You could add squat bars to the list too. I only squat around 500 so I’m not speaking from personal experience, but I have heard several lifters talk about how unstable a regular IPF competition bar is with 700+ pounds. When Blaine Sumner squatted 1100 the first time he said that the walkout was the hardest part of the lift, and you could even see him shaking as he came up on the squat because the bar was so unstable. It’s not just a question of making the lift more challenging, it really is a safety issue because even 7 experienced and qualified spotters would have a real hard time saving his ass if he fell over with that weight.
Why not just use a power rack if people are determined to walk out their squats? They could adjust the safety pins for each lifter, just like they adjust the rack height and (at least in the IPF) the safety bars for bench. It seems like too obvious of a solution.
Power rack makes sense until the first dumped squat bends the only calibrated bar at the meet (because EVERYTHING needs to be calibrated now) and ends a meet on the first round on the first flight after a few dozen people paid $500 in total fees.
Bent bar vs. severe injury - which do you choose? Even if they have safety straps or a power rack it doesn’t mean that the spotters should just let you go down when you fail a squat, it’s more like a backup plan in case shit goes bad. Nobody wants to ruin bars, competition bars certainly aren’t cheap, but ruining people’s lives isn’t a great second choice. At worst, they can just put seven spotters on the platform for big squats like they did at this year’s IPF worlds. The rulebook previously limited spotters to five at a time, I’m guessing that Kelly Branton’s near-death experience made them change it. I’m not into a lot of shit they do, but I still have to give credit where it’s due.
As a competitor? Severe injury. It sucks for that dude, but I paid money and I want to compete.
When I blew out my ACL and ruptured my meniscus at a strongman competition, I was greatful the show was able to go on. They picked up me, carried me off, got me some ice, and kept competing. If I was the reason a bunch of people didn’t get to compete just so I could be safe, I’d feel like a cad. I know what I’m getting into.
I get what you’re saying, but how often do you actually see people dump squats in a meet or the spotters not catch the bar at all? I know that RPS rules state that safety straps have to be used for all squats and even in the warmup room, I have yet to hear of a meet being cut short because of a bent bar.
Just imagine how ugly this would have been if he didn’t manage to keep his head up:
I think IPF uses a comp rack because it looks cleaner then a power rack.
But in all honesty, a power rack with no spotters would look cleaner in my opinion.
It’s thicker; it’s stiffer; is longer overall; has longer between the sleeves; and has longer sleeves, all of which combine to make it able to handle much more weight without whipping much if at all and also to be (relatively) more comfortable on the back.
From the OPA site(Ontario Powerlifting Association - IPF affiliate):
“All members should take note concerning the CPU Coaching Program. Recently in Toronto we had a meeting with the OPA Executive, the CPU Board and a member of the Ethics Committee. At this meeting the CPU accepted that there is a conflict of interest with the Coaching Program. The Coaching Program as it stood, is against the Canadian Not For Profits Act. Voting members who are course facilitators will no longer be able to debate or vote on this program. The CPU has also stated that the Coaching Program will not be mandatory at this time.”
So not only are they assholes, they are criminals too. Good thing it didn’t work out, but I have no plans to compete in more of their meets anyway.
Where’d I post that shit about Wilkes v Gaston Parage/The IPF and RIP Powerlifting Australia? I think there’s appeals and lawsuits going on right now lel
Heard some gossip through Wilkes’ training network at Melbourne University that Gaston was taking money from Eastern European feds to have positive drug tests swept under the rug or samples sent to/through Russia for “testing”.
I read some stuff on reddit about this after you brought it up, Robert Wilks sounds like a messed up guy himself. There are just too many assholes in positions of authority in the IPF, and they want to make you feel like you should be honored to compete in their federation. Gaston Parage sounds like a cult leader.
I don’t get the big deal people make over different feds. Unless you compete at a national/international level and/or have a strong opinion on what equipment should allowed for the 3 lifts then how well a meet is run will vary way more based on individual meet directors competency rather different federations in my opinion.
99% of the issues people have with particular feds don’t actually affect them at the level they lift.
I can only comment on my opinion as this change affects the CPU. I think we should welcome a development that promotes training and coaching for our national teams. However, making this program mandatory for national events is a unnecessary. What it says to those of us who have competed a number of times and been coached by a friend, team mate or spouse is that we don’t know what we’re doing. My husband and I have both competed for years and acted as each others coach. This would mean that we would need to spend $800 plus time to do the same thing we’ve done for years. Ultimately it means we are unlikely to attend this event again should this be put through.
With more and more people profiting from this sport as it becomes more mainstream, we are increasingly likely to see this pushed further down to provincial and local levels. Where there is money to be made, there are people driving to make it.
It makes me miss the sport and environment that pulled me in 10 years ago. It’s gone from a family environment of people helping people to making money. Whether that’s the way it’s destined to go, I don’t know but I find it disheartening.
If you think this program has been quelled by the last OPA’s executive, you only have to read the FB post by the current head of the CPU on October 18 to see that that is isn’t’ the case.
This part I agree with. But at the same time, there are coaches from other countries that have Canadian lifters at international meets and are there to handle them (Mike Tuchscherer for example), preventing them from working with their lifters makes little sense. Some sort of exception needs to be made, unless the objective is only to make money and results on the platform are irrelevant.
Correct me if I’m wrong, my impression was that it was going to be for all meets including local meets.
Here’s the thing, there are other feds that are actually offering cash prizes, rather than gouging the lifters. WRPF Canada has only had two meets so far, but the last one had $1000 prizes for the top lifters. USPA/IPL has big prizes as you must know, $40000 at the US Open earlier this year. They have two affiliates in Canada as well, CPL and EPC. It kind of makes you think, what does the IPF really have going for them? Strict judging, which is mostly a good thing, and drug testing. IPL/USPA seems pretty strict too, I just don’t see complaints of bad calls like with the IPF, and it looks like just about every fed has a drug tested division. The only downside is that I have yet to see cash prizes for the best drug-tested lifter and if they were offering $40000 that would be a hug incentive to cheat the test, but what can you do? For a sport that pays no money (as PL has mostly been up until now) there are options that are at the very least equal to the IPF.
I can understand the perspective of these IPF/CPU people who want to make money through coaching/handling and offering courses, they have invested time and money into something that doesn’t directly pay so they want to find a way to get some money out of it. But they are going about it the wrong way and bringing the whole organization into disrepute. There are plenty of people out there who are making a living off PL, whether through coaching (online or in person), selling gear, selling bars and weights, etc. The market is pretty much saturated at this point so any of these IPF people would basically be a small fish in a big pond, especially if they haven’t achieved anything noteworthy themselves, so their solution is an enforced monopoly on coaching and handling.
