Islanders heading to Florida

Annual North American championships begin today

“It’s great to see some of P.E.I.’s young lifters taking interest in national and international competition.”

John MacDonald, powerlifter , and P.E.I. Powerlifting Association president

P.E.I. is sending four competitors to the 15th annual North American Regional Powerlifting Championships in Orlando, Fla., July 3-8th.

Canada is sending a total of 24 powerlifters, including the Islanders.

Jacob Sinnott will be competing in classic powerlifting in the sub-junior, 105kg class.

Justin Smith, also classic, is in the junior, 83kg class and Logan Vessey is in the classic,j, 105kg class.

John MacDonald, competing in equipped powerlifting, is in the Open, 105kg class.

While MacDonald and Smith have represented Canada on the international stage before, this will be the first time for Sinnott and Vessey.

“It’s great to see some of P.E.I.’s young lifters taking interest in national and international competition,’’ said MacDonald, who also serves as president of the P.E.I. Powerlifting Association. “P.E.I. has some very strong lifters and they are stepping up and showing what they can do”.

All of P.E.I.’s lifters are ranked high enough to reach the podium heading into the event. A live stream of the competition can be found at powerlifting.ca.