COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Weightlifting today announced the dates and locations for the 2023 Nike North American Open Series, powered by Rogue, along with the National University Championships and the Friendship Cup, an international invitational, concluding the rollout of eight national events to be held next year.

The nation’s most prestigious circuit of weightlifting competitions will traverse the contiguous United States, from California to North Carolina, for the first time since the long-standing American Open was expanded to a series in 2017.

In partnership with Columbus Weightlifting, the series kicks off March 2-5 in Columbus, Ohio, with a trio of competitions: North American Open Series 1, National University Championships and the Friendship Cup. This marks the third year NAOS1 and university nationals will be held conjunctively, and the fifth time in the series’s seven years that NAOS1 will be paired with the Arnold Sports Festival.

Following the overwhelming success of the 2022 edition – the largest participation strength event ever with 1,866 competitors entered – the 2023 event will return to Union Station Ballroom in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. In order to do so, the two events will be capped at a combined 1,050 athletes; registration opens Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, and closes upon hitting that number.

The USA Weightlifting Friendship Cup, which debuted during the 2022 USA Weightlifting National Championships, returns in March. The Friendship Cup is a rare opportunity for American weightlifting fans to watch international competitors in person. Two-athlete teams of one man and one woman, each from a different nation, compete for a combined placement. Athletes lift in their respective bodyweight category sessions of the NAOS1/NUC, and their Sinclair totals will combine for the Friendship Cup team result. The eight-team 2022 field included four Olympians, four world medalists and medalists from the African, European, Oceania and Pan American Championships; it was won by the team of Olympic medalist Sara Ahmed of Egypt and world medalist Andranik Karapetyan of Armenia.

The previously-announced 2023 USA Weightlifting National Championships Week follows on the schedule, June 24-July 2 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nine days of competition features the National Youth Championships, National Junior Championships, National U25 Championships and open-level National Championships.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the first weightlifting national event in California, North American Open Series 2 will take place in Pleasanton, California. Returning the series to the West Coast for the first time in six years, competition will take place Sept. 14-17 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, the same venue as the 2020 National University Championships and National U25 Championships.

The 2023 North American Open Finals wraps up the series Dec. 7-10 at the Wilmington Convention Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, for USA Weightlifting’s first national event ever to be held in the Tar Heel State.

Spectator tickets will be sold online and in person for every 2023 national event except for North American Open Series 1/National University Championships, which will require spectators to buy a ticket to the Arnold Sports Festival.

A comprehensive timeline for each competition follows.

North American Open Series 1 // National University Championships
Date: March 2-5, 2023
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Greater Columbus Convention Center
Qualification Period: Feb. 2, 2022-Feb. 2, 2023
Registration Opens: Nov. 4, 2022
Athlete Registration Cap: 1,050 athletes
Early Registration Deadline: Jan. 19, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Regular Registration Deadline: Feb. 2, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Late Registration Deadline: Feb. 16, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)

USA Weightlifting National Championships Week (youth, junior, U25, open)
Date: June 24-July 2, 2023
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Venue: Ed Robson Arena
Qualification Period: May 25, 2022-May 25, 2023
Registration Opens: Jan. 1, 2023
Early Registration Deadline: May 11, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Regular Registration Deadline: May 25, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Late Registration Deadline: June 8, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)

North American Open Series 2
Date: Sept. 14-17, 2023
Location: Pleasanton, California
Venue: Alameda County Fairgrounds
Qualification Period: Aug. 17, 2022-Aug. 17, 2023
Registration Opens: Jan. 1, 2023
Early Registration Deadline: Aug. 3, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Regular Registration Deadline: Aug. 17, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Late Registration Deadline: Aug. 31, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)

North American Open Finals
Date: Dec. 7-10, 2023
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Venue: Wilmington Convention Center
Qualification Period: Nov. 9, 2022-Nov. 9, 2023
Registration Opens: Jan. 1, 2023
Early Registration Deadline: Oct. 26, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Regular Registration Deadline: Nov. 9, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)
Late Registration Deadline: Nov. 23, 2023 (4 p.m. ET)

USA Weightlifting Unveils 2023 North American Open Series Schedule

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