Andrew Saxton, President

Andy has  been involved in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting as a lifter or coach for over 40 years.  He was British Champion at every level from schoolboy through to senior on multiple occasions.  Andy represented Great Britain at multiple World Junior and Senior Championships.  He also represented Great Britain at two Olympic Games (Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992)  He represented England at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games winning a bronze at just19 years of age!  In 1990 he competed for England in Auckland winning 3 Gold medals.  In 1994 Andy represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Canada winning 3 silver medals. 

Andy has coached lifters at all levels from state/divisional level right through to European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic level.  Andy has also coached at international events for Great Britain.  Andy currently is the head coach at OX Weightlifting Club in Perth, WA.  Andy holds an NCAS 3 Coaching accreditation.  Andy has been on the coaching team for multiple international competitions in the last few years, including Commonwealth and Oceania Championships and Mini Pacific Games.

When not coaching weightlifting or running strength and conditioning sessions for cricketers and other sportsmen & women, Andy works full time as a chaplain at a local high school.

 

  Ant Usmar, Vice-President 

Having dabbled with Weightlifting throughout his life as a young rugby player, Ants attention really turned to the sport in 2013 when he wanted to improve his knowledge of the lifts to improve his coaching as a strength and conditioning coach. Since then, its been all in, turning his whole coaching and business structures towards the sport. Ant is the owner and head coach of The Rev Barbell Club and a regular member of State Coaching staff for junior and senior squads. It is Ant’s goal and passion to grow the sport of Weightlifting in WA.

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   Jay Saxton, Honorary Secretary

Jay was introduced to weightlifting over 37 years ago.   As an athlete Jay was British and Australian Champion multiple times, competing for Australia at three World Senior Championships (1993, 1994, 1999) and for Great Britain in Thailand in 1997.   Jay also had the privilege of competing for Australia and Great Britain in multiple European, European Union, Oceania and Commonwealth Championships during her career.  Jay was the reserve for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.  Jay now helps with the programming and coaching of lifters and athletes at OX Weightlifting Club. 

Jay is currently the High Performance Manager for WA and South Australia, holds an NCAS 3 Coaching accredirtation and National level referee status.  She has had the priviledge of coaching international teams to Commonwealth Games (2022) Oceania and Commonwealth Championships recently.

Jay holds a degree in computer science and a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education.  She currently teaches ICT and Digital Technologies at a local primary school.

 

   Jackie Stanesby, Honorary Treasurer.

I’m not a weightlifter but the mum of one of WA’s youngest lifters, Jake.  I work full time as a Mental Health Nurse and also teach Under Graduate nursing students at the University of Notre Dame.

Since Jake started weightlifting in 2017 I have been so happy with how the weightlifting community have supported and encouraged him in his journey. As a parent I couldn’t ask for more and I hope to be able to give something back to the community through this role. 

Encouraging youngsters to engage in the sport and enabling them to be the best they can possibly be is my goal. 

 

 

Council Members.

  Ordinary Council Member #1, Paul Falconer.

I started weight lifting in 2014 and came from a running background, I also participated in kayaking, cycling, obstacle racing and boxing.

I held committee positions with the Rockingham triathlon club, the Rockingham hash house running club.  I helped organise running events, triathlons and cycle races and helped coach in boxing.

My aim with the committee is to move the sport forward, run the organisation in a professional manner and improve facilities and training technique for the members.

 
  Ordinary Council Member #2, Renee Hogan.

Renee’s journey with Olympic weightlifting started through Crossfit in 2017, she then transitioned into full time weightlifting in 2018. Renee has represented the state in National competitions since 2019 and continues to strive to full-fill her career on the platform in the years ahead.  

Renee works as a full-time personal trainer and weightlifting coach at The Rev Barbell Club. Renee aims to provide an athletes perspective to the council and give back to the community that has given so much to her.

 

 Ordinary Council Member #3, Kelly Stoikov

 

With a background in strength sports and powerlifting, Kelly's journey into the world of weightlifting began in 2018 when she became one of the founding coaches at Rev Barbell Club. Since then, she has been a familiar face, consistently volunteering at nearly all state events. After representing Australia at the Masters World Championship in powerlifting, Kelly transitioned to weightlifting in 2020. She has since represented both her state and country, achieving dual international status at the Masters level. Kelly is passionate about growing the sport and is always eager to volunteer at events, showing her unwavering dedication to the weightlifting community.

  Ordinary Council Member #4, Vacant.

 

 

Ordinary Council Member #5, George Winston.