The Olympic City, which hosted the XIX Olympic Winter Games in 2002, will host the 2020 IWF World Masters Championship in the Calvin L Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City with accommodations provided adjacent to the competition venue.

"As part of our Olympic and sports legacy efforts we have partnered with USA Weightlifting and others to host several major weightlifting events in Utah," said Jeff Robbins, President and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "We are thrilled to have been selected to host the 2020 IWF World Masters Championships and welcome the world back to Utah once again as we host another key weightlifting event."

Salt Lake City boasts an international airport which is a hub for Delta Air Lines, serving several international destinations in both Europe and Asia, making access for competitors easy.

Known as Ski City USA, Salt Lake City is the model of Olympic legacy cities with almost every venue, including those used for this Championship still in use. In Salt Lake City itself and the surrounding region competitors can take in the Utah Olympic Park, Utah Olympic Oval and Utah Olympic Museum together with some of the World’s best Skiing.

The State of Utah has also become a home for Weightlifting in the United States. Hosting the 2014 and 2016 National Championships, the 2015 and 2017 National University Championships, the 2016 US Olympic Team Trials and has three major events upcoming, the 2018 American Masters, 2019 National Masters and 2019 American Open Finals. Outside of Weightlifting, the city will also shortly host the FIE World Junior Championships for Fencing.

The USA has also recently developed a reputation for international Weightlifting events hosting the 2009 and 2017 Pan American Championships, the 2015 and 2017 IWF World Championships and has consistently hosted the Pan American Masters Championships on a rotational basis.

The Organizing Committee will be chaired by World Masters Champion and Sandy, Utah resident Debbie Millet. The Organizing Committee locally in Utah will consist of representatives from Team Praxis Weightlifting, the Utah Sports Commission and Visit Salt Lake and will have support from around the Weightlifting community including Masters Chairman and experienced international competition manager Michael Cohen, current and former IWF Masters Board Members Corinne Grotenhuis and Les Simonton as well as USA Weightlifting and USA Masters Weightlifting leadership.

As Chairman of USA Masters, we are excited about the possibility of bringing the World Masters to the beautiful Salt Lake City area," Michael Cohen, USA Weightlifting Masters President said. "Salt Lake City has a rich history of hosting World Class Olympic events. It also offers the hundreds of Master athletes from around the world, the opportunity to enjoy world class facilities and hotels, as well as a community that is really excited about International competitions."

At Nationals we can all expect to see the best taekwondo athletes in the United States from all different age groups. The event will bring current members from the Junior Team USA National Team and athletes who will represent USA in the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Argentina later this year.

In addition, this will be the first time in USA Taekwondo history where they will select the inaugural All-American Athletes and the first time the US National Rankings will play a key part at the 2018 National Championships.

Tickets can be purchased inside the convention center for the 2018 USATKD National Championships. A ticket booth will be located right outside of Hall 3 inside the convention center. Ticket prices are $19 for adults and $13 for children the age of 6-17 years old, kids under the age of 6 get free admission. Live footage of the tournament can also be viewed on the USA Taekwondo Facebook Page.

Athletes will endure three days of competition with the hopes of taking one of the five coveted spots in each division to the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, August 1-5. The CrossFit Games are the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth. Since its inception in 2007, the CrossFit Games have become one of the fastest growing sports in America.

Local athletes, Emily Tanner of C2X Crossfit and Carlyn Frampton of CrossFit Spearhead, will be competing in the female division after finishing the Open in fourth and 21st in the South West Region, respectively. Salt Lake City CrossFit will be sending three teams to the Regional. There are 10 CrossFit gyms in the Salt Lake City area.

CrossFit is a worldwide strength-and-conditioning fitness program whose goal is to prepare you for the unknown and unknowable. A CrossFit workout may contain a combination of functional movements such as rowing, running, Olympic lifting, plyometrics, and gymnastics. CrossFit’s specialty is not specializing in any one facet of fitness and is considered the "sport of fitness." There are over 15,000 CrossFit gyms worldwide.

For more information, or if you would like to receive press credentials to the South Regional on May 18-20 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, or would like to arrange an interview with local athletes competing at the event, please contact shelbyhlevy.