great potential for the future and she broke 15 Welsh records in total from the under14 to the under 18 category.
James Hart, who is coached by Owain Wyn Rowlands, hasn't been training very long, but impressed many top Welsh and GB coaches with his efficient lifting technique – and he gained a Silver medal in this GB National event.
Simon Roach, head coach at SAW, and Performance Director for Weightlifting, Wales, coached both Niamh Roach and Alex John.
Again similar to James, Niamh has not been lifting that long and has made excellent progress and demonstrated great confidence in this over-whelming competition, receiving plenty of positive encouragement from her coach Simon. Niamh managed to lift a PB is the Snatch discipline and equalled a PB in the Clean & Jerk. Niamh gained a Silver medal. Simon, who is father and coach, was very proud!
Alex John was the last Team SAW lifter to compete. With nerves of steel, Alex took an early lead in the competition, and with a fantastic performance he won Gold and lifted 17kgs more than the silver medal position. Yet again Alex is another one of our lifters with massive potential and is also a member of the Welsh Talent Squad.
The weekend was a great success, with a 100% medal rate - three gold and two silver - with the whole team and coaches bonding well throughout the weekend - a strong and supportive team atmosphere was evident throughout.
Coach, Simon Roach has already planned the lifters’ next four-week cycle of training to further develop the lifters’ techniques and speed, power and strength levels, with coach Owain focusing on healthy and performance food plans.
Other SAW members will be competing in the British Youth, U20, U23 and Senior championships soon and the club is hoping that some of their lifters will be again selected to represent Wales in forth coming International competitions.
Team SAW also has its own National Officials, and Darren Rogers officiated throughout the competition in his first British championships. Darren is training to be an international-standard official which will put him in a position to referee at International tournaments such as Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Olympics.