Salt Lake City, UT (November 26, 2013) - USA Weightlifting announced its selection of Salt Lake City as the location for its 2014 USA Weightlifting National Championships to be held July 15-20 at the Grand America Hotel Grand Ballroom. Utah Weightlifting, Visit Salt Lake and the Utah Sports Commission will serve as the tournament hosts.
This three-day championship is USA Weightlifting's annual premier weightlifting event and is the primary qualifier for teams representing the United States at the World Championships, Pan Am Games and/or Olympic Games (depending on the year).
"We are delighted to partner with Utah Weightlifting, the Utah Sports Commission and Visit Salt Lake to bring our premier event to Salt Lake City in July 2014," said USA Weightlifting CEO Michael Massik. "The event marks our last major event prior to the 2014 World Championship, a qualification event for the 2016 Olympic Games. The commitment shown by our partners in Utah to grow the sport is outstanding and we look forward to delivering a great National Championship this coming July."
The first USA Weightlifting National Championship to be held in Utah, this event is projected to bring 200 competitors, 75 coaches and 3,000 spectators to Salt Lake. This is "The" competition and includes eight bodyweight categories for men and seven for women. Weightlifting consist of two events: the Snatch, and the Clean and Jerk in which each athlete is permitted three "attempts" in each lift. The competition will test virtually all of the muscles in an athletes' body--more muscles than any other single sport.
"In Salt Lake we are pulling our own weight in attracting world-class events to our region," said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. "This event will bring new visitors to our capital city where they will be greeted with excellent restaurants, shops and cultural venues; all set before the backdrop of our signature Wasatch Mountains."
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About USA Weightlifting: The Mission of USAW shall be to enable United States athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic competition and to promote and grow the sport of weightlifting in the United States.