Powerlifting Meets: A Deep Dive
Manda Wolff here (@bigbadwolff24), Competitive powerlifter, judge, coach, and garage gym athlete, here to expand upon the previous GGC vs a “Real” Meet, to give you a powerlifting deep dive. More information on what doing a sanctioned powerlifting meet will look like vs our beloved GGC. I have competed in four federations, judge for four federations, and have attended more meets than I can keep track of. When I reach the “rules” portion of this article (which will be in Part 2), they will be basic rules, and I will make side notes as I deem necessary. Each federation has its own rulebook which is found on the federation website. I highly encourage all new lifters to read through the rulebook for their federation before signing up for a meet. Without further ado I will take all of last week’s topics, and make them longer.
Location – The Meet Itself
As mentioned, meets can be anywhere or they can be nowhere. As the sport grows, it is easier to find local meets. But if you live in a lesser populated area, you will be traveling. A quick Google search of “town you live + powerlifting” should point you in the right direction. The venue itself has no requirements. If the venue doesn’t have air conditioning or adequate parking, I hope you like sweating and walking.
They will have two rooms, a warm-up room where you… warm-up… and the room where you do your actual competing. The warm up room will be separate from where the meet takes place. So you won’t have to warm up in front of a crowd. You can have one coach in the warm up room with you. These areas get crowded, so when you’re warming up, pick a warm up platform with people warming up with similar weights. Some meets cap at 30 lifters, some 60, some 90. Some national events have over 500 lifters spanned over 4 days across multiple platforms. If you are at a multiple platform meet, KNOW WHAT PLATFORM YOU ARE ON. Regardless of the number of lifters, plan on spending your entire day at this location. I encourage food, water, electrolytes, fully charged headphones, and a travel pillow.
Fees
The previous article hit the nail on the head. Meets can be pricey. The average is around $85-$100 for one entry (ex: Open/Female/75kg). If you wish to enter full power (squat/bench/deadlift) and push-pull only, you will pay a crossover fee. This can be anywhere between $50 and $85. If you’ve ever seen posts from someone who won five or six medals at one meet, it’s because they did crossovers.
Equipment: For you and for the Meet
What we LOVE about the GGC is that you can do what you can, with what you have. When you step into a sanctioned meet, that changes.
General requirements for all lifters
- Singlet
- Cotton T Shirt
- Cotton Underwear (whitey tighties for you fellas)
- Over the shin socks (for deadlifts)
Things not required but often used:
- Belt
- Knee sleeves/wraps (check maximum allowed thickness of sleeve/length of wrap on federation website)
- Elbow sleeves
- Squat shoes
- Deadlift shoes
- Wrist Wraps (check maximum length on federation website)
As mentioned, some federations (namely the USAPL and USPA) require a LOT of money for companies to be “approved” for use. These federations will have “gear check-ins” that will be done at the same time as you weigh in (24 hours before the meet except for USAPL which is a 2 hour weigh in). You must bring all of the gear you are going to wear to the meet, or you will not be allowed to weigh in. For federations that do not have strict gear requirements, your gear will be checked only if you successfully break a record or if it’s incredibly obvious that you are somehow breaking a rule (wearing sleeves under your wraps?).
Bars will be provided in the warm up room as well as the platform. Most federations use a 25KG Squat bar for squats, a 20KG power bar for bench, and a 20KG deadlift bar for deadlifts. The USAPL uses a 20KG power bar for all lifts, and the USPA often doesn’t use a squat bar for women. In some federations, a 25KG bench bar will be used. Most federations use kilograms, and will have a conversion chart handy. It is ALWAYS a good idea to have your warmups and attempts converted before the meet, as you will be telling the person at the table your next attempt in KG.
This concludes part one of the deep dive into powerlifting meets. Please feel free to contact me on IG @bigbadwolff24 if you have any questions.
