Tokyo 2020: Female powerlifters wanted!

To attract more female athletes to powerlifting and improve gender equality in the sport, World Para Powerlifting has developed “She Can Lift” – a new programme centred on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The project also intends to increase the technical knowledge and the number of certified female coaches and technical officials, as well as boost the image of female participation in Para powerlifting.

World Para Powerlifting has ten bodyweight categories for men and women and will have an equal number of qualification slots for both genders at Tokyo 2020.

“It’s fantastic to see a project like ‘She Can Lift’: Women in Para Powerlifting being launched,” said Jenny Ortiz Cardenas, World Para Powerlifting Level 2 Technical Official and Course Educator.

“By providing these opportunities for women, they will feel empowered and inspired. These coaches and technical officials will create a more open and comfortable environment and encourage more female athletes to competing in para powerlifting,” Cardenas added.

“She Can Lift” includes the development, creation and implementation of gender-specific content and resources for coaches, technical officials courses and the delivery of this content in target regions.

It was one of the projects selected by the Agitos Foundation’s 2018 Grant Support Programme, in which 63 applications from National Paralympic Committees and International Federations received funding for development and implementation.

“This project is central to increasing the number of women involved in the sport. It marks our ongoing commitment toward gender equality,” said Dillon Richardson, Development Co-ordinator of World Para Powerlifting.

“By targeting and training female coaches and technical officials in different regions, we hope to boost females’ involvement and participation, and to inspire similar projects take place at the national level,” Richardson said.

In the coming months, World Para Powerlifting will be collaborating with key technical officials, coaches, athletes and gender equity experts to develop content and resources for the programme.

“She Can Lift” is expected to take place ahead of several competitions in 2019.