Celebrating strength on Indigenous Peoples Day

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — Natalie Paavola is collaborating with T-Compound owner Ben Thompson to hold the Battle of the Nations Strong Event on National Indigenous Peoples Day at Marina Park in Thunder Bay on June 21.

“I wanted to provide an event for Indigenous athletes from all levels of beginners to experienced to have a chance to check out a strong event or a powerlifting event that is created for them so they felt welcomed and safe,” says Paavola, owner of Kokum’s Gym in Thunder Bay. “I chose the day of National Indigenous Peoples Day to help celebrate ourselves, celebrate Indigenous athletes and also to promote this sport.”

Paavola says the event has four categories, adult male 18 and older, adult female 18 and older, youth 10-17, and masters 40 and older. The registration fees are $50 each for bench press and trap bar deadlift or $80 for both.

“It’s a sport that anyone can do and it’s open to all levels and all ages, and it’s not a sport that requires a lot of equipment or it doesn’t require for the most part a facility,” Paavola says. “You can start training for this type of sport in your home, in your backyard. A lot of First Nations don’t have a lot of facilities and this is something that you can do with the land, you can use stones, you can use wood. When you’re lifting something heavy, you’re engaging your whole body.”

Paavola says she was introduced to the sport a couple of years ago when two strong athletes, Samantha Belliveau and Max Boudreault, had a gym in Thunder Bay.

“I was introduced to the strongman sport there and then you meet different athletes within the community,” Paavola says. “Ben Thompson … was into powerlifting, so I met him through the strong community and have actually trained with him a little bit.”

Paavola says Thompson holds about two powerlifting events a year in Thunder Bay that are open to everyone.

“So, we wanted to try something very specific for the Indigenous community,” Paavola says. “So, having an event that is just for them, I hope it builds their confidence to go out to try other events within the community and outside the community because these events are held across Canada and even into the States. So that’s my hope, I hope we inspire people to pursue this sport.”

Paavola says there has been a lot of interest in the event, with about 12 or 13 registered participants so far.

“A lot of people [are] saying, ‘I’m coming’, but they haven’t actually registered,” Paavola says. “So we need to get the word out where people are registering.”

Paavola says anyone who is interested in participating in the event should be training for it and know how to do a trap bar deadlift and how to do bench pressing.

“We wouldn’t want someone just to come in that day and try it because they might hurt themselves,” Paavola says.

Paavola says interested people could reach out to her or Thompson to direct them for training.

“Ben also does training,” Paavola says. “When you’re coming in to compete, you want to do your best. There’s different techniques and different strategies that you pick up and learn along the way, but once you get a little bit of training, you can probably train on your own.”

Paavola says she started lifting heavier weights when she was attending Belliveau and Boudreault’s gym.

“But right now, on a personal training plan, I’m not lifting as heavy as I used to but I have dabbled in it,” Paavola says. “I found the sport so inspiring, you feel really good when you get a personal best. It makes you feel good, you feel strong, you feel confident.”