President's Message


In this issue, there are several things on my mind: membership, our attempts to restart a hardcopy newsletter, drug testing, our e-store, and refereeing. I'll touch on each of these briefly.

Memberships & Hard Copy Newsletter
As far as membership goes, "rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated." We continue to maintain consistent membership while increasing services to our members. Surveys of members who are not current indicate that many of our athletes consider themselves USAPL members even when they have no immediate plans to compete. Should they be ready to pick a competition again, most will chose USAPL. The down side of this, is that funding the programs that are meaningful to you can only occur when our membership base brings in sufficient funds to cover these anticipated costs. One of these programs is the hardcopy newsletter, which, as many of you know (since I keep bringing it up year after year) is important for those who don't regularly use the internet. We expect that costs for a newsletter to be delivered to you four times a year to be in the neighborhood of $10, 000 (based on 4,000 members). Needless to say, we want to provide this service, but don't wish to bankrupt the organization in the process. Since membership revenues are our primary source of revenue, which means more memberships, or a greater percentage of members renewing without lag time. Online renewal of membership is now available through our E-Store: www.usapowerlifting.com/merchandise/index.shtml or on the Membership Application webpage: www.usapowerlifting.com/forms/membership_application.shtml . You can also contact Barb at the National Office (260) 248-4889, or your state chair: www.usapowerlifting.com/admin/state_chairs.shtml .

With USAPL membership comes responsibility. Specifically, that responsibility is to the growth of the sport in general, and particularly, the drug free version of it that we enjoy. There are two things that I want to touch on: respect for our members and organization, and respect for all powerlifters, whether they share our philosophy or not.

One of the areas where we are made little of, rather than being our strong suit is the area of public statements. While we somewhat expect putdowns from those who are jealous or dissatisfied with USAPL, it is more difficult to take when it is our members, themselves. Rather than working through the system, sometimes we tend to "go public" with a complaint. It is very rare that there is something that can't be done, or when someone in the administration isn't available to listen. Please call us or email. Our contact information is available on the website: www.usapowerlifting.com/admin/executive_committee.shtml. If we can't solve the problem, we will at least listen and explain why things are the way they are.

In the area of kindness for other organizations, a great man (Shawn Cain) said, "The best thing for a drug free organization is a non-tested federation." He is right. Those who don't share our sentiments on lifting drug free provide us with a valuable service. That is, to provide a venue for lifters who don't want to follow our rules to compete. Everybody wins. It behooves us to support their efforts and give them the respect that we would give any brother athlete.

Drug Testing
In the area of drug testing, a number of things are going on. The biggest news is the drug testing data base: www.usapowerlifting.com/committees/drugtesting/drugtestingdb/index.php. While we have always published the names of those who we suspend for doping infractions, we haven't released the names of those who PASS. Many of you are proud to be drug free, and would like to be able to prove it. Now you can point to your drug testing record. It is available to anyone.

Another issue that has come up recently is the issue of Out of Meet tests. Through the process of expanding our OMT program, we've learned a number of things. Chief among these is the willingness of our athletes to be tested. That is a comforting feeling. It shows that most of you aren't hiding anything (we knew that, though). Sometimes, those who know they are subject to testing volunteer. Unfortunately, while we appreciate the willingness, we also want to assure the highest standards. That is, no-notice testing. So, our OMT Project Team and/or Drug Testing Chair will set the time for your test. It may not always be at the most convenient time, but we will be assured of the best possible testing program.

Some people have questioned reasons why they aren't given specific values of substances present when they fail a test. Please be advised: this is consistent with the evolving policies of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The reasons for not releasing such information include the imperative not to provide athletes with information that they might use to manipulate levels of banned substances. That is, if you know how much of a substance to use to get a certain level, you can take less and be under the suspension threshold. As a result of this change of direction, you will be informed whether you are positive or negative. Please also be advised that there are safeguards built in to protect you, but SPECIFIC information will not available.

E-Store
Our E-Store continues to develop. Thanks to the efforts of Lance Slaughter, Priscilla Ribic and Geoff Plante, you have access to USAPL merchandise online, and through efforts spearheaded by Lance, you can pick up your USAPL gear at major meets as well. There are specials each month and new items each quarter. Right now, we are featuring our new additions to the E-Store, kids pullover sweatshirts and t-shirts for "future powerlifters." Please check it out at: www.usapowerlifting.com/merchandise/index.shtml and watch the news page and the forums for our monthly specials.

Refereeing
Finally, I want to tackle the difficult issue of refereeing and attempt selection. I deal with these together because they are related and their effects unfortunately, are cumulative. I have been to a number of national and international events and my observations are specifically related to numbers of missed attempts on the most difficult of platforms. On the one hand, the best lifters are present. On the other, they miss as many attempts as those less experienced, or perhaps have an even higher failure rate. Part of this is due to the athlete selecting attempts that are close to maximums. In that situation, to get the lift everything really has to go right. If you don't feel right, had to lose a few extra pounds, have new or untested gear, or have very strict refereeing you may miss not only your opening attempt, but all of them. Someone, somewhere probably has analyzed the percentage of second attempts that are made after missing a first attempt and I don't doubt that it is significant. Very few lifters make a third after missing a first and second attempt. The easy lesson here is to select an attempt that you can get. It's good for USAPL to have our best lifters finish the meet, good for the audience, and good for the lifters.

The issue with refereeing has to do with those (few) officials who either are overly strict or who make their own interpretations of the rules. It has been said before, but if there has been any question, let me say it clearly here: THERE ARE ONLY RULES AND OFFICIAL INTERPRETATIONS! The rules are on the IPF website, as are the interpretations. If you are a referee, it is your responsibility to read the rules and to know the interpretations. If you don't see something there, then don't make a call.

Overall, USAPL has a dedicated and very consistent group of referees. Standards have not slipped over recent years in response to external pressure or an internal desire for greater and greater poundage lifted. There is, however, a standard. The standard is established by what lifts are made by officials across powerlifting as a whole. If you as a referee find yourself either passing OR failing lifts at a greater rate than your peers, you must adjust to come within the standard. The jury will guide you in this regard. However, this type adjustment must be made. Athletes train to the prevailing standard. They expect that. And we must provide consistent officiating that is within the international standard, that acknowledges the Technical Rules AND Interpretations and does not go beyond them.

Larry