Skip to content

Valhalla women pass the test

Three teams of female competitors from Valhalla Strength and Conditioning in Sechelt recently competed in the Femsport Women's Strength and Fitness Challenge event in Kamloops.

Three teams of female competitors from Valhalla Strength and Conditioning in Sechelt recently competed in the Femsport Women's Strength and Fitness Challenge event in Kamloops.

The grueling competition sees competitors tackle five disciplines including a kettlebell lift, tire drag, box jumps, tire flip and obstacle course. The demanding competition is a test of fitness, strength, endurance and agility, and by all accounts the Coast teams passed the test with flying colours.

The three teams included Genevieve Pierre, Kasey Morreli and Ann Miles forming the Valhalla Vixens, Sara Disney, Allison Crosby and Carolyn Spence making up the Valhalla Vikings and Marni Beggs, Aspen Wing and Eva Munson of the Valhalla Valkyrie. Each of the competitors competed in the novice division and in each event separately, scoring points for their teams, which were all added up for the overall team competition.

The Vikings finished fourth overall, Valkyrie fifth and the Vixens 11th. Individually, Disney was fifth, Crosby and Wing finished in a tie for 13th, Beggs 15th, Munson 22nd, Spence 25th, Pierre 29th, Miles 31st and Morrelli 47th. There were 55 novice competitors and 21 in the open division.

"Everyone loved it. It was a huge confidence booster for all of them," Munson said. "This was the first time for many of them to compete in anything. It was a huge competition and to come out just shy of having a trophy makes you want to train more and become better at the sport. I think it opens a window for a lot more opportunities and more competitions. It motivates you to stay healthy, stay fit and push to the next level."

Besides Kamloops, the Femsport Women's Strength and Fitness Challenge hosts events this year in Whitehorse, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Munson said there are already plans for possibly four teams from Valhalla to compete in Vancouver in September.

Munson, who teaches an all women's class at Valhalla owned by her husband Curtis, has wanted to compete in the event for quite awhile. Curtis helped train all the teams for the competition.

"When I started telling others about it, the idea sort of just took off," she said. "We all saw it as a fun road trip away, doing something healthy and something empowering. Everyone is just basically a housewife who is trying to take fitness to the next level. When we got back, more and more want to start training and get ready for September. It's just been amazing."

Check out Valhalla Strength and Conditioning on Facebook for more on the competition and photos from the event.