Topic: Girls Weightlifting article

[Tom Sherwood]

http://www.sun-herald.com/SPNewsstory.cfm?pubdate=012408&story=sp2.htm&folder=NewsArchive2



01/24/08

Strength in Numbers

Girls weightlifting popularity rising in recent years

MURDOCK -- Back in the late 90s, when Don Southwell was the girls weightlifting coach at Gainesville High School, the sport could loosely be described as an after-school club: A few girls gathering in the weight room after school in an effort to stay in shape for other, more mainstream sports. No spectators. No local media interest. Not even recognized by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

"I didn't even have enough to put two kids in every weight class," says Southwell.

Ten years later, however, things have changed a bit.

This season, Southwell, now head coach at Lemon Bay, has a roster totaling nearly 40 lifters. His teams compete in front of nearly-packed gymnasiums -- under the watchful eye of the FHSAA -- and are regularly covered by both local and national news outlets (a handful of area teams were recently featured in The New York Times).

In short, he has had a front-row seat as girls weightlifting has transformed from overlooked pastime into one of the state's fastest growing sports.

Since the 2003-04 school year, girls weightlifting participation has grown by 58.6 percent according to the FHSAA, the second-highest growth rate among the state's 20 recognized sports. What's more, the sport's average per-year increase in participation -- 12.6 percent -- is the highest average of any sport.

The FHSAA currently lists 188 schools as competing in girls weightlifting (Florida is the only state in the nation to offer the sport), and as of the 2006-07 season, girls weightlifting featured 3,862 participants, making it the tenth-most popular girls sport in the state of Florida.

"All over the state, it's really exploding as far as how many schools have teams and how many girls are competing," says Southwell, who began the season with close to 60 lifters. "Now, it's at a point where I have to turn kids away. And the other schools are pretty much the same."

Theories for the recent rise in numbers abound. Area coaches point to the sport's health benefits and growing prominence, as well as a decline in the social stigma once attached to girls competing in what was at one time a predominantly male sport.

Perhaps most notable, however, is the sport's utility.

For athletes like Lemon Bay's Mason Gardberg, who competes in cross country and track and field in addition to weightlifting, and Charlotte's Amanda Carr (golf, soccer, cross country and track and field), weightlifting provides an opportunity to stay conditioned in the months between other athletic seasons.

"The totals are increasing because more athletes from different sports are coming out," says Port Charlotte head coach Tom Sherwood. "It used to be, girls weightlifting was a sport for girls who didn't play another sport. Now, you're seeing a lot more athletes coming out."

Says Laurel Ring of the FHSAA, "It reinforces other sports that (athletes) participate in. Several girls are also cheerleaders or play another sport like softball, and we do see a lot of girls who are conditioning between seasons. And weightlifting is very helpful that way."

It hasn't hurt, either, that area teams have excelled in recent years. Last season, Port Charlotte High School finished second overall at the state competition (the Pirates finished third overall in 2006). And entering today's state qualifier at Port Charlotte High School, 21 area lifters stand a decent shot of advancing to the state meet Feb. 9 in New Port Richey.

Such success, meanwhile, has had a regenerative effect on participation. As Sherwood says, "When (2007 Port Charlotte graduate) Katie Ryck won a state title (in 2006), I think a lot of girls saw weightlifting as an opportunity to be recognized for something."

Case-in-point: After losing 19 seniors from last year's state runner-up team, members of the Port Charlotte team wondered before this season whether they would have enough lifters to form a complete team.

"We didn't think we would even have a team," said Pirates senior Taylor Bistarkey. "We figured it would just be the three of us seniors (Bistarkey, Erin Finnegan and Jen Zoia)."

Instead, first-year head coach Tom Sherwood had so many girls show up for the start of the season -- approximately 60 -- that he was forced to make cuts.

A similar rise in numbers can be found at nearby Charlotte, where first-year Tarpons head coach J.D. Spires, who has four lifters competing in today's state qualifier at Port Charlotte High School, had a roster of more than 55 for much of the season.

So heavy has the recent turnout been, in fact, that area coaches have discussed adding a handful of JV meets to their season schedules next season as a way to provide a stage for lifters who otherwise wouldn't be able to participate competitively. Currently, a maximum of 20 girls from each team are allowed to compete in most meets, meaning that for teams like Charlotte, Lemon Bay and Port Charlotte, whose rosters range from around 40 to 60, a large chunk of lifters go an entire season without actually competing in a regular-season event.

"At a minimum, if we all host a meet, that gets those girls three meets a year where they otherwise wouldn't get to lift but once," says Charlotte head coach J.D. Spires.

As far as area coaches are concerned, the need for a JV schedule is viewed as an encouraging development, a sign that the sport has not only broke into the athletic mainstream, but that it is here for the long-haul.

"It's come a really long way," says Sherwood. "When I was a freshman at Port Charlotte, it was the first year that girls weightlifting started. It was only two or three girls, and they used to lift with the boys. Since it became recognized by the FHSAA, though, (participation) has pretty much gone up exponentially every year.

"And that's good to see."

You can e-mail Dugan Arnett at darnett@sun-herald.com.

By DUGAN ARNETT

Sports Writer

[Shaun Le Conte]

Impressive numbers - 3800 girls in Florida alone are involved. How many girls/women are registered in total in the USAW? I don't have any idea but I'll bet it's less. All those athletes need to be brought into the fold, and maybe taught the snatch as an "assistance" exercise to the clean & jerk at the very least.

[Tom Sherwood]

Shaun,

If I were to guess at how many are usaw members I'd say less than 10%.  I try to get my girls interested about olympic style and teach them snatch.  What baffles me is usaw has no contact with these girls. They should be sending top lifters an issue of usa weightlifting, a promo dvd of lifters like tara nott, cheryl, natalie, footage of the OTC, and things. The girls are passionate about the sport and we could benefit greatly but they need more attention and more of a push to get involved past high school.