DUBOIS, Pa. (WJAC) — The Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League (WPAL) in DuBois held its annual Winter Warrior Showdown weightlifting competition Saturday. The proceeds from the competition go toward the WPAL's youth programs.
"People like tend to think that like weight-lifting's kind of get hard into, but it's really easy," lifter Nathan Shaffer, 18, told 6 News. "You just go to a gym, you'll see if there's a competition or something, and then you lift up the big, heavy circles."
Lifters from around the area got a chance to not only lift some weights — but to also help lift up the youth in this area.
"It's a squat, bench, deadlift event," event co-organizer Michael Gralla. "Three attempts at each, you get your total."
"Just love getting the younger kids out here," he added.
The programs at the DuBois WPAL are free for any kids up to the age of 18, first responders, and military veterans.
"I've been taking a weight-training class at my local high school for like, maybe two or three years," said Shaffer. "And I started, like, getting really seriously into it over the summer."
For a number of years, the Winter Warrior Showdown has brought friends, new and old, together.
"We have probably — out of the 15 to 20 competitors here today, probably 10 of them at least — are people that have come in the previous years," Gralla observed.
Organizers now want to grow the event even more.
"You can do this for a lifetime and it's just something great to get into your daily routine," Gralla said of weight-lifting.
All this, giving young up-and-comers a chance to compete, like Ryan Gildersleeve, 20. He said the reason he keeps coming back to these events is, he's "trying to get stronger and stronger. It's just— it's just fun to compete, you know?"
Shaffer saying: "Sure, I could do a PR test at the gym and maybe like five people will see me. Or, I could come out here and get like a trophy or something and know that I'm actually like progressing fairly well."
All of the proceeds from the competition go to the DuBois WPAL's youth programs, trying to get kids off the streets.
"There's a lot of drug problems," said Gralla. "And getting kids involved in sports and— you know, it doesn't just have to be organized like baseball and football. Bring them in here and, you know, get 'em focused on something that's positive."
He added that this is "a place for the kids to be able to come after school," continuing to say, "just like our hoodies say, it's '[always] for the kids.'"
If you or your child are interested in the WPAL's youth programs, you can click here to visit its website.
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