Entry Level Oly Competition Standards

[Butch White]

What should one be snatching and C&J-ing before entering their first competion? Let's assume a body weight of 175lbs - 185lbs.

[Emily Mattes]

I wouldn't worry about it, go out and have fun! My first competition was three weeks after I'd started Olympic lifting. Needless to say, my numbers were not impressive.

[Garrett Smith]

Just enter (do) it. No one else really cares what you lift, most people are just glad to have another person join the sport.

If you can, do a small local meet first.

I was amazed at how low-key my first meet was, I really built it all up in my head.

[Chris Rice]

I learned the snatch on Tues - the clean and jerk on Thurs - did my first comp on Sat. I got beat by a girl and a blind guy - true story. I had a ball! I was 54 years old at the time. Just do it - you'll never be sorry.

[Butch White]

Thanks for replies and the encouragement. Now I've just got to find a small local meet somewhere in the SE.

[Butch White]

I've got one other question regarding entering an Oly competition. Is the singlet a standard requirement or can you lift in shorts and t-shirt?

[Jay Cohen]

Singlet is required unless the meet director OK's it, but Singlets are cheap, look around at the Wrestling sites, and the best part, you look like an O-lifter, regardless of weight lifted.

[Yuen Sohn]

Originally Posted by Butch White

Now I've just got to find a small local meet somewhere in the SE.

The USAW calendar (http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/event/event/356) has a meet schedule, but I find it sometimes doesn't include events occuring more than 1 month away.

You may want to email your LWC president to see if there's anything coming up in your area.
http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/content/index/1805

Good luck preparing for your competition!

[John Filippini]

Giving another vote to just do it anyway, esp. if it's a local meet. I was convinced to go to a meet less than a month after starting to train oly seriously, and it was an awesome experience.

The competition part isn't that important at that stage, given the number of people compared to the number of weight classes, age groups, etc. That being said, I was still the only person in the whole meet that got 4th place in my division. Just go there, participate, and aim for a couple small PRs, it'll be worth it.

[Garrett Smith]

My first meet was shorts and t-shirt. If I would have had to do a singlet, I would have used my old triathlon "singlet" to get me by.