Entry totals: why is the number important and how do you pick it.

I’ve run a lot of major domestic events for Weightlifting New Zealand and I see the same pattern of questions/requests continue to come through every event. This resource is to explain entry totals, how to choose them and how to use them. I hope you find it informative, and please remember this is my perception which cannot necessarily be applied as fact 😂

So you’re entering the event and are required to put in an entry total. I’ll explain the point of it and then discuss how you might decide on the number itself.

The primary purpose of an entry total is to ‘seed’ athletes. In theory, the bigger your entry total, the bigger your actual total on comp day is going to be. The relevance of this is easier to understand when applied on a larger scale. At the 2022 Senior World Championships there were 37 competitors in the W49 category. This is too many athletes for one session (for reference, we try to avoid having more than 16 athletes in a single session in domestic events. I’m not sure if there is an official sport rule around max numbers, but can say a 16 person session feels a bit long (3+ hours). I believe generally international sessions will have 8-10 athletes and last around 90 minutes). In this case the 2022 World Champs W49 were split across four sessions. With one class being competed across multiple sessions entry total now comes into play as the metric used to determine athlete ranking. The highest entry totals went into the A session, the next best the B, and so on to the lowest ranked D session.

Perhaps weirdly (maybe good maybe bad), entry total alone is what seeds you in a weightlifting competition. What you have or have not lifted in previous events has absolutely no influence.

Entry total seeding serves to create a competitive situation where athletes are competing alongside others of similar ability/numbers, and are completed in reverse order. The A session, containing the athletes supposedly in contention to win is the final session of any weight class. By the time these athletes compete the only unknown results are those within their own session. For an athlete in contention of a medal, it would absolutely be in their best interests to be one of the last lifters, and at the same time as their closest competition. An entry total high enough to put them in the A session is the single thing that can ensure this is the case.

In a nutshell, entry total importance increases the more athletes there are in a single weight class, and matters more for those athletes seeking to actively compete with/beat others.

The number itself is supposed to represent the possible total you will achieve at the event (i.e. sum of your best snatch and best clean & jerk attempts). The ranking process above entirely relies on athletes submitting honest entry totals that actually reflect numbers close to what they will do and are capable of. There isn’t any way to protect against low balling- if you enter a total way below what you can lift then… cool I guess you do you and lift all by yourself as the last/strongest lifter in the C session. There is however a rule to prevent athletes entering with outrageously high entry totals- presumably doing so to rank highly and have the opportunity to compete alongside stronger athletes (or maybe just stir the pot, who knows). 

The entry total rule states that an athlete's opening (i.e. first attempt) snatch and opening clean & jerk must add up to no less than 20kg under their entry total. If your entry total is 200, your first snatch and first clean & jerk must add up to 180kg. It could be a 40kg snatch and a 140kg clean and jerk- the ratio doesn’t matter, only that when combined they equal the minimum. Note (because I’ve been asked this before), it’s only a minimum rule not a maximum rule. If you put an entry total of 50 and then listed your openers as 60 snatch and 80 clean & jerk (which would be 140 and 90kg over your entry total), maybe a little bit strange but no issues rules wise. 

At big events the athletes who must be the most careful with their entry totals are the cusp athletes; who need to put in a massive total to be in the their desired (higher ranked) session but risk having to open too heavy and bombing out as a result. 

Bringing it back to New Zealand domestic competition where you are more likely to be competing in a session with multiple weight classes than to have your class split across multiple sessions. The 20kg rule still applies, so you don’t want to enter a number so high you’re doomed from your openers. In my observation, most experienced athletes tend to stick with the same safe, slightly low ball entry total for every event. Asides from that, why is entry total important and how do you choose what to put? Kind of depends on the goal…

Goal: to accurately reflect your current condition and likely performance

In this situation I would go for a total where -20kg means everyday safe openers. For example if I want to open with a 65kg snatch and 80kg clean & jerk, but also know that even if I’m having an unexpectedly terrible day on comp day I will still be comfortable opening with 60kg snatch and 75kg clean & jerk. In this case I’d put 155 as my entry total (as 60 + 75 is 135kg, the minimum for openers if 155 is my total). The other way to approach this is to enter the total you hope to achieve. Say if I hoped to snatch 65/68/71 and clean & jerk 80/83/86, I could put 157 as my entry total. The issue here is that I then must total 137 from my openers, and this could be risky if I’m not having a good day on comp day. The key is to know what is a safe bet and have an entry total that allows you to go there in a worst case scenario.

Why? Fair and accurate entry totals can be another way of signaling progress. The higher your minimums go, the higher your entry total can be. It’s perhaps more psychological and personal than competitive tactics, although it can also be motivating to see yourself sitting in a higher initial position within your session as your entry total grows.

Goal: to confuse your opposition

In this case you’re choosing an entry total that makes others wonder what’s going on. For example if I’m an athlete who usually puts in an entry total around 170-180 and have been looking in training like I might go close to 190 this comp, an entry of 160 could add a bit of confusion. It’s close enough to my usual to be realistic, while perhaps making other people wonder what might have gone wrong or doubt my condition. This gives me the opportunity to to enter unusually low openers at weigh-in and throw them on comp day when I come out all guns blazing.

Why? The potential psychological advantage of this tactic is dependent on you having close enough opposition for it to matter, and usually a bit of incompetence on their part. They would have to care enough about what numbers you’re doing and be overconfident in their own abilities before you turning up in better than expected shape could rattle them. If their coach doesn’t have their wits about them entering low openers at weigh in could allow the opportunity to mess with opposition warm up timing or burn people’s clocks (by jumping up once called).

Goal: to make entry total meaningless

The other option with underselling yourself and having a low entry total is to put something outrageously low (e.g. putting 100 when likely openers are going to be 80 snatch and 100 clean & jerk). In this case you’d end up ranked down the order in your weight class, and minimum openers aren’t even a consideration because you’ll be passing them only one or two lifts into your warm up. 

Why? Yes maybe tactics but honestly this is New Zealand… it’s pretty hard to fly that much under the radar and no one with any prior knowledge of you as an athlete is going to fall for it. This approach is more justified when the athlete is so inexperienced you don’t actually know what they’re going to end up lifting- a low entry total gives you the freedom to go with what makes sense on the day and not need to consider minimums. It may also be a good idea to use with a competitive athlete prone to crumbling under pressure. If you make the entry total so low they are ranked at the bottom of their session and their minimum openers are early warm ups, you can remove any expectations around outcomes and might have a better shot at actually achieving what they are capable of.

Goal: to make a statement

Declare the big numbers you’re going for from the get go with your entry total. This does come with risk as a massive total also means massive openers. Only recommended if it really fits your why. 

Why? Mind games, manifesting, ‘if you can see it you can be it’ etc etc. If the massive total is about winning and entering it puts you ranked first on the start list in your weight class, then seeing your name on top of the list might help you believe it’s possible, while exposing your opposition to the idea that you will beat them. If the massive total is about achieving a qualifying standard (e.g. an elite total to qualify for Senior Worlds), then the number is the number; you’re going to hit it or bomb out trying. Exposure reduces sensitivity, and if that’s the number you need might as well get comfortable seeing it next to your name.

While entry totals aren’t so relevant for seeding purposes in New Zealand, there are still a number of ways they can have personal or competitive significance. Thanks for reading and get in touch if you have any feedback!