Uddevalla Open Long Cycle Competition Report

So, finally, the big day arrived for our long cycle competition. Members of Uddevalla Kettlebell Club, not the least Thomas Johansson and Nichlas Gonzales had made a great job organizing the competition.
 

This is the result list:

Damer:
...... 63 kg - 12kg
1. Minna Majaranta ; 123 reps

63 kg - 16kg
1.Sonja Pykkönen ; 93 reps

Herrar:
68 kg - 2x16kg
1. Markus Pulkkinen ; 66 reps

73 kg - 2x16kg
1. Markus Hillemalm ; 64 reps

85 kg - 2x16kg
1. Mika Mettiäinen ; 40 reps

85 kg - 2x24kg
1.Marko Suomi ; 70 reps
2.Markel Thylefors ; 50 reps
3.Philip Johansson ; 46 reps
4. Thomas Johansson ; 43 reps

105 kg - 2x24kg
1.Kalle Pykkönen ; 66 reps

We also had team of five (5) Finnish lifters visiting us which was a great addition and there will certainly be more future kettlebell sport events with the Finns. The only disadvantage with lifting next to the Finns is that they win everything. But the knowledge and good atmosphere they bring makes it worth it :-).

All sets - one or two bells, 12, 16 or 24kg - were very exciting to watch and resulted in a lot of cheering and applauding from fellow lifters and audience. There were several personal records. 

Now I can hardly wait for the biathlon competition in Uddevalla the 7th of May :-).

Equipment
Each lifter and judge had a an individual screen that showed points and time. That is of a great help planning your pace. It was Kalle Pykkönen's software with slight adaptation.

The 12 and 16kg bells were of the "Compact"-model; the 24kg kettlebells were "Russian Originals/kettlebellathletes."

We lifted at an Eleiko kettlebell platform that Eleiko wanted us to try out in the competition setting. The platform is 3x2,5meters and we lifted two at a time. This format worked fine for long cycle clean and jerk. For biathlon and snatch there probably should be a couple of meters between the platforms of individual lifters.
It was very nice to lift on. The rubber was not too soft - that we had several personal records proved this. Moreover, there was absolutely no risk of slipping. We also tried dropping kettlebells on the mat. They did not bounce around a lot which is good from a safety point of view. It would be great with these Eleiko platforms in 1,5x1,5meters format. 

My contribution
To my surprise I did a new personal record of 50reps. I don't think any Swedish lifter ever has made 50 reps in long cycle with 2x24kg before.

This was especially surprising as I had a cold and could not train as planned before the event. However, I came in only second. The first -85kg lifter, Marko Suomi from Finland, did 70 reps.



Thanks all for a great competition on and off the platform!

Ps! Also check by UKC for some pics, videos, and more updates (LINK).

Finnish Open Long Cycle Championship, Kuusamo

Saturday was the Finnish Open Long Cycle Championship in Kuusamo. The host, Simo Kurvinen had the main responisbility of arranging this excellent event. It run like a Swiss clock: weigh-in, judges meeting, rules demonstration, flight schedule, and all went very smoothly.


I was also impressed by the set-up.
Behind the screens were three warm-up platforms and lots of kettlebells, chalk and water spray bottles. Warm-up area is crucial.

One lifter, Kalle P., had developed a software for showing the scores on a projector screen. They were coordinated, so the projector showed the time as well as the points for the three platforms simultaneously. That was of a great help when lifting. Every lifter was judged by two judges.

The Versowood laminated wooden platforms are made of two pieces, held together with a bolt. The platforms weigh ca 50 kg, so it is good that you can split them in two.


The bells were Leoko, nice to lift.

The lifting was interesting and high quality. Girevoy sport is relatively new outside Eastern Europe and development is going fast. A few years ago, doing 10 minutes in long cycle was a big thing in the "neo-GS-countries". It is still a big thing, but now several lifters did that.

Here is the results: LINK.

My result was not bad - 46reps with the 24kgs. My year-dream-goal was of 45 so I am very happy :-). Still it gave me place nine among eleven lifters in the 24kg category. Most lifters did over 50 reps, some over 60 and the winner 70.
That is a very nice development of the sport.


It was nice to see many familiar faces again. Here I am lifting simultaneously with a friend who lifted one platform away from me last year in Latvia.


So much good and exciting lifting. In the ladies categories as well as among the gentlemen. It would be too long going into detail. One thing that I find exciting is GS is the last minutes and when there are very close results. The day started with two ladies both hitting 82 reps in such a way. And two gents both got 62 reps in lccj (then the win goes to the lightest lifter).

Talking about weight - I weighed 86kg! I think it was because of quite a sturdy hotel breakfast.

The audience was quite big and cheering. It was as loud as in Ventspils and I felt a bit like Denizov or Ginko when the public cheered for each of my final albeit, few reps :-).

After the competition there was a very nice sauna and rhein-deer dinner. And some cold beers - delicious and fun!

There is also a strong interest to organize competitions with Sweden. Maybe during the summer? Big, small comps, invite Norway and Denmark... workshops... The sky is the limit.

Thanks a lot to the Finnish Kettlebell Association, Simo and all lifters and other people who made this such a good event!

Finska mästerskapen i girevoy sport

Finska mästerskapen i GS
Snart (29/8) är det dags för SM (på finska) eller FM (på svenska) i girevoy sport (biathlon, dvs stöt & ryck) i Finland. Arrangör är det finska kettlebell-förbundet (tillika representanter för IUKL i Finland).
Enligt det senaste jag hörde så var det 24 pers (varav 7 damer) anmälda. Ett försvarligt antal. Det finns fler aktiva utövare fast en del tvekade inför kostnaden för försäkring av de tävlande (försäkring krävs av Finska tyngdlyftningsförbundet, inom vilket girevoy sport ingår). Detta är den första officiella tävlingen som går i Finland - jag vet att det ligger mycket jobb bakom detta.
Det är ju förresten den första officiella GS-tävlingen i hela Skandinavien!
Ska bli spännande att följa.
Det kan nämnas att ytterligare en officiell tävling i lång cykel (Lccj) i Finland är planerad till december. Den är öppen även för icke-finska medborgare.
En annan häftig sak är att den norska IUKL-grenen (med IUKLs mandat), för närvarande undersöker möjligheterna att stå värd för ett världsmästerskap hösten 2010.