Kateri Skaarup believes the city has the potential to become a destination for powerlifting competitions.
The event organizer of the first annual Push, Pull or Squat the Hell Up competition said Thunder Bay’s strength community is one of the best in the country.
“I have no problem saying that Thunder Bay is the strongest city in Ontario, if not Canada. With the amount of powerlifters and strongmen we have in Thunder Bay there is no other city comparable per capita,” Skaarup said prior to the competition at the Wayland on Saturday.
“We hope to make Thunder Bay the hub for strength sports, strength athletes and powerlifting.”
The event is the first to be organized with the intent of setting and determining regional records.
Having set records gives the competitors targets for the future, and will hopefully attract some out of town lifters.
“This is the precedent,” Skaarup said. “This is the first competition that is devoted to actually setting records and we hope to grow it from there.”
The hope is that the Northwestern Ontario Powerlifting Championship will lead to the creation of a either a national or internationally sanctioned competition.
That distinction would mean lifters could set official world records in the city.
A multiple world record holder, Kaitlyn Pavlik, said there has been tangible growth and increased exposure for the sport over the past couple of years.
“It’s really been growing the last two years. There have been a lot more people becoming interested. For the population we have in Thunder Bay there’s actually quite a large amount of people that are interested and do compete,” Pavlik said.
Among those competing on Saturday included Kyle Rayner, who has finished in the runner-up spot for the province’s strongest man competition three consecutive years.
Other notable competitors were Dallas Hogan, who recently competed in the Czech Republic where he set a world deadlift record, and the 2012 Ontario Strongest Man Luke Skaarup.
Having the event at the Wayland is a natural fit after the venue hosted the provincial Strongman competitions last year.
Skaarup said most competitions globally are held in a similar atmosphere, for a very simple reason.
“That’s where the men usually start bragging and the egos come out,” she said with a laugh.
The event also provided a boost for local food banks, as spectators were encouraged to bring non-perishable food items.
