The weight of the world

Jace Smith has a lot of weight on his shoulders — literally. As an up-and-coming weightlifter, this Hammonds Plains high schooler is used to holding several hundred pounds over his head.

But that weight is figurative, too. He’s about to head to Junior Nationals in Regina, only the second Nova Scotian to do so in the past 15 years, and is hopeful to help grow the sport again here at home.

Jace’s story didn’t start out at the gym, but rather the basketball court.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was around eight years old,” says Jace, who is now a 16-year-old 11th grader. “When basketball gets more competitive, you start going to the gym, so I came here.”

However, at five feet, seven inches, Jace was one of the shortest members of his team.

“A lot of those guys were a lot taller and lanky, so they were more proportionate to that [sport],” says Isaac Smith (no relation), co-owner of Crossfit Exertion, the gym Jace and his basketball team went to train. “Jace was able to play with them just because he was so powerful.”

Smith’s gym is a crossfit gym, which is a gym that tailors to a hybrid of different fitness modalities, including gymnastics, calisthenics, powerlifting, and their specialty, weightlifting. Smith saw the potential in Jace’s physical strength, to be able to play competitive ball alongside taller players, to be great in the sport of weightlifting.

“Isaac just one day asked me, ‘Do you want to come try this weightlifting thing?’” says Jace, who decided to give it a try. “It just came to a point where it was like, I’m good at basketball, and I could be really great at weightlifting. That’s where I can be more competitive, and just be better at that sport.”

It’s been about a year since then, and Jace has managed to qualify for Junior Nationals in that short a time. And the timing is perfect, according to Smith, because the sport is on the upswing here on the East Coast for the first time in decades.

“Nova Scotia weightlifting has just had its recent resurgence since the ’90s, so we’re just starting up the organization again,” says Smith, who believes that the growing popularity of crossfit gyms, which invest in rubber floor plating to allow weightlifters to drop their weights like in competitions, is part of the reason for the sport’s revival. “Personally, him and I are tired of the East Coast as the small East Coast. At least in the athletic world, no one expects much from someone from the East Coast — even ourselves. Our purpose is to change that — we want to be a powerhouse.”

Jace was initially unaware of the doldrums the sport had languished in provincially until relatively recently, but now that he knows that he’s representing East Coast weightlifting on a national scale, he’s happy to be its poster boy.

“It’s very surprising, and I’m really honoured,” says Jace. “I can represent the sport.”

“He’s a pioneer of a sport that’s now in its resurgence,” adds Smith. “He’s definitely going to be a role model for a lot of the kids that are going to be coming up.”

Jace and Smith leave for Regina on Jan. 14, to be ready to compete by Jan. 16. But that trip is going to cost a pretty penny for Jace, to the tune of $2,300.

“Flights are a bit expensive, plus registration, plus hotel. He needs a singlet, food…he’s doing a lot of this on his own,” says Smith, who has set up a GoFundMe account to help Jace cover the costs. “We want to be able to help him out as much as we possibly can.”

Jace, who is a full-time student and also works part-time, hasn’t had time to fundraise himself, but he plans to go regardless, even if the trip comes out-of-pocket. But with the support of friends and family, he’s already gotten a fair bit of help toward his goal.

“So far, we’ve raised $950, which is amazing,” says Jace, who would be grateful for any support that the community-at-large has to offer. “It would be a big help. Anything would be a big help.”

If you’re interested in bearing some of Jace’s weight by lending support to help grow the sport, you can donate to his GoFundMe account at www.gofundme.com/dwdmbe4k. You can also help grow the sport of weightlifting here at home just by getting it a try yourself, according to Jace.

“I would say go for it. It does seem pretty intimidating…but I mean, if you have the right coach and the right training, it’s totally fine, and it’s a good way to get in shape,” says Jace, who is far from afraid of a little extra local competition. “I’m a competitive guy, so more competition would push me to go harder.”