Think you’ve got what it takes to compete at The Brick?
If you have to ask what The Brick is, you may want to be a spectator rather than a competitor – The Brick is where The Brick Power Team gets its name and it is the site of an upcoming bench press contest.
Harry Orr, a member of the weightlifting team, said the Oct. 15 event will benefit Freedom Life Church of God, located right next door to The Brick on Martin Creek Road in Henderson.
It’s a tangible way to say thank you for the support the church has provided The Brick Power Team, Orr told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. (Click to Play Audio – TownTalk: Brick Power Team Event Benefits Local Church)
“We’re trying to give a little bit back to our church for helping us and supporting us through these events,” he said. “We’re like a ministry outreach from the church – we’ll find somebody with some kind of need” and then host a fundraiser bench press event.
“Every little bit helps,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s a lot we can give…we enjoy doing it – and use weightlifting to make it happen.”
A recent recipient was the local American Legion, he said. Adult competitors pay $40 to register and teens pay $30, but Orr said they’re not sticklers on strict rules and regulations – Orr said he’s grateful to sponsors for their help in defraying the cost of things like food and trophies for the first- and second-place finishers in the various categories.
Competitors can weigh in between 8:30 and 11 on the morning of the competition, which should begin around noon. Previous events have pulled competitors from Wake Forest, Raleigh, Greensboro, Greenville and Roxboro, and Orr said he hopes that folks will turn out in October to participate or to cheer the competitors on.
“We go by weight classes and age,” Orr said, in determining the different categories for the competition. There are classes for teens, and men’s and women’s master classes, as well as open classes determined by weight.
There’s been a 75-year-old winner and a 10-year-old winner, he said. The youngster weighed about 100 pounds and he benched more than 100 pounds. “We’ve got some real tough competitors in this sport,” he added.
For Orr, it’s a time to do what he enjoys doing – he’s been lifting for more than 30 years, he said. “It’s a great event to put on – we have a good time doing it.”
And the competitors probably get a little charge out of flexing their muscle in front of others. “Everybody likes to show off a little bit,” Orr said.
Orr may fit that description as well, when he’s in a competition. But he was a bit more subdued as he shared an accolade that will be bestowed on him and some others from Vance County in just a couple of weeks at Aycock Rec Center: Orr will be inducted into the N.C. Power Lift Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 10.
In 2011, Orr was ranked #1 in the 55-59 class of the American Challenge. It’s a lot of hard work on his part to train and practice, but he gives the credit to God.
“God’s been good to us, giving us the ability to do it,” he said.
Call Orr at 252.432.4196 or email him at horr2553@yahoo.com
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