Some of the best kettlebell athletes in Canada competed in Armstrong on Saturday for a chance to earn a spot on Team Canada.

Armstrong's Swanson Mountain Fitness hosted the North Okanagan Kettlebell Open at the IPE grounds April 5. The event served as the Western Canada qualifier for the Canadian Kettlebell Alliance's National Team, meaning athletes were attempting to qualify to lift for their country for the next calendar year. 

To qualify for the National Team, athletes had to hit 85 per cent of their rank in their weight class, said event organizer Lorraine Painchaud of Swanson Mountain Fitness.  

"Everybody's doing really awesome today," Painchaud said during the event's lunch recess after athletes had been lifting throughout the morning.

This was Armstrong's sixth time hosting a kettlebell event and the second time it's hosted the qualifiers. 

"We have one of the only gyms in the B.C. Interior that teaches (kettlebell)," said organizer Todd Schweb. "There's like three gyms in all of B.C."

Painchaud and Schweb are two highly accomplished Canadian kettlebell athletes. At the Kettlebell World Championship in Greece that took place in October, they brought home seven gold medals and three silvers between them. The two competed at the Armstrong qualifiers later in the day Saturday. 

The next big international kettlebell event is the World Kettlebell Sport Federation's World Championships in Italy in June, and athletes that competed in Armstrong were vying for a spot at that event. 

At the qualifier, athletes had five or 10 minutes to complete as many kettlebell reps as possible. Most women looking to qualify were lifting a minimum of 16 kilograms, while the men attempting to qualify were lifting a minimum of 24-kilogram kettlebells. 

For more information on Swanson Mountain Fitness, visit .