The Altamonte Open, an event Coach Danny Camargo has been running for many years, is a USAW sanctioned-event and served as a qualifier for the more than 130 athletes who competed this past weekend.

 

Hannah Richards, who placed 4th at the 2014 CrossFit Southeast Region, competed at the Altamonte Open and won the Sinclair in the female division. The Sinclair formula is, in its basic explanation, a formula to determine the strongest athlete overall.

 "I'm thrilled to see the growing trend of athletes interchangeably competing between CrossFit events and Oly meets. It shows how both sports relate to each other so well,” Camargo said.

Also, unique to this meet, the Altamonte Open featured a team division in an attempt to open the door to newcomers to the sport, as well as introduce the idea of how team divisions work at traditional weightlifting meets.

While weightlifting is traditionally an individualized sport, Camargo ensured there was a detailed list of rules posted on the competition site to help coaches understand how the team division works at the National level, as well as international levels.

"Though this is an individual sport, we encouraged team entries this year to educate more newcomers to the sport. There is a point system for athletes who represent teams as well,” Camargo said. 

The Masters Division (35+) was also a popular category at this weekend’s Open.

“The Master’s Division is one of the fastest growing categories in the Weightlifting community,” Camargo said, adding, “The career path of Masters is different than any other division, Youth, Junior, and Senior. For example, they may make it to international meets at locally sanctioned events, so long as there are certain requirements (which include a minimum of two national referees and a certified scale).”

In order to accommodate the Masters community, the Altamonte Open isolated two Masters sessions, Male and Female, and ensured that there was the necessary level of referees to allow athletes the opportunity to advance to the next level of competition.

"I actually went overboard and secured two International Level referees who were willing to judge at the meet. They were Category 1 referees, which means they are basically at the highest level of refereeing one can obtain,” Camargo said.

Camargo, himself, actually qualified as a Master’s athlete and will advance to the World competition in September.

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