2005 USAPL Womens' National Powerlifting Championships Contest Report
Article and Photography by James Cook
St. Louis, MO.- A modest size ballroom at the Westport Holiday Inn is the venue where nearly 170 women from all part of the US (as far as Alaska) and even the United Kingdom, have come to this location to compete. It is a sport that has shown incredible growth in the past few years and this year is the largest attendence ever. Are we talking about the latest NPC, mega figure-quarter-turn extravaganza? No my friend, this is USAPL womens' powerlifting and forget everything you know (or think you know) about this booming sport.
Unlike the IFBB, these women are not instructed by their federation to "reduce by 20 percent". On the contrary, competitors are encouraged to reach for the stars and deliver the best performance they possibly can. The USA Powerlifting (formerly American Drug Free Powerlifting Association Inc.) is the leading powerlifting organization in the United States. It is drug free and maintains a no doping policy. To enforce this policy, a minimum of 10 percent of lifters are tested by urinanalyst at each meet. Further, out-of-meet testing occurs. If a lifter tests positive for a banned substance, she is banned for a minimum of 3 years. At the Nationals the promoter, Harold Gains informs me that this event spends a good sum of money to ensure that all its competitors are playing on a level field.
And just who are the competitors? The age ranges from 11 years old to 65 years old (and older!) However, a MAJORITY ( I'd estimate nearly 80 percent) of the competitors were teens and young adults. I am told that the number of high schoolers and college girls has skyrocketed in womens powerlifting, particularly in the USAPL league.
This was a massive 2 day event, starting at 7:00am on Saturday morning and continuing through to 1:30am Sunday morning! Then it picked up again Sunday morning with 8:00am weigh-ins and went to 6:30pm that evening. Whew! What a weekend!
So what exactly is 'Powerlifting'? It is distinct from weightlifting, a sport made up from two lifts: the Snatch and the Clean-and-Jerk, where the weight is lifted above the head, Powerlifting comprises three lifts: the Squat, the Bench Press and the Deadlift.
Athletes are categorized by age and bodyweight. Each competitor is allowed three attempts at each lift, the best lift in each discipline being added to their total. The lifter with the highest total is the winner. In cases where two or more lifters achieve the same total, the person with the lightest bodyweight wins.
How is the lifting organized? Lifters are grouped by weight and age. For instance, a 175 lb. female teen would compete with the older female teenagers between 166 and 185 lbs. Master lifters are divided the same way and then again in 5 year increments starting with age 40. Therefore, a 118 lb., 43 year old woman would compete against other women between 40 and 44 weighing between 115 and 123 lbs.
A lifter may compete in both the open and another division if they qualify. The weight catagory are divided by pounds, with the maximum per catagory of: 66, 77, 88, 97, 105, 114, 123, 132, 148, 165, 181, 198, SHW (unlimited)
This contest report won't be so much a detailed listing of statistics for the weekend, but a general overview of what it was like to be there and the people and events that stood out.
(A special thanks to the promoter Harold Gains, the USA Powerlifting organization and the International Federation of Powerlifters (IPF) for allowing me to cover this event. Be sure to visit the website of USAPL Championships for more competitor profiles and up to the minute contest information)
