The first annual Alexander Burgess Memorial Powerlifting Meet was held on December 10, 2022 in Machipisa, Zimbabwe, in the northern province of Harare. The meet was conducted as the first step in the efforts by Alex’s family to grow the athletic resources available for young people in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Church Development Ministry (ZCDM) is based in Mashoko, Zimbabwe, about six hours south of Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare. ZCDM provides hope through education and biblical truth to many in Zimbabwe, where political and economic chaos creates hopelessness. Northern Hills Christian Church (NHCC) has been a long-time supporter of ZCDM, and a close friend of its founders, Stephen Chikwati and his wife Angella. Athletics provide a way for young people to focus their energy, instead of drugs or other negative behaviors, and athletic resources available to the local community help support the ZCDM’s mission.
What is Powerlifting?
Athletes of all strength and skill levels can participate in the sport of powerlifting. Long steel bars hold the weights at each end and are lifted from one of three positions – from the floor, from a shoulder high rack, or lifted from a lower rack while laying on a bench facing upward. Powerlifters seek to consistently increase the amount of weight they can successfully lift, and strength training is the means for them to achieve this. As new powerlifters see the gains in their performance they are often motivated to continue to improve and training becomes an important part of their lives, and provides hope for a better future.
Background on the First Annual Alexander Burgess Memorial Powerlifting Meet
The meet was conducted by the Lift4Life organization to help advance the sport of powerlifting in the African country of Zimbabwe. Lift4Life ( www.lift4life-worldwide.org ) is a charitable organization founded by Alex’s friend and powerlifting mentor John C. Downing, a high school teacher at Reynoldsburg High School and coach of the Ohio State University Powerlifting team.
The Lift4Life organization’s mission is to use strength training and the formal sport of powerlifting as a vehicle to empower communities around the world. Stephen told John that “we have no gym in our area and having one will definitely attract different kinds of people.” The first annual Alexander Burgess Memorial Powerlifting Meet served to introduce new members of the community in Zimbabwe to the sport, and as the first step in establishing new powerlifting gym facilities in the southern province of Masvingo, in the city of Masvingo and in Mashoko, about two hours to the east.
The first meet was a great success - drawing 37 powerlifters to participate, including two blind lifters and two paraplegic lifters, as well as over 200 spectators! Many thanks to Life4Life, John Downing and Coach Audrey for a successful event!
Background on Alexander Burgess – the driving force behind the meet
Alexander (Alex) is the late son of Ted and Anita Burgess, members of NHCC. Alex graduated from St. Xavier High School in 2013. He was a four year varsity swimmer at St. Xavier, and the swim team was the Ohio state champion all four years. Alex, like his teammates, trained hard to achieve these results, and that training included work in the weight room to build strength. Over his high school career, Alex came to enjoy his weight training work. When he went to college at Miami University, Alex continued weight lifting and swimming for the club swim team. Alex quickly found that weight training fit his study schedule better than competitive swimming and he became an avid powerlifter. While at Miami, Alex competed in national powerlifting meets and he continued to train and compete while in graduate school at Ohio University, where he received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2020.
Alex passed away suddenly during the Co-Vid lockdowns while working as a physical therapist in West Virginia. His family sponsored this meet in loving memory of Alex, the friendships he forged participating in powerlifting, in support of the Lift4Life program and in the hope that, through ZCDM, others will benefit from the sport of powerlifting in Zimbabwe.
Bringing New Gyms to Southern Zimbabwe
Ted and Anita recognized the opportunity to work with Lift4Life to expand the sport of powerlifting in Zimbabwe, and in doing so support and advance the missions of both Lift4Life and ZCDM. A gift from Alex’s estate enabled Lift4Life to host the first annual meet and establish the new gym in Masvingo.
The venue for the new gym is the Masvingo sports club, a stadium used mainly for cricket matches. There are several rooms in the stadium available for the powerlifting gym. The stadium is an attractive venue as it is well established, supported financially by cricket matches, and importantly it is centrally located for the whole community. When told about Lift4Life’s plans for the gym, Stephen said he was “excited to hear about Lift4Life” and to work with John to discuss a path forward for the new gyms. Building of the equipment for the Masvingo gym is currently underway using local contractors. It is expected that equipping a new gym in Mashoko will quickly follow soon after.
In Conclusion
Alex was a big supporter of Lift4Life and its mission, so Ted and Anita are supporting the organization in his honor by funding the annual meets in Zimbabwe, and the equipment to outfit the new powerlifting gyms in southern Zimbabwe as part of his legacy.
The first meet was a great success, and they look forward to the second annual meet and, who knows – perhaps a visit to Zimbabwe some day!