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ProRaw......its official

Matt Middleton has just joined ProRaw....now its a party.

ProRaw Powerlifting Members

#00 - Nick Rankin - Vic
#1 - Jeremy Lewis - Canberra
#2 - Michael Mitchell - Qld
#3 - Graeme Cross - Vic
#4 - Alen Pezerovic - Vic
#5 - Sean Gallagher - Vic
#6 - Michael Brook - Qld
#7 - Mitch Munro - NT
#8 - Paul Rucci - WA
#9 - Gawain Johnstone - Vic
#10 - Max Markopoulos - Vic
#11 - Luke Russell - Vic
#12 - Jack Pollard - Vic
#13 - Blake Hanson - Canberra
#14 - Sussy Kollen - Vic
#15 - Johnathon Nichols - Vic
#16 - Stephen Ramsey - WA
#17 - James Thompson - Vic
#18 - Alex Fergus - NSW
#19 - Jeremy Buchanek - Vic
#20 - Gareth Anderson - Vic
#21 - Ryan Flavin - Vic
#22 - John Sheridan - Canberra
#23 - Nathan Jones - Canberra
#24 - Gregg Gordon - Vic
#25 - Dijon Gordon - Vic
#26 - Rhett Spilkin - Vic
#27 - Matt Middleton - Canberra
#28 - Ann Riley - Vic
#56 - Tudor Sava - Vic
#86 - Ronnie Chau - Vic

Very nice man!
 
Live feed, I doubt powerlifting will get televised any time soon.

Weightlifting is an Olympic sport, it gets televised on Foxtel, the Worlds, Olympics and Commonwealth games.

Like Joel said, get the prizemoney up, make the show entertaining, which is the area I'm working hardest at, and maybe a community channel may show interest.

I guess UFC started the same way.

Any of you that have been to a PL comp will attest that they are pretty boring. The CAPO Nationals were an exception, Derek Boyer, Gawain Johnstone and Gregg Gordon were certainly exciting.

I went to the PA nats to watch Shorty, Simon, Nathan, Minh and Steve lift.

I didnt last very long, it was well run and judged, but they need to hand out ephedrine at the door to keep the spectators awake. The sport doesnt need to be exciting to continue, the IPF have been around forever and will be around when were gone.

ProRaw is taking some of the best parts of PA, the judging, and introducing features which I think make lifting exciting, for lifters and spectators. No triple ply suits, no monolift.

Loud music, rising bar, fewer divisions, tough judging, fast pace.

On this fast pace thing, I was talking to Laurie Butler yesterday for an hour or so.

He told me that years ago, in the States, when PL was massive and each comp had hundreds of lifters, they implemented a 7 lifts rule.

Seeing as every lifter has wasted easy lifts or optimistic DL that never leave the platform, each lifter gets 7 lifts to use any way he likes. Something like 2 squats, 2 benches and 3 deads for example.

You make your decision during the comp. You may know after a 220kg squat you have nothing left, so you dont take a third or even a second if it was an absolute limit attempt.

I think it has merit, as I see far too much time wasted by lifters who have no chance of making a lift attempting it, and others who waste openers. At the National deadlift comp, I saw a girl make 3 deadlifts, and her last was easier than everyones openers.

For those entered and competing, please give me your opinions. For those not, simply read on.

As far as speeding up lifting, 40 lifters giving up 2 lifts is 80 less lifts at the comp.

This is a lifters fed, so the lifters lifting have the voice.
 
I should also mention that spectators seats will be at a premium. We may accommodate 100 at absolute most, so get there early if you plan to watch.

Entry for spectators is $10.
 
Markos...lets stick to the basics for now re # of attempts, get the lifters interest then consider changing the format down the track, if that's what the lifters want..I had been thinking about if you miss a lift then you can't "raise the bar"...IMO there should be no excuse for missing first and second attempts when competing RAW! This would also make lifters think more about their attempts, the only number that counts here is the TOTAL and the best way to get a big total is to go 9 for 9, a missed lift is a wasted opportunity to total more than the next lifter.

With most sports it takes a while for the crowd to get warmed up powerlifting is no different, a good MC and having some of the countries strongest pound for pound lifters in the one room at the same time should help get the room jumping.
 
For those entered and competing, please give me your opinions. For those not, simply read on.

As far as speeding up lifting, 40 lifters giving up 2 lifts is 80 less lifts at the comp.

This is a lifters fed, so the lifters lifting have the voice.

For my first (or first few) comp I'd want all nine lifts, if I had more experience I'd be fine with seven.
 
For my first (or first few) comp I'd want all nine lifts, if I had more experience I'd be fine with seven.
Getting your lifts in is a real positive and builds confidence, especially
your 3rd squat witch will give you a good feeling for the remainder of the comp.
 
The 7 lift idea would really make things interesting!
However, like the other guys, maybe for the first comp leave it as a standard 9 lift. Also I'd say there'd be a few people like me that haven't used 'Raising Bar' before. So there may be a few confused people as it is.

But I'm all for it otherwise :P would spice it up a bit from a spectators point of view as well.

And i've got a few other ideas for increasing spectator viewing (not necessarily for this comp but maybe looking forward):

1) having a screen (ie using a projector on a wall) showing all the lifters and their lifts & current total, divided up by each class, with live updating (so people can see where everyone is ranked etc). Simple to do - in a spreadsheet, with a laptop hooked to a projector on a wall somewhere.

2) Instant replays!! How many times have you watched a lift and thought 'I'd love to see that again' especially some of the tough squats with all the facials etc. If you could have a screen (big LCD tv, or even use the projector above) hook it up to a camera, do an instant semi slo-mo replay after each lift...

3) oh, and i think its been mentioned, but a good MC. Someone with a good personality, experience in the sport etc, and maybe get each lifter to fill out a breif profile when registering - has where they train, how long they've been lifting, there PBs (gym and comp) etc, so then the MC can pull it up when they're about to lift - then the crowd will no a bit more about a lifter. Someone might be attempting a PB lift thats well off record pace, and they may be placed last in their class, but if the MC knew this info he'd get the crowd behind them a bit more than usual etc


4) A program/handout upon entry. Not hard to do. But knowing whats going on makes a world of difference to spectators. Just include a breif message from the organisor, a rough timetable for the day, All the lifters divided up into each class, their home town/state. Maybe even include a little Bio on each lifter if you have the time before hand. Plus its a good way to thank sponsors, put in their logos, refer people to the forums/websites, tell them about up coming events.

I no all of this requires a bit of prep and admin work, but trust me, it makes a WORLD of difference for supporters, and people will more likely stay for a meet if they know whats going on etc. And you will help start to build and grow a community of lifters and fans.
And i'm sure any keen PL'er would be willing to help out, like someone who is injured may run the spreadsheet etc, or someone who has finished their lifts will run the camera, someone that has some free time and is good on the computer may put together the program.

My 2c anyway!
 
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Yea I used to row, and over winter I'd race at alot of Indoor Rowing comps (racing on the ergs indoors). Similar sort of atmosphere to a PL comp. But you'd always see good crowds, and people would stay for the whole meet etc

Alot of this I think was becuase they used the ideas I outlined above.

To make spectators really enjoy what they're watching I think a few things are important:
1) they no the plan for the day - so they no when they can duck out for lunch, to the shops etc, and when their mate/son etc is lifting
2) they no whats going on - where so and so is placed, what his competitors have lifted etc
3) to 'relive' the good moments with a replay, highlights
4) to be entertained during the boring bits - something to read, someone to listen to, music etc

Markos if you have any questions about how these things were implemented at these rowing events, or just want to know more shoot me a message.
Cheers
 
The 7 lift idea would really make things
<cut>
1) having a screen (ie using a projector on a wall) showing all the lifters and their lifts & current total, divided up by each class, with live updating (so people can see where everyone is ranked etc). Simple to do - in a spreadsheet, with a laptop hooked to a projector on a wall somewhere.

Projector's can be expensive and require a dark room. Unless you have a super projector :P
However 24inch monitors can be had for <$200

2) Instant replays!! How many times have you watched a lift and thought 'I'd love to see that again' especially some of the tough squats with all the facials etc. If you could have a screen (big LCD tv, or even use the projector above) hook it up to a camera, do an instant semi slo-mo replay after each lift...

Would be a little challenging to do but possible...depending on how we're streaming / recording it.
 
As you know Gareth, I have a huge projector at home and was involved in Home Cinema.

I have a friend still doing it, I'll try and work something out.

The replay bit wont work, too much time wasting, we only have 60 seconds between lifts, it will simply make a long day longer
 
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