The following message appears in the June 1998 issue of Clean Power:
Congratulations go out to our Women's Team USA that recently competed at the IPF Women's World Championships in held in Norway. I am told that the venue was excellent, highly organized, and that there was even closed circuit TV coverage of the event which allowed the competitors to actually watch the competition from their hotel rooms. Most importantly, these ladies gave their utmost lifting performances in securing the sixth place team standing for USA Powerlifting in our first IPF World Championships. Bravo! Equally significant are the positive reports coming back in to me that our athletes and coaches demonstrated good sportsmanship and honor in this endeavor, earning the respect of other nations. They have done us proud!
The USA Powerlifting Men's Open National Powerlifting Championships is shaping up to be a true clash of the titans with international flavor. Besides the 125 or so great USA national competitors highlighting this event, fifteen nations have been invited to send lifters to compete in an International Friendship Cup in conjunction with our top men's battle. We have heard from several countries that are planning to bring competitors so far. This will be a great opportunity to strengthen our friendships with other IPF national federations. It will also bring international prestige back to the United States, which has been far too long without an IPF World Championships venue. We hope that USA Powerlifting will one day soon be able to bid successfully for an IPF World Championship event.
National Governing Body Members should be reminded that the Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, July 2nd this year rather than on Friday as in past years, due to the expansion of competition over the ensuing three days. Please do not miss this opportunity to participate in the leadership of our great organization. It takes each and every one of us to effectively represent our membership with responsible leadership. The democratic process, effectively served, insures a healthy future for USA Powerlifting.
Another reminder to everyone is that IPF Rules for performance of the lifts will be in effect for all USA Powerlifting Meets beginning January 1, 1999. This is an option for Meet Directors to offer throughout the rest of 1998, by advertising the rule changes on their Meet Entry Forms. For those who have not yet been exposed to these yet, the most significant change is the "start" command with the bench press. It's a good idea to practice your lifts in the gym with this command now, before entering the meet. The "thumbless" grip on the bench press will also be gone as of 1/1/99. Some states have now run a few meets with the IPF rules of performance, and are well on their way with the transition. It has also been reported by a couple of states that the use of attempt cards was very well received, and that by using them any confusion over weight requested verbally had been eliminated. We are also encouraging Meet Directors to break their Meets down into sessions, whenever possible. This requires more officials, but is much more beneficial to the athletes. We should all look forward to the standardization of rules for performance, which is a requirement for sports in the Olympics.
In bringing forward the subject of the Olympics again, It should be noted that much has been accomplished in the past 2 years to fit us closer to the model that needs to be attained for USA Powerlifting to seek official sport recognition from the USOC. There is a hurdle that needs to be addressed, however, and it is largely, I think, one of perception. USA Powerlifting is, without a doubt the largest powerlifting organization in the United States, and has been for a few years now. However, fractionalization of our sport continues to impinge our dominant role of leadership. There have been efforts toward unification, and much debate over how this might be accomplished. In reality, true unification of our sport in the U.S.A. cannot happen, if Olympic recognition is our ultimate goal. The reason for this is that many, if not most of the powerlifting organizations in this country are not really powerlifting organizations at all - they are simply business enterprises utilizing the sport of powerlifting to generate a profit for their owner/s or stockholders. As I have stated before, there is nothing wrong with business making a profit. However, as those who hold the dream of eventual Olympic recognition near to our hearts, we must be able to compare apples to apples in defining our potential to accomplish this. The Olympic movement will only recognize a sport that is specifically governed by an amateur sports national governing body. In the United States, this means a federally recognized not-for-profit organization, such as we are. There are also other requirements, but this one is fundamental. A business enterprise driven by profit has no chance to help us in this quest, as it is a privately held asset, a chunk of equity held by it's owner/s. I think of this when I see or hear of one of the many debates that occur over people's loyalty to their organization, and I wonder if many of these folks really understand that they are defending a business and it's practices, as opposed to a genuine amateur sports national governing body, driven by a mission statement, By-Laws, representative leadership, and most importantly, the goal of Olympic sport recognition. I think we need to clear the air on some of these perceptions, and get as many people on board who share our vision for the sport as we possibly can. Food for thought.
There are some exciting projects forthcoming over the next year which will strengthen USA Powerlifting programs. One of these is a Coach Certification currently being developed by the Coaching Committee. We may be looking for ways to fund a video and manual to go along with this education/certification process. If you have any ideas, please let us know. The long-awaited large rule/handbook should be out soon, and with its study, one can aspire to becoming a referee for USA Powerlifting. Most of us have learned a ton from the mentors that have taken us under wing through the course of our lives, and as a certified coach or referee, you could serve in this mentor capacity for the generations of USA Powerlifting yet to come. Please give it some consideration.
Wishing you a powerful and success-filled year,
Michael W. Overdeer
President, USA Powerlifting
