Geoff, awesome depth on your jerk squat - did you scrape your knee? Great control on the bar return on all attempts, too. Hats off for getting all six - did you go for a final bonus attempt off-camera? (My LWC does this if you make all 6, just for kicks)

Wade, I love your homey gym corner! And are those metal plates? Bad ass! Good dump on your final C&J attempt.

Jeff, nice use of your garage. You nail the landing in the snatch, and in general your form looks tight. I believe Kris used your silhouette for the T-shirt. My heart went out to you in the jerks. It was all there; you just looked slow today.

I'm looking to you guys for how to pull off this dress code without looking ridiculous. I think Wade's shirt tuck is a good way to go.

Thanks for the jerk kudos, guys. It's the one thing I can do right. I just moved jerk blocks into my gym last night, so I'm about to bust that way out.

Kris, my final C&J attempt short clip - that was when my battery died. As you can see, timing couldn't have been more dramatic.

Thanks all for making the meet happen. Bigger, stronger, faster!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Looking forward to being on the platform with you all again next year.

Geoff: why the same weight on the 2nd and 3rd snatch attempts?  The 3rd was definitely better, but the second looked passable.

Jeff, I was worried in my second attempt that one elbow locked prior to the other, and the one that was delayed was pressed out 

Kat, no knee scrape 

No bonus lift, I was somewhat hesitant to even enter this meet, I don't practice the O lifts at all. I do now though, I hope to have the snatch much heavier next time as well as work on my clean catch, as my press is much more comfortable (as I think is noticeable  )

Just noticed this: A judge turned down my C&J's for bad attire? 

Really?

Wade, the second judge flagged down a total of seven lifts for bad_attire. I strongly suspect he simply meant to use another failure reason. With the exception of your third snatch attempt, which got one white, all of these seven lifts were three reds so the calls themselves were definitively well-grounded.

Not disputing or complaining, I just thought it was funny.  I so clearly failed on the lift in question that three reds was a given.  Being poorly dressed for it simply wasn't a reason I had considered as a possibility for failure.

Sorry if my amusement didn't come across very well.

Here's my current thinking on attire for weightlifting. It's just not the same as powerlifting, where a suit can give you an advantage. Lets look at the areas separately:

Elbow/knee/wrist wraps: seem sensible for older lifters and those with joint issues. I'd rather see people who use these compete rather than be put off. The primary concern should be safety, then inclusiveness. The only issue I can see with judging is the elbows pressing out, so maybe elbow wraps are out. Depth isn't judged so knees are a non-issue. Plus, overwrap the knee and you can't get depth, so too much disadvantages yourself.

Belts: Safety for the lower back. I'd use one if you're at risk.

Shoes: if you lift without shoes, you're most likely disadvantaging yourself. It's still safer than wearing inappropriate footwear. If you're determined to compete and you can't afford WL shoes, I'd rather see barefoot than a pair of squashy soles, sandals or flip-flops. Again, safety first.

T-shirt and shorts vs singlets: I think either should be allowed. WL singlets offer no advantage over T-shirt and shorts other than added safety against catching clothes on the bar. If you've got one you should use it.

I know the whole point of attire rules is to make competition more uniform and fair, but you're only going to be 100% fair on the same platform with the same bar. I'd rather see more people lifting, and lifting safely.

I've been wondering about the singlets.  I have two now and they are very comfortable to lift in.  I used shirt and shorts in the weightlifting meet because that's what the rules stated was the required attire, but can you wear a singlet if you have one?  Or two (I'd only wear one at a time...promise.)?

I've also rallied here for singlets to be allowed in weightlifting. Warren, you make great points. It's true, they don't really assist, like powerlifting suits, but they do allow you to concentrate on the lift by keeping it smooth, and also, keep tummies from being exposed.

Whaddya think, Kris? Any chance you might revisit this?

First of all, I must say I am delighted every time I see people seriously interested in the weightlifting meets (especially now that I am again thinking about what meets to offer in 2011... good timing there).

And yeah, I am definitively very open to allowing singlets in the weightlifting events. Singlets were actually allowed up to August 2007, but those were the dark ages a full year before virtual weightlifting was introduced (whoa, time flies). Up until that time nobody had actually worn them either so singlets have yet to be seen in virtualmeets. My main argument for not allowing singlets in weightlifting has always been to keep the clothing/gear rules uniform across events. But as this issue keeps popping up and everyone so far has been in favor of allowing them, I think there may be bigger benefits to be had by allowing singlets instead of forcing everyone to lift in gear that is pretty atypical to weightlifting (again, live and learn  ). Unlike in powerlifting, where it is a fine line between a true singlet and supportive gear, I fully agree with you all that there would be no real issues with allowing singlets for weightlifting either.

Now to more pressing issues: about when would you fine folks like to debut your singlets on the virtual stage?

WHOO-HOO!!! 

I am thrilled to read this! Really great news, as figuring out how to make an outfit work has been a growing headache for me in the VM.

As to when, hmm, we need a spring meet, April or June, a fall meet, pry Sept., and a winter meet is just plain fun.