Calling All Hardstyle Kettlebell Athletes in the Southern California Area...here's your chance!

If you miss this you are CRA-ZEE!

I can't believe it's barely been 1 year since I stepped onto a competition platform for the very first time in my 50 years (almost...I was actually 49 at the time!)  I really had NO idea what was about to happen in my life by doing so.....

Last year President and Founder of the OKC, John Wild Buckley, invited me to test my 5 minute snatch test at the California Open Kettlebell Championships in Costa Mesa CA (via Mark).....some of you know the snatch test well.....it's the one that is also a requirement to earn an SFG (rkc) Instructor Certification, and has long been a gold standard in the Hardstyle Kettlebell community.  An athlete has 5 minute to complete 100 snatch reps, based on bodyweight, and age (*see below).  Anybody that has tested for this knows that although it's not a competition or race, we all want to complete our 100 reps in the shortest amount of time, right?  lol  I mean seriously, right after you take your test it's common for the first question one of the other athletes asks is "what time did you get?"

I pride myself in knowing, as an SFG Instructor I can successfully complete my 100 16kg snatch reps under 4.5 min pretty much any day of the week.  But what comes after 100 reps?  I still have at least 30+ seconds!  Well last year I found out! I took the challenge and completed 121 snatch reps, with a competition bell, in the 5 minutes!  21 reps more than what was ever required of me, and a personal record at the time.

So much has happened since.  Since then I took to the sport and practice of a different kind of challenge.  The challenge of Kettlebell Sport's 10 minute sets that only allow one hand switch!  And I've come a long way in less than 1 year.  Here is a video chronicle of my growth as a kettlebell athlete starting with last year's actual event, the one I'm inviting you to try, the California Open Kettlebell Competiton, 5 minute, multiple hand switch.

Orange Kettlebell Club's California Kettlebell Open Championships Feb 2013

16kg 5 minute snatch, multiple hand switch 121 reps

April 2013 Seattle WA

12kg 10 minute snatch 189 reps, one hand switch

August 2013 Berkeley CA

16kg 10 minute snatch, 187 reps, one hand switch

For more information you can go to http://www.orangekettlebellclub.com/ to register.  You can also message me or John Wild Buckley on Face Book, or email me tracyrif@yahoo.com  

This opportunity will be over when registration closes on the 14th.  The 5 minute, multiple hand switch event is open to everybody and anybody that wants to test their ability to NOT put the bell down for 5 continuous minutes.  You chose the weight, the only requirement is that you use a competition bell, or bring your own (cast iron bell).   

Come represent your fellow Instructors, and athletes while testing yourself on one day, at one time, on one platform with one bell!  It's a rush you rarely get the chance to experience!  The OKC welcomed me into the world of competition as a Hardstyle kettlebell athlete, and celebrated what I had been practicing and training for years.  They are welcoming you too!  Please come be a part of the celebration of competition and kettlebells!

I'll be posting more information about this event everyday for the next two weeks as I prepare myself, and my team to compete.  See you there?

*Females under 123lbs 12kg

*Females above 16kg

*Males under 140lbs 20 kg

*Males above 24kg

*Masters, age 50 and over

12kg for females

20 kg for males