SUNDRE – Following a strong start to her inaugural year in professional powerlifting, a local resident aims to compete later this summer at westerns in Manitoba.
First, Tamra Dickau will be headed back to Calgary for provincials on June 11.
The 31-year-old Sundre resident had also just recently brought home a gold medal in her weight class from her first-ever professional competition at an Alberta Powerlifting Union sanctioned meet in Calgary this past April.
Originally introduced to the sport during her days in post secondary education primarily as a means of keeping fit and healthy, many years passed before she discovered a taste for competition.
“I dabbled in a little bit of it in college,” Dickau told the Albertan on April 25, adding she at the time was mainly motivated by a desire to maintain a strong level of physical conditioning.
Over time, she suffered knee and shoulder injuries throughout the span of the past 10 or so years.
Then, public health measures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented her from continuing her conditioning at the Sundre & District Aquaplex's indoor fitness centre.
But when restrictions were finally lifted and places starting opening back up unhampered by protocols, she wasted little time returning to a workout routine.
Before long, a chance encounter with another member of the local gym planted the competitive bug in her ear.
“Last year, I was at the gym and I was talking to another person that was there working out and she asked if I was a powerlifter,” Dickau said, adding the fellow gym member encouraged her to consider competing.
“After that, I couldn’t really get it out of my brain,” she said.
After looking into weight requirements for competing, Dickau said she realized she was right in the ball park.
So, she bounced the idea off husband Jerry, who was fully supportive and confident that she’d be a tough contender who gives the competition a run for their money.
Others she spoke with were also supportive, she said.
“It gave me the confidence to actually go and pursue it; and now, I have no plans of quitting powerlifting,” she said.
Equipped with a stalwart, can-do attitude and a desire to test her mettle complemented by the supportive morale boost, Dickau began earlier in the new year to look into registering for the April 15 event in Calgary.
As a result of a busy work schedule, she was unable to register fast enough to sign up to compete in all three of the powerlifting disciplines: squat, bench press, and deadlift.
“They were full on the three lifts by the time I was able to register,” she said.
But she was able to register to compete in the bench press category and went onto bring home a gold medal.
“I was first in my weight class,” she said, adding she also got the best overall female lifter for bench pressing 75 kilograms (kg), or about 165.4 pounds (lbs).
Overall, there were 24 women lifting across all divisions and weight classes, and Dickau said she placed second and was also presented a plaque engraved Best Female Lifter.
“So, it came out very well,” she said, adding that performance qualified her not only to compete in provincials this coming June but also regionals in Brandon, Manitoba in August.
Her personal records to date are 113.4 kg (250 lbs) for a squat lift, 79.8 kg (176 lbs) for a bench press, and 108.9 kg (240 lbs) for a deadlift.
The desire to see her ability to perform improve motivates her to stay committed to her training, which involves spending plenty of time at the gym seven days a week, of which at least five are dedicated to lifting with another two reserved for recovery with a focus on mobility and flexibility to prevent injury, she said.
Essentially an individual athletic discipline until one reaches world’s and for example receives an invitation to represent the nation on the global stage with Team Canada, Dickau said she does not have a coach and is her own trainer, having along the way developed her own training regimen through trial and error.
As she is not sponsored or part of a club, the only hurdle Dickau faces to compete in Manitoba is not physical but financial. So, she plans to solicit support with a goal of securing about $1,000 while along the way raising awareness about powerlifting to increase the sport’s profile.
Provided she is able to raise enough funds, Dickau said she intends to compete in Manitoba to continue accruing experience toward her fledgling powerlifting career. From there, she hopes to do well enough to qualify for nationals, which will be hosted in Prince Edward Island at a yet-to-be-determined date.
Looking ahead, Dickau said she also intends to get registered earlier next season for the meets in Calgary with plans to compete in all three lifts in the future.
