Girevoy Sport (GS), a competitive sport using kettlebells, has been around for decades. Actually Kettlebell training was developed in Russia and their word for Kettlebell is ‘Girya’ and that’s how the sport got its name, Girevoy Sport. GS is a relatively new sport in Australia but the origins of the sport are in Russia and Eastern Europe over 60 years ago. Girevoy Sport is a unique power endurance sport in which the GS competitors are possibly the fittest athletes on the planet. GS combines elements of Olympic lifting with aerobic qualities seen in sports such as rowing and cross country skiing.

This sport has already gained a wide following in cities around Europe and America. Spinning off from this popularity overseas Kettlebell lifting federations in Europe and America have been working hard to have GS registered as an Olympic sport. It is only a matter of time till GS will take off in Australia too.

The precision style of girevoy sport training required of competitors is graceful to watch – the coordination of movement when achieved is almost ‘poetry in motion’. The sport involves three of the major Kettlebell lifts – the jerk, snatch and long cycle clean and jerk. There’s a 10-minute limit where both men and women try to complete the highest number of repetitions in divisions according to the participant’s weight and ability. Kettlebell relay races, marathons (up to 12 hours) and Kettlebell power juggling performances are additional facets to competitive lifting.

GSAA “Girevoy Sport Australia Association” is affiliated with the IUKL “Internatinal Union of Kettlebell Lifting” http://giri-iukl.com in Latvia, linking us to the rest of the world, which means we can compete nationally and internationally for official ranking and recognition.