President's Message

October 17, 2005

As I write this, USA Powerlifting is three quarters through a very successful year. Our World Championships teams have done very, very well. With the return of our Master's, almost across the board team champions, and our Juniors and Sub-juniors finishing in the medals, the strength of our elite-level programs continues to grow.

As we review the accomplishments of 2005, having completed our larger national championships, this has been a very good year. Performance is improved, and participation is very strong as well.

But that is not all USA Powerlifting is about. We continue to look for ways to develop and unify our grass-roots level competition, at the State and local levels. This fall and next spring, we are opening up competition in several states that have been light on USAPL involvement over the past several years. We hope to bring our style of competition, drug-free, consistent rules and good times to more of the lifters out there.

We are looking forward to the IPF Men's World Championships in Miami 9-13 November. It will be held in association with the Pan American Championships. As you are likely aware, the Pan Am Championships enjoyed a great deal of prestige in past years when associated with the Pan Am Games, but has fallen off in terms of interest since being eliminated. We hope to begin to rebuild the tradition of competition between athletes from North, Central, and South America so that we might, again, be considered a viable entrant to the Pan Am Games.

This past few months have been important in improving our working relationship with the U.S. fitness festival in Florida. We provide mutual support, education, and a chance for youngsters to try the powerlifting movements. Our colleagues in weightlifting provide the same sorts of experiences in our sister sport. At the end of the day, the kids in attendance had the opportunity to put "hands on" in the strength sports and learn a little about competition possibilities.

We continue to need your assistance in furthering our programs. We need volunteer authors for Powerlines and our Newsletter. We need assistance in refereeing, training, and coaching athletes. We are always looking for meet promoters. We need assistance with the labor to support some of our larger competitions. Please give back to USA Powerlifting so that we might continue to grow and provide you with the best possible powerlifting experience available.

Best regards,
L.J. Maile, Ph.D.
President