Columbus, Ohio to Host the 2024 USA Weightlifting North American Open Series 1 and National University Championships, February 29 – March 3, 2024

USA Weightlifting will return to the Arnold Sports Festival for the 2024 North American Open Series 1 and National University Championships, February 29-March 3, 2024 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  The North American Open Series, which began in 2017, is running alongside the National University Championships for the fourth time in 2024.

In a substantial increase from 2023, 950 athletes will participate in North American Open Series 1 across three platforms and 350 lifters will compete in the National University Championships on two platforms. Participation will be capped at those athlete totals.

The registration process for the 2024 NAOS1 will be divided into a Pre-sale and two waves. This process will not apply to  the National University Championships.

Athletes who were named to Team USA in 2022 and 2023 will have access, via invitation, to the North American Open Series 1 pre-sale from October 15-31 in order to support their international qualification opportunities. Pre-sale registration will be fully refundable through February 1, 2024.

Wave 1 registration will be available to athletes who have a valid qualifying total of at least 135% of the published North American Open Series qualifying totals and will begin on November 1. Wave 2 registration starts on December 1 and will open to all athletes who have a valid qualifying total.  North American Open Series 1 registration closes when our registration cap is reached or on February 15, 2024. Every age group/bodyweight division will have access to the wave-like registrations, with qualifying totals being reflected appropriately. National University Championships registration will run from November 1-February 15. There will be no early-bird or late entry fees for the events.

For the first time ever, a Junior Category will be included in the North American Open Series. As with the Youth and Masters, Junior athletes will be able to qualify directly for the North American Open Finals based on their Sinclair. The top 3-male and top 3-female will guarantee a spot at the 2024 NAOF, to be announced later by USA Weightlifting. Again similarly to the Youth and Masters divisions, no additional registration is required. Athletes will compete in the OPEN division and in their age group, according to their year of birth. 

“Adding in the new opportunity for Junior level athletes to qualify separately for the NAOS is another way for us to show our commitment to helping build a healthier pipeline to elite performance  while continuing to serve our new and up and coming athletes”, said Mike Gattone, USAW Senior Director of Sports.

Registered participants  in Columbus will have access to the 2024 Arnold Sports Festival. Spectator tickets for family & friends can be purchased directly through the Arnold Sports website athttps://www.arnoldsports.com/tickets/2024-tickets/. Hotels can also be booked directly with the Arnold’s organizers, here: https://www.arnoldsports.com/hotels/

When qualifying totals are available, they can be accessed here. The qualification period is February 15, 2023 to February 15, 2024.