The Committee
The Malta Powerlifting Association was formed in April 2007, back then forming part of the MDFPA. Since then, the association has grown over the years and in January 2020, the MPL became associated with the EPF and the IPF. You can find the members of the committee over here. The goals of MPL are:
- Growing, promoting, and governing the sports of powerlifting in Malta at all levels
- Organizing local and international events based on integrity, sportsmanship, and safety
- Providing education and training opportunities for powerlifting coaches and officials to improve the quality of the sport.
- Building relationships with other organizations and stakeholders in the powerlifting community, such as gyms, and trainers to promote collaboration and cooperation.
- Representing the interests of the powerlifting community to national sports governing bodies
- Developing a drug-free sport culture by promoting a drug-free sport, testing and education according to the WADA Code and the standards set by the IPF.
In 2022, there was just under 40 IPF registered athletes with over 80% competing at least twice a year. We have also seen new record numbers in the open competition where new joiners to the sports can experience a meet in a more informal manner.
If you want to read more about powerlifting, please visit this section of the site for information about the lifts, equipment, gyms, coaches and more!
Matt ELPHICK - President
I have been into sports since leaving school, and was more than happy too take on the role to assist the Malta Powerlifting Community. I am the owner of Steel Extreme Fitness which started in 2016 with my wife. My background is from frontline policing in the UK, but now assist the running of the gym and online private consulting.
Daniella VELLA - Vice President
I started training powerlifting in March 2021 and joined the Committee around January 2022. I compete in the 84kgs category in Malta. My professional background is mostly centered around operations, policy making, and creating employee centric visions.
Matteo Aqulina - General Secretary
I have been training in the sport of Powerlifting for about nine years at various local gyms across the island and my first competition was in 2015. I have been serving as the General Secretary for Malta Powerlifting association, MPL, since 2019. Together with the rest of the committee, I intend to broaden the reach of the sport to more areas of the local sporting community. My occupational background is a warranted engineer and whilst powerlifting occupies most of my free time, I enjoy watching movies on my rest days.
Maja Vähä - Social Media
Lover of powerlifting, kettlebells and everything heavy weights. Also mother of two, mega foodie and nerd for languages. I run the gym Spartan Fitness in St Julians since 2015 together with my sister, where we specialize on kettlebells and weight training. I am originally from Sweden, but have lived in Malta since 2010. I compete regularly in powerlifting and focus a lot of my time on training Spartan’s own PL team. My favourite lift is bench!
Simon BRINCAT - Public Relations Officer
Experienced all round administrator, official and former top national lifter, mainly in Olympic weightlifting since the 1980’s. Did compete in a Powerlifting events, early 1990’s. Professional career: Banker, now retired. Present job: Draughtsperson. Certified sports instructor from Moscow University of Sport, Russian Federation. Holder of International Weightlifting Federation Referee Licence, top category. Still enjoying lifting in my 50’s, in any form, and enthusiastically mentoring young and not so young newcomers, to the art of lifting heavy weights. Married to Annabelle, one son, Luke, who is currently a high-ranked Junior Powerlifter.
Catherine Portelli - Doping Control Officer
Description: I started training in powerlifting while everyone else was on lockdown in 2020, and it changed my life. Since then, I have competed multiple times, breaking three national records. In January 2022, I joined the committee and hope to help this growing sport in Malta as the newly appointed DCO. I am a veterinary surgeon by profession; and although powerlifting is my favourite hobby, I also dedicate time to travelling and diving.
Rachel Ann Said - Committee Member
I fell in love with powerlifting the moment I heard about it. I broke 3 national records in my first competition in 2017 and never looked back. I also held the 2nd place title at a World Championship in 2019. I am currently reading for a Masters in International Sport Coaching as well as a Diploma in Sports Management. I have been an active committee member at MPL since 2022 where I have judged a few competitions. I currently teach powerlifting and strength and conditioning classes to children and adults, as well as hold friendly competitions at my gym. My ideal day is spent gardening and soaking the sun at the beach. I follow a vegan diet and am an environmental conservationist at heart.