Powerlifting promoter sees potential in Laconia

LACONIA — The City on the Lakes is known for Motorcycle Week and Pumpkinfest, a place to play on the water or catch a show. One resident hopes to add another identity to that list: a city where serious iron is thrown around.

On Friday, Aug. 2, and Sunday, Aug. 4, Laconia High School will host the RAW Powerlifting New Hampshire State Championships. It’s an event brought by promoter Pat O’Reilly, who hopes to grow it into a regional, and ultimately international-level, competition.

O’Reilly, a member of the LHS class of 1997, played football into his college years, then switched to powerlifting, a sport he competed in for 13 years — including setting a bench press record at the Amateur World Powerlifting Congress when he was 23.

He has kept up with strength training, using it as a positive example for people he encounters in his day job with Belknap County Corrections. At the county jail, he often comes into contact with people whose substance misuse disorders have led them to incarceration.

“I try letting them know there’s a healthy addiction,” such as fitness, O’Reilly said. “It motivates you, it changes your mindset and it holds you accountable.”

Yet it’s been a difficult sport to participate in locally, as there weren’t any local events. Recently, O’Reilly accompanied Craig Kozens, former LHS football coach and current athletic director, to a competition in Pennsylvania. O’Reilly cornered the president of RAW Powerlifting there to ask why that was. The answer was because there wasn’t anyone to manage the region’s events.

“He said I could have the New England region,” O’Reilly said, which is how he came to organize his first competition at LHS. “I wanted to start where my roots are. It’s helped define who I am today.”

O’Reilly wants to host a New England-wide competition in Laconia within five years, and national and even worldwide events not too far after that. But first, he needs to build a foundation.

This weekend’s events will be limited to the bench press. Friday, Aug. 2, will be for youth and teen competitors. Weigh-in will be held on Thursday evening and Friday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., a technical meeting for athletes will be held at 3 p.m., and the lifting will start at 4 p.m. On Sunday, Aug. 4, competitors in the juniors and older divisions will be held, with weigh-in held Saturday and again on Sunday prior to the event, a technical meeting at 9:30 a.m. and lifting starting at 10:30 a.m. Spectators are welcome, and a $10 admission fee will be donated to support Laconia Sachems Football.

At RAW’s first NH competition, the winner in every category will set, by definition, a new record.

RAW Powerlifting is a federation that doesn’t permit performance-enhancing drugs, and competitors will be asked to submit to random drug screens. Nor will lifters be permitted to use assistive equipment, such as shirts that help wearers lift heavier weights.

“It’s just you, the bar and the weights,” O’Reilly said.

O’Reilly thinks there could be fertile ground to create a culture of powerlifting in his hometown. Laconia has long had a tradition of athletic performance, and the current generation of teenagers now have a better understanding of the practices of high-performing athletes thanks to social media. Young fans see their heroes stretching, training and calculating their nutrition needs, all to get the most out of their bodies. “Part of what I’m working on is to bring those aspects to them, bring that mindset of elite athletes,” O’Reilly said.

For more information, visit rawpowerlifting.com.

Inviting atmosphere

Kozens, who helped introduce O’Reilly to RAW, said he’s grateful he will have an event nearby. “Powerlifting isn’t just about winning the meet, but the ability to set goals and meet personal goals. It’s a great lifetime skill and healthy hobby. Me personally, I’d rather spend two hours in the gym than [on] a golf course any day,” Kozens said.

As the association is drug-free and equipment-free, “it is a very inviting group that supports all lifters,” Kozens said. “It has been a great experience. Having a New England location and better yet a local location will hopefully motivate people to get involved.”