EDITORS MESSAGE…
In response to the dynamic growth of weightlifting activities in Manitoba, this issue of the newsletter has some changes. To serve you better, I decided to merge Hercules Academy newsletter "The Coliseum" with the Manitoba Weightlifting Association newsletter "The Platform". Since the Manitoba Weightlifting Association is the umbrella organization for the Hercules Weightlifting Club the newsletter will retain the name of "The Platform".
Notice the addition of the Canadian News and the Manitoba News sections. The objective of these two new sections is to more closely cover the competitive presence at the National and Provincial level.
Now lets go to weightlifting.

Weightlifting on Eurosport Source IWF web site: http://www.iwf.net/news/news.html#18.04.2004/1
Follow the European Championships on Eurosport! All A group competitions in the upcoming Olympic Qualification Event will be broadcasted live starting at 13:00 CET on the 20th of April 2004.
In a different programme, "Mission to Athens" Agata Wrobel is one of the eight athletes that Eurosport follows as they prepare to achieve their goals of competing in the Athens' Olympic Games.
Agata's participation in this weekly TV show gives the sport of weightlifting a unique exposure to sports fans across Europe. Each week a
journalist follows Agata form home to training and also to competitions, like in November 2003 at World Championships in Vancouver where she finished seventh, or last March we could watch her triumph at the European Union Championships in Budapest. She will compete on the European Championships in Kiev, her result there will decide of her qualification for the Olympic Games.
Don't miss the "inside story" of training for the Olympics on "Mission to Athens" Tuesday and Saturday on Eurosport.

Editors Note: Agata Wrobel won 75+ class at the European Championships with 130 kg snatch, 157.5 kg clean & jerk and 287.5 kg total.

PanAmerican Championships, May 11-15, 2004, Cali, Columbia

CANADIAN NEWS

2004 Canadian Masters, April 24, 2004, Saskatoon, SK

Susan Haywood, Manitoba 75+ kg/ Age Category 55-59 New Canadian Master Records Snatch 30, 32.5 kg C & J 37.5, 40, 42.5 kg Total 70, 72.5, 75 kg

MANITOBA NEWS

Message from the Office

The MWA Executive and Staff have been very busy the past couple of months. We submitted our funding application, our 2004-2005 Game Plan, to Sport Manitoba in May. This annual document evaluates the programs and activities of the previous year and plans the activities and programs for the upcoming year. It is always a tremendous amount of work for our Executive so a big thank you to them for a job well done!

We have also learned that Manitoba will be hosting the 2005 Western Canadian Championships in March 2005. This will be a great opportunity for our athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers. It is also a great platform to promote the sport of weightlifting to our community. We hope that you will come out and support this event next March. The Western Canadian Championships will require a great deal of volunteer support to be a successful, so please watch for information on how you can get involved as a volunteer.

The 2004 Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday June 24th. This is an opportunity for our membership to learn more about the activities of the MWA Executive Committee and Staff, vote on decisions brought forward, and participate in the voting of the officers for the Executive Committee. This year the positions open for election are President, VP Technical, and Treasurer. The two-year term of President, Denis Van Laeken has come to a close and so this position will be open for election this June for a two-year term. The VIP Technical position was vacant this year and we encourage interested members to run for this two-year term position. The Treasurer position will be up for election for a one-year term as current Treasurer, Victor van der Grinten was appointed by the Executive Committee following the resignation of Ken Mazur the elected Treasurer at the 2003 AGM. Please note that it was originally stated that the Treasurer would be a two year term, however it is in fact a one-year term. If you would like further information on the duties of these Executive positions, please contact me at the MWA office 925-5689 or by email at weight@sport.mb.ca We look forward to seeing you at the 2004 Annual General Meeting!

Nicole Fallis, Program Administrator, Manitoba Weightlifting Association.

Coaches Education Program
On April 30 - May 2, 2004, MWA delegated Mirek Korkowski to participate in the NCCP Technical Level 3 clinic for course conductors. The clinic was organized by Larry Mather in Edmonton and conducted by Larry and Guy Gravette. Over the weekend, a group of ten participants from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario covered the content of the new manual with focus on the presentation methods for teaching the course. All participants who attended the clinic were credited with Course Conductor accreditation, as well as the Technical and Practical Level 3 certification.
Manitoba has a rather large number of Technical Level 2 coaches and its is the MWA intention to teach the new Level 3 program to weightlifting coaches in the early fall of this year.

Referee: Joe Landreville, Dan Decraene, Rick Scully

OFFICIALS TIPS: by Joe Landreville

Preface
This portion of the newsletter is dedicated to the communication, education, and interpretation of the rules that govern Olympic Weightlifting. Technical rules are based on the current International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) 2001-2004 Handbook.

Officials Tip#8
Dropping the barbell after the referee's signal: if, after the down signal, the lifter releases the bar above the level of the waist, red lights must be given. Referees will have three seconds to make this change in the electronic referee light system.

Officials Tip#9
Failing to replace the complete barbell on the platform: the complete barbell must first touch the platform. When returning the barbell to the platform, both ends of the barbell must make contact with the platform. Afterwards, the bar may then roll or bounce off the platform.

UPCOMING EVENTS