Team Lis Smash is hosting its seventh annual Rainbow Deadlift Showdown on June 13 at the Woodruff Athletic Complex at Agnes Scott College in Decatur.
For the Pride Month event, participating queer and allied lifters collect pledges of $1 per pound of weight deadlifted, with all proceeds benefiting LGBTQ+ and other grassroots organizations.
“The Rainbow Deadlift Showdown is a magical time for us to come together with the LGBTQ+ strength community and our allies to celebrate Pride Month, lift weights, and support some amazing organizations,” said Lis Saunders, founder and owner of Team Lis Smash, a queer and inclusive gym in East Atlanta Village which has become one of the community’s third spaces.
Showdown lifters voted on this year’s Rainbow Deadlift Showdown beneficiaries: Atlanta Trans Housing Program, the Southeast’s first nonprofit housing program centering transgender and non-binary people; El Refugio, which accompanies immigrants and supports families impacted by Stewart Detention Center; and Sol Underground, a grassroots organization that advocates for poor, working-class, and unhoused communities.
This year’s Rainbow Deadlift Showdown fundraising goal is $30,000.
Participant Sophie Cox has raised over $5,000 for the event over the past three years.
“I am especially excited to support Sol Underground as they work to dismantle systems of injustice and build communities that resist and disrupt state oppression, and I can’t think of anything more pressing in our current world,” said Cox.
The event will also feature a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses, including Charis Books & More, Radio Roasters Coffee, and Red’s Beer Garden.
To support participating athletes and purchase advance tickets for the competition, check out the official event page.
Rainbow Deadlift Showdown, June 13, 10 a.m., Woodruff Athletic Complex, Agnes Scott College
