IL WSO January 2025 Newsletter
Illinois State Championship Best Women’s Lifter “The Corinne Grotenhuis” Award
While she may be small in stature, the impact Corinne Grotenhuis has had upon the world of USA Weightlifting has been immense. Not only is she an accomplished competitor, lifting in numerous national and international competitions, but she is also an IWF judge and was one of the judges at the Olympic Games. She was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2022, a well-deserved honor for someone who has not only been a competitor but given so much back to the sport of Weightlifting. Based upon her extensive experience and dedication to the sport it was an easy decision from the Illinois WSO Board of Directors to bestow on her yet one more honor. The Corinne Grotenhuis Award will now be the official name of the Women’s best lifter at the Illinois State Championship.
For those who may be new to the sport it seems fitting for all of us to get to know Corinne a bit better. While she does not like talking about herself and getting her to open up was no easy task, she agreed to an interview and share some of her experience and background.
IL WSO: Can you please tell us about when you first began lifting and your earliest memory of weightlifting?
Corinne: My earliest memory was going to watch the women’s second annual weightlifting championships in St Charles, Illinois in 1982. Not having any idea of what Olympic weightlifting was. I just wanted to compete in bodybuilding at age 15. My coach at the time, saw my potential and decided to “get me stronger” through Olympic weightlifting before going into bodybuilding. However, 44 years later, I never looked back.
IL WSO: Who was your first coach?
Corinne: My first coach was Mike Huszka Sr., followed by Roger Nielsen, John Thrush from Washington State, and then back to Mike Gattone and Roger again. Currently being coached by Jim White.
IL WSO: Do you remember your first competition and results?
Corinne: I do remember my first meet was the Illinois state championship in 1983, but do not know my results. I do remember being so nervous!
IL WSO: What events do you think have shaped the current state of women's weightlifting?
Corinne: We all know that CrossFit was the main reason for our growth in weightlifting. We have so many more women coming into the sport with a more athletic background then before. I think the athletic ability of our youth, teens, juniors, senior and master athletes are so much more and able to be so successful earlier on now. I also think that with the knowledge that coaches offer today, including clinics, help athletes achieve much more.
IL WSO: Who inspired you most as a weightlifter and official?
Corinne: I never had one person that completely shaped my thoughts and views on lifting. I learned from numerous coaches what I could and could not do. I watched my friends and learned through their training what also would help me become a better lifter. My parents were both athletes and always said, if you start something you need to finish it and you cannot give up. I learned and asked questions through my mentors to become a successful technical official.
IL WSO: What advice would you give to new lifters? More specifically, what advice you have for the future female weightlifters in the sport?
Corinne: I would advise women coming up in the sport to learn as much as possible about the sport, to volunteer and give back to the sport. It has always been important to me to give back and have the younger female population take over when my generation is too old to continue.
IL WSO: In honor of all that you have accomplished, and will continue to accomplish, for women in the sport of weightlifting you are being honored as a namesake for the women's best lifter at Illinois state. We know that you do not like to talk about yourself much, but can you tell us about what this distinction means to you?
Corinne: I am truly honored to have this award named after me. I hope that the recipients of this award know how much work I have put into this sport, and they will follow in my footsteps.
The impression that Corinne Grotenhuis has had upon the sport of Weightlifting is larger than any of us realize and every future IL State recipient of this award is but one small part of the legacy that Corinne has established. She has set the bar high for us all.
Let's Talk Weigh in!
Just a few guidelines to get you through weigh-ins quickly.
· As you know weigh-ins will begin 2 hours before the start of the competition. You have 1 hour allotted for weigh-ins.
· Please come to weigh in with your singlet on, no t-shirt or leggings underneath. Please make sure your singlet is over your shoulders.
· Socks and watches should be removed before getting on the scale. Ideally, it would be great if you had those off before you walk into the weigh in room.
· Remember your starting attempts when you walk in. some of you are nervous and seem to forget, write it on your hand if needed. Just trying to be quick and not having to pull it up on your phone, takes time. Most importantly it is to remember that the opening attempts are in kilos, not pounds. That takes a lot of time trying to figure out what the conversion is.
· Remember that the goal is to get in and out of the weigh in room as quickly as you can. There are plenty of people behind you who are hangry and want to eat and drink.
· If you are trying to gain weight, please know that you can come and weigh in as many times as you need to make weight. You will not need to go to the end of the line. You will be able to jump ahead of the next person.
· 250 grams are allowed with your singlet on. It does not need to be the singlet in which you are competing.
As a reminder, these are simple reminders to get in and out of weigh-ins quickly. If you plan on not competing, please make sure you tell the meet director or someone who will be attending the meet that you are unable to attend so that the technical officials are not waiting for the full hour.
Upcoming Illinois Competitions
January 25-26 2025 - 2025 Chicago Open
May 3-4, 2025 - 2025 Illinois WSO Championships
Looking for more events? Check out the Find an Event button on the IL WSO Website.
IL WSO Programs
Our Youth Development Fund allows meet directors to allow Youth athletes to compete for free.
The Equipment Rental Program gives meet directors all the equipment they need to run a meet.
Our Equipment Donation collects gently used shoes, etc. and offers them for free to anyone in need.
Annually, the IL WSO Coaching Development Scholarships help young coaches refine their coaching skills.
Check out the Illinois Weightlifting Website for Illinois State records and more.
If you need additional information about Weightlifting in Illinois, do not reply to this email but please contact illinoisweightlifting@gmail.com
2025 Illinois State Championships Announced
2025 Illinois WSO Championships will be held May 3-4 2025 at West Aurora High School, Aurora IL. Stay tuned for more information
2024 Illinois WSO Championship Pictues Available!
The 2024 Illinois WSO Championship picture are now available for anyone to download for FREE. See the Photo Galleries menu up top for this years and previous years pitures. Enjoy!
2024 Illinois State Records Updated!
How to your lifts compare? The Illinois State Records have been updted with the results form the 2024 Illinois WSO Championship. Records can be found by crolling down on the main page.
2024 Illinois State WSO Championships Live Stream
We will Live Stream the competition on the @illinois_weightlifting Instagram page.
See the 24ILST Live Stream page for details.
Congratulations to the 2024 Coaching Scholarship Winners!
Congratulations to the Illinois Coaches who were selected to receive the 2024 IL WSO Coaching Development Scholarships.
BIPOC Scholarships
Kalvin Agueta
Sydney Chavez
Marcos Rodriguez
Ashley Avila
Womens Scholarships
Riley Stefan
Breanna McNally
Kelly Simpson
Emily Cornwell
2024 Illinios WSO Championship Entries are OPEN!
Looking to participate in the biggest event in 2024 Illinois weightlifting … sign up to compete! Sign Up Here!
South Loop Strength and Conditioning is ready to welcome The State Championship back to Chicago!
This will be a two-day meet with a 130 person cap. There will be 5 sessions each day. All weight classes and all ages are welcome to participate. Illinois WSO will sponsor youth lifters and no fee will be required. The meet entry fee is $85 for all open and masters athletes. We will honor refunds for cancellations made in advance, all cancellations 21 days (3 weeks) from the meet will not be refunded.
Medals will be given to Open athletes per IWF protocol, for master’s age groups by SMHF and
for Youth / Junior athletes by Sinclair.
The Illinois State Championship Best Lifter Award will be named “The Clyde Emrich Illinois
State Championship Best Lifter Award” to honor Clyde Emrich – the first Weightlifting
Olympian from the state of Illinois and a pillar in the weightlifting communities.
The start list will be sent out two weeks in advance. Sessions will be organized by weight class.
The deadline for changing your weight class or entry total is two weeks before the meet. We will not make last-minute changes. The finalized start list will be sent out two weeks before the meet. If you don’t make weight, you may still lift but you will not be eligible to medal or qualify for other meets in your declared weight class.
Additional details will be emailed to you closer to the date of the competition. Please feel free to reach out to Taylor Perry, or Kris Mackewicz regarding any questions you may have.
See you soon!
2024 Illinois State Championships Announced
Welcome to the new site.
State will be hosted this year by @southloopsc @taytayfitness59 @krismack744. Registration will open January 22nd, the meet date is April 27th,28th. 2 day meet, 130 person cap. More details will be released soon! Registration will be on www.usaweightlifting.org. In the mean time, please feel free to contact the meet directors if you have any questions.
.
taylor@southloopsc.com
kris@southloopsc.com
Introducing the new and improved website.
Welcome to the new site.
It took a while, but we finally have a replcement for the USAW provided website that we used previously. Look around and let us know how you like the new site. FInd a typo, let us know. Love the new site, let us know. Have an idea what we could add to the site, let us know!