Body-inclusive gym Team Lis Smash will host its sixth Rainbow Deadlift Showdown, a friendly showcase celebrating the strength and joy of the LGBTQ+ community, on Saturday, June 14.
LGBTQ+ and allied lifters will gather on Saturday for the showcase, where they will have three attempts to deadlift their largest weight. The event is open to everyone; registered lifters range from 11 to 60 years old and are lifting from under 100 to nearly 500 pounds.
“Every year we get a group of queer and allied lifters together for a friendly showcase,” Lis Saunders, the owner of Team Lis Smash, told Georgia Voice. “It’s not a competition. There aren’t weight classes or singlets required or different competition divisions like in typical powerlifting meet. This is really open to all levels, all genders, people from all walks of life.”
The event will raise money for LGBTQ+ advocacy group Georgia Equality and Sol Underground, an abolitionist collective dedicated to Black and Indigenous liberation. Both organizations will table at the accompanying queer health fair, along with organizations like Avita Care, All Y’all Primary Care Plus, Spectrum Performance, Kemper Pelvic Physio, and more.
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This year’s Rainbow Deadlift Showdown will be the biggest yet. Instead of being held at the East Atlanta Village gym, it will be hosted at the Agnes Scott Woodruff Athletic Complex to accommodate for the increase in participants.
Following the ban on transgender women from competing on female school sports teams, Saunders says that the event being held in a university gym is symbolic of the persistence of the LGBTQ+ community.
“We are here to show that queer people do exist,” she said. “Trans people do exist. You can try to erase us all you want, but we’re going to have a lot of fun and show our strength… I think the transformative power of strength training is so important for all individuals, specifically trans and queer people who might not feel welcome in traditional gyms, who are being told they can’t compete or play sports.”
The Rainbow Deadlift Showdown will be held on June 14 at 10 a.m. at 225 E Dougherty Street. Registration for the meet is full, but you can join the wait list by emailing info@teamlissmash.com.
Admission for spectating is sliding scale from $10 to $25, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Get your tickets or donate to support the fundraiser at givebutter.com/knu6Y9.
