The British Columbia Powerlifting Association's 2013 Winter Open Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships will be taking place on Sunday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The championships feature 103 athletes, ranging from the ages of 16 to competitors in their 60s.
The BCPA hosts three events annually with an average of 40 to 50 entries at each competition. Due to the volume of competitors for this event, there will be two platforms running simultaneously.
The majority of competitors will be looking to qualify for the National Championships, which also take place at the Oval from March 19-22.
Typically, athletes are successfully lifting two to three times their bodyweight.
All BCPA athletes are subject to drug testing both in contest and out of contest. Doping control is carried out by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines - also used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
The BCPA also provides the platform for B.C. Special Olympics, Paralympic Athletes and also athletes competing in the International Blind Sports Federation.
