High School

High School Committee

Committee Chair: Jill Arnow

Jeff Hahn – 2026

Bart Stricklin – 2027

Joe Lewis – 2027

Dan Black – 2028

Jim Battenfield – 2028

Nicholas Lusk – 2028

Houston Wentzel – 2029

High School Nationals – Rules and Requirements

Competition Dates

The meet must be held one of the last two weekends in March. If the last weekend is Easter Weekend, the meet can be held the week before or after.
The meet typically lasts 4 days, from Thursday through Sunday. Starting in 2026, Jr High (7th and 8th grade) will lift on Thursday. In 2026, up to 60 spots will be reserved for Raw Jr High lifters. On Friday through Sunday, Varsity lifters compete.
All dates must be posted on the meet website, including:
- Lifter Registration deadlines (opening date, late registration date, final registration date)
- Team Registration deadlines
- Final Weight class change
- Final Team Roster (one week out)
Dates must adhere to USAPL and HS National Rules
- Lifter Registration must close at least 2 weeks out
- Team Registration must close 1 month out
- Final weight class change – 2 weeks out
- Final Team Rosters Due – 1 week out
Lifters may register prior to achieving their qualifying total however, they will not be eligible for a refund if they do not achieve the QT prior to the deadline.

Award Divisions

For Varsity and Junior Varsity:
The top 5 lifters will be awarded in each weight division (M/F, R/E)
The top 3 teams will be awarded in each division (M/F/Combined, R/E)
Best lifter will be awarded based on DOTS (M/F, R/E)
For Junior High:
The top 5 lifters will be awarded in each weight division (M/F)
The top team will be awarded in each division (M/F/Combined)
Best lifter will be awarded on DOTS (M/F)

Lifter Eligibility

Only high school lifters may compete. All lifters must:

Be a current member of USA Powerlifting
Be a registered High School student (9-12th grade) at the time of the competition. Proof of enrollment and good standing are required.
- Note: Early graduates are not eligible to compete
- Note: lifters in 8th grade who are too old to compete in Youth and achieve the qualifying total may lift in JV. 8th graders may not compete on a JV team.
- 7th and 8th grade will compete in the Jr High division. Jr High lifters that make the JV total can compete in the JV division, but may not be on a JV team.
Not turn 19 years old before September 1 of the academic school year.
Achieve the qualifying total (QT) between January 1st of the previous year and the stated deadline. The QT can be achieved at:
- Any USA Powerlifting meet.
- A High School State Championships sanctioned by either USA Powerlifting or the state’s High School Powerlifting/Sports Association

Freshmen and sophomores (grades 9 and 10, respectively) may choose to compete in either the junior varsity (JV) or varsity (V) division, provided they have achieved the appropriate qualifying total for the division they enter. Juniors and seniors (grades 11 and 12, respectively) may only compete in the varsity division and must have achieved the appropriate varsity qualifying total.
Lifters can only lift in one category at the meet (e.g., raw or equipped; junior varsity or varsity)

Coach Eligibility

All coaches in the warm-up room or behind the platforms must be members of USA Powerlifting and must show proof of membership to gain access to the warm-up room.

Team Eligibility

Teams must be:

A registered USA Powerlifting Club
All lifters must be members of the Club and current USA Powerlifting members
All lifters must attend the same school
Male or Female teams can have up to 12 lifters with no more than 2 per weight class.
Final Combined teams must have at least one and no more than 5 members of each gender. Teams can be formed in one of the following ways:
- The top 5 Males and top 5 Females from the Club’s M and F team rosters
- Submitting a specific mixed roster with at least a minimum of one and no more than 12 members of each gender.
- A combination of the above two options (e.g., the top from a scoring F team, and a submitted roster of 12 M’s.

Team Scoring

Point scoring for team championships is as follows: 12, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for the first 10 lifters placing in any bodyweight category. No points are awarded beyond 10th place.
For Male and Female Teams:
The point scores of the five (5) best-placed lifters of each team will be counted for the team competition.
In the case of a tie for the classification of a team, the team having the greatest number of first places will be ranked first. In the case of a tie between two teams having the same number of first places, the one having the greatest number of second places will be classified first, and so on through the placing of the maximum of five scoring lifters. Should teams finish equally after this procedure has been applied, then the team with the greater total number of DOTS points (of the five best-placed lifters) will be declared the higher placed.)
For Combined Teams:
Combined team scoring will be based upon taking up to the top five (5) scoring males and up to the top five (5) scoring females from either the male and female team rosters or a unique roster made up of 12 males and 12 females or a combination of the two (e.g., top 5 scoring males and a roster of 12 females). A scoring member must place in the top 10. There must be a minimum of one member of each sex that places in the top 10 for the team to score. All members of a combined team must be on the official club roster and attend the same high school.