USA Weightlifting and Canadian Weightlifting Fédération Haltérophile Canadienne (CWFHC) announced on Friday April 17th that they have established a partnership to hold the North American Open Series starting in 2021. The competitions will be made up of four events that both Americans and Canadians will be eligible to compete in, culminating with the North American Open Finals in December of next year.
The announcement also revealed when and where each of those events are currently scheduled to take place.
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According to USA Weightlifting’s CEO Phil Andrews:
“We are excited to be joined by our Canadian friends in the North American Open Series, we feel this will add an additional sense of competition and magnitude to the event for both American and Canadian athletes.”
The decision for the partnership followed a consideration of the economic impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the sport.
“By moving to a combined format, we put ourselves in a position to acquire more desirable locations and venues while driving down the total cost to compete across the year.”
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2021 North American Open Series Calendar
Of the four competitions that make up the North American Open Series, three will be held in the United States and one will be held in Canada.
North American Open Series East
The first competition in the series will be the North American Open Series East, which will include the National University Championship, set to take place at the Arnold Sports Classic (ASC) on March 4-7 in Columbus, Ohio.
National Championships Week
The second competition in the series is National Championships Week — consisting of the Youth, Junior, Under 25, and Senior National Championships — currently scheduled to take place in June 2021. A site for National Championships Week has not yet been determined.
North American Open Series West
The North American Open Series West is the only competition in the series that will take place in Canada and is scheduled September. The specific site for the competition has not yet been determined.
North American Open Finals
North American Open Series will culminate in December with the The North American Open Finals set to take place in Denver, Colorado.
Craig Walker, the President of CWFHC, said in the announcement, “We believe this collaboration will have far-reaching benefits for our sport and host communities alike.”
Feature image from CWFHC’s Instagram page: @cwfhc
