2015 LWC Championship and Annual Meeting
Milwaukee Barbell to Host 2015 State Championships
We are happy announce that Milwaukee Barbell will host the 2015 State Championship meet on April 18th-19th, held at BrewCity Crossfit. The past year has seen unbelievable growth in our LWC. We started 2014 with 8 active clubs - as of right now we are at 22 clubs, and still growing like weeds. Much of this growth is spurred by CrossFit affiliates (and CrossFit athletes!) and their love of barbells - much of this growth has been centered around the greater Milwaukee area. Our community has energy like never before.
Because of the expected volume of registrations, this will be what we believe is the first ever 2-day meet in the state of Wisconsin. Following the last session on Sunday April 19th there will be a banquet and awards ceremony to celebrate the prior season's successes. This will also serve as the LWC's Annual Meeting.
Registration forms, schedules, and banquet information will be published as it becomes available. Additionally, an official announcement regarding the annual meeting and its agenda will be sent to the e-mail address of all registered LWC members as the date approaches. In the meantime mark your calendars as you aren't going to want to miss this one.
Why Milwaukee Barbell?
In the interest of transparency, we want to explain how the state meet was awarded this year. One of the issues the LWC currently struggles with is vague and out-dated bylaws. The bylaw articles on the state championship provide the following: "The LWC shall hold annually such championships as deemed best by the Federation and LWC...". This is insufficient guidance on how the larger (and potentially profitable) state meets are awarded. It lends itself to favoritism and limits competitive pressure for clubs to host better and more enjoyable meets in weightlifting-appropriate venues.
Because of the limited time left prior to the state meet, an executive decision was made to limit focus to the Milwaukee area only. Over the last decade the state meet has bounced back and forth between Green Bay and Madison. As mentioned above, the Milwaukee area has seen not only the most growth, but its newer clubs have also begun hosting frequent meets. This initiative and progress should be rewarded. A few of the more active clubs bid on the meet, and the meet was ultimately awarded to Milwaukee Barbell due to their venue and recent success with the BrewCity Open.
What About the Remaining 2015 Meets?
There are two remaining state meets in the 2015 calendar: the Badger State Games and the Wisconsin Open. The Badger State Games are being hosted by MadTown WLC in late June - their coaching staff is doing the legwork necessary to reinstate weightlifting into the games. The Wisconsin Open remains unawarded.
It it our hope that we will be able to vote and agree upon appropriate procedures for these meets at the 2015 annual meeting to ensure all clubs that have proven capable of hosting local meets have a fair opportunity to bid on these. Limiting events to only certain geographical locations in the state limits us from truly being an inclusive state-wide organization.
See you in April,
Josh Ireland & Daniel Swank