The Church Street Recreation Center is pleased to host one of Moorestown’s best kept secrets. Squirreled away in the basement of the Church Street Recreation Center, the Moorestown Weightlifting Club has provided free training facilities for Moorestown students for 16 years. The club welcomes residents of all ages, and offers sports performance training, crossfit and Olympic style weightlifting.
Through the years, athletes of all makes and models have trained at the MWLC, including dozens of professionals, hundreds of collegiate athletes, thousands of high school players, and untold numbers of competitive and recreational weightlifters and crossfitters.
Moorestown has been a hallmark destination for competitive weightlifters since 1999. The club has been home to Olympic team alternates, World, Pan American and national champions, and national, Pan American and World record holders. One of the club’s athletes finished 2nd to Gabby Douglas for the 2012 Sullivan award, granted to the outstanding amateur athlete of the year. The MWLC also hosted a national weightlifting event at the Rec Center, which included competitors from every state in the country.
The MWLC has been designated as one of only eleven Community Olympic Development Programs by the US Olympic Committee. As a CODP, the club, and by extension the Moorestown community has access to all of the resources of the USOC, including athlete development, coaching education, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and research. Upon request, USOC will dispatch personnel and online resources to assist any Moorestown sports organization seeking help.
The MWLC is one of the few gyms in the country fully stocked with equipment certified by the International Weightlifting Federation. The coaching staff includes four individuals certified by USA Weightlifting, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and Crossfit, Inc. In addition to having vast experience developing programs for and coaching athletes, all of the MWLC’s coaches are still competing in their various age groups on an international level.
As a non-profit organization, all required funding for the operation of the Moorestown Weightlifting Club has been privately raised. Moorestown students in seventh through twelfth grade are welcomed to train at no cost. Adults are asked for a small stipend to help defray expenses. By comparison, the membership fees for adults are a tiny fraction of what commercial gyms and crossfit operations charge.
Stop by Moorestown’s best hidden resource at any time. You will be welcomed regardless of experience or talent level. The gym’s motto is “Everyone’s got to start somewhere,” and all of their seasoned athletes know how that feels.
