The USA Powerlifting Collegiate Committee revised the 2023 qualifying totals (QTs) using three key principles:

1) Create balanced QTs
2) Provide accessibility for growing collegiate programs
3) Maintain the integrity and high standards of our championships

As we continue to work towards creating a long-term and sustainable solution to our qualifying process, we have adjusted the Qualifying Totals entering the 2023 season. This decision was made for the following reasons:

1) Create balanced QTs

As the popularity of Collegiate Powerlifting has increased in the past five years, we have seen the QTs of the middle weight classes exceed the QTs of heavier weight classes. Although strength is not linear, we believe that as weight classes increase, so should the QTs.

2) Provide accessibility for growing collegiate programs

Participation in the collegiate division is high, and it continues to grow. With that said, one obstacle emerging teams continue to have in entering a team at the National Championships is the inability to qualify. This can be linked to many reasons, but we addressed one factor in balancing the QTs: inhibiting extremely high QT increases in middle-weight classes. We recognize that participation is highest in middle-weight classes, which makes them most susceptible to high QT increases. 2023 sees a slight decrease to the QTs of these popular weight classes in the hope that this provides realistic standards for emerging teams to qualify athletes in these weight classes and send a delegation to Collegiate Nationals.

3) Maintain the integrity and high standards of our championships

Collegiate Nationals remains the most competitive and anticipated competition in powerlifting due to the team competition. It is the only meet in the world where team success is more important than individual success. We believe that the rationale of these newly structured QTs provide more flexibility for team participation and maintain the high standards to qualify and participate in Arlington, Texas next year.

Questions? Submit them to your Collegiate Committee at collegiate@usapowerlifting.com

USA Powerlifting is America’s Choice for Drug-Free Strength Sport, and the nation’s leading powerlifting organization with over 21,000 active members. Founded in 1981 as the American Drug Free Powerlifting Association, USA Powerlifting is a mission-driven 501c(3) non-profit. USA Powerlifting is committed to maintaining a fair and level playing field by drug testing at every sanctioned competition. For more information email pr@usapowerlifting.com

2023 USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals Location Announced

We are excited to announce the 2023 USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals will be held at the Arlington Expo Center in Arlington, TX, April 13-16, 2023.

People say everything’s bigger in Texas, but the city of Arlington does it best. Centrally located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington is just a short drive from DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field, attendees can fly in and make themselves at home in no time. It is a growing city that isn’t the same as it was 100 years ago or even 10.

An exciting piece of Arlington history is the original Six Flags theme park opened here in August 1961 as the first regional theme park in the country. Today there are over 50 rides and 5 live entertainment shows. In addition to one of the country’s finest theme parks, Arlington is also home to a diverse mix of shops and restaurants. Arlington has a variety of authentic restaurant experiences. Chop House Burgers, Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine, Prince Lebanese Grill, and Taste of Europe have been featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and dives.

Arlington has been undergoing many changes over the past decade and it hasn’t slowed down. Since 2009, the Entertainment District added Dallas Cowboys’ home AT&T Stadium, the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame, the restaurant and entertainment hub Texas Live!, Texas Rangers’ new home Globe Life Field, and the luxury hotel Live! by Loews Arlington. The city is the home to the largest Esports facility in North America and will soon add an 888-room Loews Arlington Hotel with a new Arlington Convention Center that will be complete in 2024. There is always something new to add to the World of Wonderful.

“We are beyond excited to welcome USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals to Arlington, Texas,” said Matt Wilson, Executive Director of the Arlington Sports Commission. “We are a city that celebrates athletic competitions like no other in the country. There is no doubt that the organization, the fans and the athletes traveling to Arlington will feel right at home in a city that is built to crown champions!”

• Collegiate Nationals Website: collegiate.nationals.usapowerlifting.com
• Registration Live: TBD by Collegiate Committee
• Divisions: Raw & Equipped Full Powerlifting
• Qualifications: Open to all qualified Collegiate USA Powerlifting members who meet or exceed the qualifying Collegiate totals between Jan 1, 2022 through entry deadline.
• Questions on Collegiate Eligibility can be directed to the Collegiate Committee at collegiate@usapowerlifting.com

USA Powerlifting is America’s Choice for Drug-Free Strength Sport, and the nation’s leading powerlifting organization with over 20,000 active members. Founded in 1981 as the American Drug Free Powerlifting Association, USA Powerlifting is a mission-driven 501c(3) non-profit. USA Powerlifting is committed to maintaining a fair and level playing field by drug testing at every sanctioned competition. For more information email pr@usapowerlifting.com

2023 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals Location Announced

We are excited to announce the 2023 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals will be held at the Memphis Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, TN, September 14-17, 2023.

Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, with incredible city and river views from everywhere you turn – Memphis is a city with history. The city is home to rock legends like Elvis Presley and blues icons like BB King, with plenty of places to learn about the destination’s music history such as legendary Sun Studios, Elvis Presley’s Graceland, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and Blues Hall of Fame. That’s not the only important history Memphis offers, the National Civil Rights Museum educates visitors on civil rights history from the past to present and offers those a chance to explore the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.

Memphis is known for having some of the best barbecue in the world, but the city offers an eclectic culinary experience, whether it’s dining at our cities oldest soul food restaurant, or the delicious authentic worldly cuisines from James Beard nominated chefs – one thing is for sure, there are plenty of options on the menu.

Staying active is also easy to do in the city known as the Home of Blues, Soul & Rock ‘n’ Roll. Kayak along the Wolf River Harbor that feeds into the mighty Mississippi River, run or bike across Big River Crossing – the longest public pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi, or visit Shelby Farms Park, one of America’s largest urban parks.

“We’re looking forward to having the USA Powerlifting Nationals take place in Memphis,” said JJ Greer, sales manager of sports and events at Memphis Tourism and the Memphis Sports Council. “Now is the perfect time to host this event in our city, as our Memphis Renasant Convention Center just went through a $200M modernization, making it the perfect place to host this event. Not only are we looking forward to connecting with those in the powerlifting community, but we’re excited to tell them all about what Memphis has to offer.”

• Raw Nationals Website: raw.nationals.usapowerlifting.com
• Registration Live: September 1, 2022
• Divisions: Raw full powerlifting, Teen, Junior, Open & Masters
• Qualifications: Open to all USA Powerlifting members who meet or exceed the qualifying raw totals between Jan 1, 2022 through entry deadline.
• Primetime will be held during the evening session each day.

USA Powerlifting is America’s Choice for Drug-Free Strength Sport, and the nation’s leading powerlifting organization with over 20,000 active members. Founded in 1981 as the American Drug Free Powerlifting Association, USA Powerlifting is a mission-driven 501c(3) non-profit. USA Powerlifting is committed to maintaining a fair and level playing field by drug testing at every sanctioned competition. For more information email pr@usapowerlifting.com

Complete the Bid Application and submit your bid to the National Office and Teen/Jr Committee Chair by July 22th. The meet will be awarded no later than August 2, 2022.

Bid Application
National Meet Contract Agreement

Teen/High National School Schedule

Collegiate/Jr National Schedule

What platform will your athlete lift on?  Go to the Roster for each event and search their name.  All Rosters can be found at register.usapowerlifting.com

Governing Board Meeting

Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109, US

Monday June 13^th 9:00am – 5:00pm

All current USA Powerlifting members are invited to attend the 2022 National Governing Board (NGB) Meeting.

The official agenda will be posted on the USA Powerlifting website the week of June 6^th.

Nominations for Executive Committee Members:  Deadline for Nominations May 13^th  

Elected Executive Committee Positions (3-year terms):

• President
• EC Members (2 elected)

2022 Executive Committee Nomination Form

All names submitted as candidates for the Executive Committee will be asked if they are willing to run for the position. If willing to run, they will be asked to provide a resume and letter of interest. Candidates may nominate themselves for election to the Executive Committee.

Nominations for Four (4) Athlete Representatives: Deadline for Nominations May 13^th   

USA Powerlifting will be holding an online vote for the 3 Athlete Representative positions whose terms end this year and an additional position that was not filled in 2021.

Information regarding the Athlete’s Representative position can be found at Athlete Representative Position Description

2022 Athlete Representative Nomination Form

Nominations for Honorary Awards: Deadline for Nominations May 13^th   

Each year, recognition is given to the officials, athletes and coaches who represent the highest standards of service to their fellow athletes and the ideals of USA Powerlifting. These are the Honorary Awards. They are voted on at the National Governing Board Meeting which is held in conjunction with Open National Championships. These awards reflect the highest esteem of the governing delegates of USA Powerlifting. Nomination to these prestigious awards is an honor. The recipients of the Honorary Awards exemplify the values of USA Powerlifting, our sport as a whole and the drug free ethic that is central to our organization.

Information regarding these awards and past recipients can be found at Honorary Award Information

• Brother Bennett Award
• Athlete of the Year
• Coach of the Year
• Referee of the Year

2022 Honorary Award Nomination Form

All nominations for honorary awards should include reasons for nomination and background information. There are places in the form to submit this information.

Per the 2017 NGB vote, the voting for the honorary awards will be held online.

Assigning your vote to a proxy: Deadline to assign Proxy June 6^th        

A reminder to all State Chairs and voting members: If you are planning to assign your vote to another member in 2022, you must notify the USAPL Secretary, Angela Simons, by filling out the form below.

2022 NGB Proxy Form

The form must be completed by June 6^th.

State Chairs must proxy their vote to a member from their state.

Only one vote is allowed per individual. All voting members must have a current membership.

Reminder: the following positions are voting members at the NGB meeting

• Executive Committee Members
• Athlete Representatives
• State Chairs
• Committee Chairs (Collegiate, Masters, Military, Teen/Jr, Women)
• Second Voting Representative to the five states with the highest number of registered members in 2021 (TX, CA, FL, NY, WI)

If you have any questions, please contact any Executive Committee member. Executive Committee members’ contact information can be found at  Executive Committee Contact Information

Committee Reports: Deadline to submit committee report May 13^th

Committee Chairs: Please use the form at  2022 USA Powerlifting NGB Committee Reports to submit your committee report or to indicate that your committee has no report to submit.

Committee reports will be included in NGB materials per NGB vote in 2007. Committee chairs are still encouraged to use their time to thank those they wish and give a brief summary at the meeting.

Important Deadlines:

April 20^th: Deadline for submitting bylaw changes.

May 13^th: Deadline for submitting rule changes. 2022 USA Powerlifting Bylaws and Rule Change Submission Form

(Current by-laws can be found at USA Powerlifting Rules and Bylaws)

Internal updates to the bylaws are being made for removal of references to the IPF and there is no need to submit bylaw changes in reference to the IPF.

Proposals must be submitted in the following format.

• Microsoft Word
• Margins 1″
• Font: Arial
• Font size: 10
• Proposal:
• Rationale:

May 13^th: All nominations (4 Athlete Representatives, President, 2 Executive Committee positions, and all honorary award nominations) and all committee reports.

June 6^th: Deadline to assign NGB proxy.

Assignment of proxies, nominations, amendments, and additions submitted after these deadlines will not be accepted.

November 30, 2021

USA Powerlifting International Membership Information

USA Powerlifting competitions are open to international lifters who wish to compete on a drug-tested platform against the strongest powerlifters in the world. 

Historically, we have had international members who, with the permission of their home country, competed with us. Permission is no longer required if you meet the terms and conditions of our membership. Currently, we have 64 different nations represented by our international membership, with growing interest from many other nations. Our international members will now be able to compete under their country’s flag at USA Powerlifting events.

Criteria for International Member participation in meets:

• Local Meets – Compete for placing
• State Championships – Compete as International Guest
• National meets (with the exception of Collegiates) – Compete as International Guest
• Collegiate Nationals or Collegiate Only events – Complete for placing
• Arnold events – Compete for placing
• Pro Series Events – Invitation Only

Criteria to Referee

• May referee meets based on their current referee level. (ie, must achieve National or higher to referee National level meets)
• Are eligible to sit for referee exams with the same criteria as any other member.

International memberships can be accessed on our membership page.  

Additional information regarding records, international events, results, and other questions will be developed by our International Committee in the future. We will release new details as they become available.

Below is an example of an international member card.

We look forward to seeing you on the USA Powerlifting platform!

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USA Powerlifting is proud to announce it will return to Westin Lombard (Illinois) for the 2022 High School National Powerlifting Championships and the 2022 Collegiate National Powerlifting Championships.

Westin Lombard, just outside of Chicago, played host to the 2019 Open National and Raw National Championships and was one of the most popular events in history. Many thousands of athletes, supporters, and volunteers attended and shared their love of the venue and location. 

Now, we will be returning for two of our largest events on the calendar. High School and Collegiate athletes will experience another world class USA Powerlifting event at a premier location.  These two events will run back-to-back with High Schools held March 23-26 and Collegiates March 27-30.  More information will be shared in the future, visit usapowerlifting.com to stay up to date.

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All current USA Powerlifting members are invited to attend the 2021 National Governing Board (NGB) Meeting.

The official agenda will be posted on the USA Powerlifting website the week of June 13th.

Nominations for Executive Committee Members: Deadline for Nominations May 20th
Elected Executive Committee Positions (3-year terms):

Treasurer
Secretary
EC Members (2 elected)

2021 Executive Committee Nomination Form

All names submitted as candidates for the Executive Committee will be asked if they are willing to run for the position. If willing to run, they will be asked to provide a resume and letter of interest. Candidates may nominate themselves for election to the Executive Committee.

Nominations for Athlete Representatives: Deadline for Nominations May 20th
USA Powerlifting will be holding an online vote for the 2 Athlete Representative positions whose terms end this year.

Information regarding the Athlete’s Representative position can be found at Athlete Representative Position Description

2021 Athlete Representative Nomination Form

Nominations for Honorary Awards: Deadline for Nominations May 20th
Each year, recognition is given to the officials, athletes and coaches who represent the highest standards of service to their fellow athletes and the ideals of USA Powerlifting. These are the Honorary Awards. They are voted on at the National Governing Body Meeting which is held in conjunction with Men’s National Championships. These awards reflect the highest esteem of the governing delegates of USA Powerlifting. Nomination to these prestigious awards is an honor. The recipients of the Honorary Awards exemplify the values of USA Powerlifting, our sport as a whole and the drug free ethic that is central to our organization.

Information regarding these awards and past recipients can be found at Honorary Award Information

Brother Bennett Award
Athlete of the Year
Coach of the Year
Referee of the Year

2021 Honorary Award Nomination Form

All nominations for honorary awards should include reasons for nomination and background information. There are places in the form to submit this information.

Per the 2017 NGB vote, the voting for the honorary awards will be held online.

All those nominated in 2020 for any position must be renominated in 2021 using the forms provided.

Assigning your vote to a proxy: Deadline to assign Proxy June 14th
A reminder to all State Chairs and voting members: If you are planning to assign your vote to another member in 2021, you must notify the USAPL Secretary, Angela Simons, by filling out the form below.

2021 NGB Proxy Form

The form must be completed by June 14th.
State Chairs must proxy their vote to a member from their state.

Only one vote is allowed per individual. All voting members must have a current membership.

Reminder: the following positions are voting members at the NGB meeting

• Executive Committee Members
• Athlete Representatives
• State Chairs
• Committee Chairs (Collegiate, Masters, Military, Teen/Jr, Women)
• Second Voting Representative to the five states with the highest number of registered members in 2020 (CA, FL, NY, TX, WI)

If you have any questions, please contact any Executive Committee member. Executive Committee members’ contact information can be found at Executive Committee Contact Information

Committee Reports: Deadline to submit committee report May 20th
Committee Chairs: Please use the form at 2021 USA Powerlifting NGB Committee Reports to submit your 2020 and 2021 report or to indicate that your committee has no report to submit.

Committee reports need to include the action of the committee from 2020 and 2021.

Committee reports will be included in NGB materials per NGB vote in 2007. Committee chairs are still encouraged to use their time to thank those they wish and give a brief summary at the meeting.

Important Deadlines:
March 20th: Deadline for submitting bylaw changes.
May 20th: Deadline for submitting rule changes.

2021 USA Powerlifting Bylaws and Rule Change Submission Form

(Current by-laws can be found at USA Powerlifting Rules and Bylaws)

Proposals must be submitted in the following format.
• Microsoft Word
• Margins 1″
• Font: Arial
• Font size: 10
• Proposal:
• Rational:

Bylaw and Rule change proposals submitted in 2020 do not need to be resubmitted for 2021.

May 20th: All nominations (2 Athlete Representatives, Secretary, Treasurer, 2 Executive Committee positions, and all honorary award nominations) and all committee reports.

June 14th: Deadline to assign NGB proxy.
Assignment of proxies, nominations, amendments, and additions submitted after these deadlines will not be accepted.