28th November
A 3 lift challenge
Today Ben took a new challenge competing in his first 3 lift competition which comprises a 
squat, bench press and deadlift. Having practised for the last few months Ben performed well in the event taking 2nd place in the open competition behind George Leggett.
He finished with a squat of 112.5kg, a bench of 85kg and an impressive dealift of 152.5kg giving a total of 350kg and just 20kg behing George who was equipped while Ben was unequipped. The real challenge will come next year in the British Finals but we are confident that Ben will do very well indeed.
12th October
All but the Nigerians
Zoe has this morning competed in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the competition was set up a little differently from usual as athletes didn't compete in teh usual bodyweight classes but instead all female athletes compete together and a formula is used to determine who is the best taking into account differences in bodyweight.
Despite being placed in the second group and therefore expected to finish in the bottom half of the overall field Zoe put up a fight equalled her personal best of 85kg and beat of competition from all countries except Nigeria.
The top three places were all taken by athletes from Nigeria but Zoe managed to place just behind them in 4th place and secure herself as a real contender for future international competitions. There were 12 female athletes in the event so placing so high should be a real boost for Zoe and show she is one for the future.
3rd October
Advantage of Experience
At the Anglian Open Bench Press Championships Ben once 
again took to the platform in an open competition and managed a very impressive second place in the unequipped competition with a final lift of 85kg. While close to securing the 87.5kg Ben lost out to Steven Dodd who finished on 90kg but who also has more than 30 years competition experience already. Ben at just 15 is truly showing what an increase he has made this year as Steven had to play tactics to ensure he secured first place.
In an open competition Ben was up against all ages which makes it even tougher for someone so young and also new to the sport. Since taking up Powerlifting competitively Ben has managed to increase the weight on the bar by 12.5kg or around a 15% increase in performance in just 8 months.
Ben will now be preparing to take on 3 lift powerlifting at the end of November and prove he is an up and coming star in this as well as bench pressing.
25th July 2010
Best in the World
Today in the humid city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Zoe took to 
the stage in the IPC World Powerlifting Championships in her regular under 40kg class. She came out with a confident 77.5kg and followed this up with an equally impressive 82.5kg. Despite lifting 85kg to match her personal best achieved only a month before this was not given in a two to one decision by the referees.
After all the lifting was finished Zoe managed to place 4th in the senior element of the competition within a group of 12 registered lifters. However within the junior category Zoe walked away with the gold medal and first place with the closest junior finishing on 65kg.
Zoe is extremely pleased with this performance and hope to improve on it further when she attends the commonwealth games in India later this year.
20th June 2010
Crowned British Champion
Ben lifted today at the unequipped British Championships in Milton Keynes and pulled out an impressive performance of 77.5kg to win the British title. Along with this title Ben can now increase the records he already holds as well as adding a fourth record of ‘British Bench Press in the under 67.5kg class' to his increasing list of accolades.
Ben has had an exceptional time at competitions so far with his record speaking for itself, in only his third competition he has managed to beat his personal best on each occasion as well as securing four records and a British title.
Everyone at the club is really pleased with how Ben has done as he is an important member of the club always keen to learn and help others wherever possible he is a pleasure to work with.
11th June 2010
Great Britain Squad
Today Zoe has been offered and accepted a place in the GB squad that will be attending the IPC World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next month. Zoe will be accompanied on the trip by coach Louise and hopefully this will be as successful as previous events for Zoe as she progresses towards London 2012.
5th June 2010 
Easy Lifting
Today Zoe took to the competition arena once again in the IPC British Championships and made her lifts look comfortable. She opened on 80kg and for her second lift went to 83kg which set a new European Junior Record as well as British Junior and Senior Records. The record was then increased with a third and final lift of 85kg.
Having increased her total by 10kg in the last year Zoe was then given the award for most improved lifter at the end of the competition, a most deserved recognition for the hard work that has been done in the last year.
Zoe will be heading off to India for the Commonwealth Games later in the year and hopefully will increase on the success that she has had so far.
Record Breaker
Zoe is no longer the only record breaker at the Suffolk Spartans. We have just heard that the lifts completed in March and April by Ben Cattermole have been ratified and added to the records within GBPF. Ben now holds the following 3 records from his first 2 competitions:
British Bench Press in the under 60kg class
British Unequipped Bench Press in the under 60kg class
British Unequipped Bench Press in the under 67.5kg class
These records are all within the under 16 years of age records but Ben had to meet minimum standards to be able to claim these records. Everyone at the club is incredible pleased with how successful he has become in a very short space of time and he will only improve with age and the dedication that he shows every week, we believe this will be the first on many more records in the future.
All records from the GBPF can be found at www.gbpf.org.uk/Competitions/records
Top of the World
IPC Powerlifting has just released the world rankings for each category and we are extremely pleased to find that our very own Zoe Newson is ranked number 1 within her class and Nathaniel Wilding is ranked number 2 within his class. These rankings are extremely important in the selection process as athletes prepare for London 2012 and while they only include competitions that have been held this year they demonstrate how far these two have come in the last 3 years.
In addition to this the IPC are also recording the best performances for all athletes in the year. Within 2009 Zoe had the 2nd best performance across all athletes and competitions while Nathaniel came 11th. Everyone at the club is really supportive of each other and are proud of what has been achieved and these rankings now provide goals to work towards in the race to be selected for London 2012.
The full ranking lists can be found at www.ipc-powerlifting.org./rankings/
25th April 2010
Successful Lifting Once Again
Despite being new to competitive Powerlifting Ben is showing great promise. With his first
competition only 7 weeks ago today Ben was in action once again in the East Midlands Bench Press Championships. Despite being the best under 16 lifter being an open competition meant that Ben had to compete against all age groups and today was up against masters lifters. Ben did manage to improve on his previous result with an additional 2.5kg and secure a third place with 75kg. Ben was unlucky not to manage his final lift of 77.5kg but is confident that he will surpass this at the British Finals later this year.
Everyone can see that Ben has tremendous promise and will be a great lifter in the future. Having only been training with the club since September of last year this has been recognition of the steady improvement that Ben is making and a testament to how hard he trains and how focused he is on this sport.
British Qualifier in First Competition
A relatively new member of Suffolk Spartans Ben Cattermole has been attending the club since September 2009 attended his first today and managed to complete three perfect lifts. At a body weight of 59.5kg he opened on 62.5kg following this up with 67.5kg and finally 72.5kg. This has meant that Ben qualified for the British Finals which are to be held in June this year. Everyone at the club is pleased for Ben as he is a keen and enthusiastic member of the club that is always willing to help out wherever needed and keen to learn about this sport.
SportsAid Award
Today saw the launch of a new website for a Suffolk based project titled lap of honour which looks at people from the region that have been involved in past Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as those potential athletes of the future to map the heritage of these amazing events from the perspective of athletes, officials and volunteers. During this launch a potential athlete in London 2012 Zoe Newson was presented with an award from SportsAid. This financial support allows Zoe to purchase necessary equipment, receive physio help, pay for training costs as well as contributing towards the cost of competing. Such awards are very much needed by up and coming athletes and the award was much appreciated by Zoe and will be well used in her quest to represent Britain in London.
23rd January 2010
Best Lifters Once Again
This years UK Invitational in Cardiff saw Zoe and Nathaniel compete against a range of lifters including guest lifters from abroad. Both lifted well and Zoe equalled her lift of 80kg that she first managed in India just two months previously making it look much more comfortable this time around.
In addition to winning their classes awards were given to the best athletes in the competition and Zoe was awarded the best female junior athlete while Nathaniel received the best male junior athlete award. This is a testament to how hard they both train and is a great start to what is sure to be an impressive year for these two young athletes.