President's Message
May 26, 2007

In this issue, there are a number of exciting things to report. It has been a great start to what will be a very successful year. One of the most significant measures of that success is our acceptance into the the Arnold (Schwarzenegger) Sport Festival this coming March in Columbus, Ohio. Held in association with the Arnold Fitness Expo, the largest fitness related event in the world, the Sport Festival includes 38 sports and 150,000 spectators. USA Powerlifting has been selected as a participant in recognition of our commitment to drug tested competition, our affiliation with the International Powerlifting Federation (home of the strongest powerlifters in the world), and our balanced approach to powerlifting equipment. This is a great opportunity for USAPL and for the sport of powerlifting in general. It recognizes the efforts of everyday lifters out there who are fierce competitors but who are also normal people from all walks of life. This great step forward for powerlifting is a tribute to the thousands of you who love this sport and practice it at every level. Initial information on this competition is included in this document. If you, or someone you know is interested in providing sponsorship to facilitate this event, please contact the National Office with your ideas.

And speaking of "all of you", USA Powerlifting in March had the largest monthly membership sales in organizational history. 1208 of you signed up, either for the first time or renewed your memberships. This is in part due to the 32 meets held during the month, but also reflects the growth in local organization that we have all worked so hard to achieve. State Chairpersons in every state are working hard to bring competition to where you live with a number of states increasing in activity and appeal. Our raw division is allowing prospective athletes to give powerlifting competition a try without the initial expense of more sophisticated equipment. But the single most important factor is the assistance and friendly public face of folks like each of you who attend our local meets and cheer on each competitor whether you know them or not. That is really what USA Powerlifting is about and what draws people to us. Thank you for all your efforts.

With each new challenge, we are faced with questions and pressure to stray from our commitment to the original mision that Brother Bennett articulated: that of leveling the playing field through the most effective drug testing program possible. It was envisioned as applying to every lifter and at every level. USA Powerlifting will remain dedicated to this mission. It is worthy of our best efforts and must be a cornerstone of our organization. You, our constituents may rest assured that we will not relax our standards so that we might gain a few more members or to attract a few elite athletes. The rules are for everyone, as well them must be. By the same token, we welcome with open arms anyone who will follow the rules of USAPL. All they need to do is join the federation and join the fun!

As I write this, our Bench Press team is at the World Championships in Thisted, Denmark. USA Powerlifting is demonstrating a tradition of excellence among our international athletes: we are perpetual place winners in international competition and all without the cloud of doping that hangs over several of our international collegues. This spring, we have held several of our major national competitions, and have proceeded through most of them without a drug test failure. THAT is remarkable! While some may be cynical, the results speak for themselves. Many of the best drug free athletes in the country choose to compete with USAPL. They show that you can be strong without using drugs.

We continue to enjoy a close partnership with our major equipment sponsors: Titan Support Systems and Inzer Advance Designs. These companies continue to support our efforts from the local to the international level through generous donations and price reductions on equipment. These companies have donated cash and in-kind support to many of our national meet promoters, and have supported the efforts of the administration of the North American Powerlifting Federation in developing competition, and recruiting powerlifters, officials, and administrators in our region.

Looking ahead, the "big show" (for men anyway), the 25th USAPL Men's National Championships is coming to the Gateway City, St. Louis in mid-July. Expect the best athletes in the country to be vying for the title of National Champion, as well as the opportunity to compete in the Men's World Championships in Soelden, Austria this fall.

In just a couple of weeks, Men's and Women's Teams will head out to Guatemala City for the North American Championships. We have full men's and women's teams, and many masters and juniors attending. We fully expect the largest delegation this year, following the huge showing from the home team in Puerto Rico last year. Our Women's Team will defend their title, hard fought last year, and the men's team will attempt to move up from the second spot behind Puerto Rico last year. This promises to be a great championship with the full backing of the Olympic Committee of Guatemala. They are donating the use of the National Olympic Stadium for the competiton.

In August, lifters from the U.S. will attend the Pan American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We are still looking for athletes to participate. Please do not be deterred by the distance. This will be a fantastic meet. Those of us who attended the Brazil Nationals several years ago had the experience of a lifetime. We were treated like powerlifting royalty (even those of us who are, well, less that elite lifters). The hotel is inexpensive and food is plentiful and low cost. But the most important thing is the friendliness of the people. They are GREAT! If you are interested in attending, contact either Robert Keller (rhk@verizon.net) or me (l-maile@usapowerlifting.com). You will need to book your tickets early as a visa is required. Please see the link to the invitation at: http://www.usapowerlifting.com/forms/Pan-Ams_2007.pdf.

Along with the Men's Nationals is our annual National Governing Body meeting. Please plan on attending. We have moved the meeting to Friday (after the ladies exhibition meet) so that more of you could attend. This meeting is where we summarize the preceding year and solicit your opinion as to directions for the coming year. Without your imput your executive may not succed in piloting this ship in the direction that our members want to go. Please plan on attending.

To close, I would like to thank each of you for making USA Powerlfting the premier powerlifting organization in the country. Whether you are a new member, or are renewing this year, thank you and welcome to your powerlifitng federation.

LJM