Letter From the Founders

kbgirls

Chicago, 2009

We started competing in 2008 when kettlebell sport predominantly consisted of male lifters.

Several female lifters broke ground on U.S. soil at that time, but only five female Masters of Sport existed in all of North America.

On a trip to Las Vegas, a friend asked if the “Ice Chamber Kettlebell Girls” were in attendance. Easily identifiable as an all-female team, the name stuck.  Glamorous landmarks like Central Park in NYC and the Chicago River served as romantic backdrops of our early competitive experiences. We fell in love with lifting hard and fast.

The Long Cycle event was our entry into competition because we called on more stamina and strength than technique to succeed.  However, when we learned female lifters in Eastern Europe were prohibited from the jerk and long cycle events, our collective pursuit took on greater meaning.  The social significance of an all-female team attempting something new meant that we had to take it as far as womanly possible.

foundersickb

West Coast KB Classic, 2014

Today we could appropriately be called the Ice Chamber Kettlebell Mamas considering the impact our children have had on our lives since we first started competing.  After reaching the early goals we set in 2008, we identified what really matters to us most about kettlebell sport: self-improvement, self-acceptance, our beloved community, and most of all, our love of lifting.

Our team grew and expanded into a full-grown community of fiercely dedicated female kettlebell lifters.  Their historic achievements are astounding to celebrate as a team– superseding any individual contribution from the Ice Chamber.

d2d879cee8160b5be45f31b1b93882daOver a dozen women on the ICKB team today proudly hold International and American records in the Long Cycle, Jerk, and Snatch events.  Eleven ICKB lifters are currently Candidates for Master of Sport while seven of our top female kettlebell lifters are officially ranked Masters of Sport.  Two of them hold the distinguished rank of MS World / International Class.

The ICKB Girls site started as a fun idea between friends, but transformed into a space that quickly grew beyond us.  Today our site is a conduit of multi-media grassroots perspectives and diverse kettlebell sport adventures.

With love,
Jessica, Maya, Sara, and Surya