A new weightlifting competition to remember a longtime guidance counselor at Pella Christian High School is set to take place in December. 

The inaugural Gene Van Wyk Bench Press Championship will be held in the Pella Christian high school gym on Monday, December 22nd, with a warm-up time starting at 3:30 pm and instructions to follow at 5:00 pm. As part of the competition, each lifter will get three official lifts, with up to 3 minutes of rest between attempts if needed. Additionally, there will be four age divisions for high school students, college students, an open division, and a masters division, with different weight classes for all divisions. Russ Van Wyk says that registration to participate in the competition is $30, and that each participant will be fed and be able to win prizes.

“With that you get a free t-shirt and you’ll get a ticket for supper that will be held there. And then also, if you happen to win your weight class or bench press the most, my good friend Tim Beyer who owns Red Rock Sign and Design is going to be there that night with all his equipment. And if you win your division you’ll get a sticker that says you’re the champion of that weight class, and then you could bring that over to Tim, and he will press that onto your t-shirts.

Gene passed away from stomach cancer on April 1st, 1998, and the bench press championship is being held to celebrate him founding Pella Christian’s weightlifting program and him being an early advocate for organized school weightlifting tournaments. Find registration details here.