Note on 2015 Raw Nationals from USA Powerlifting President

Now that Raw Nationals is over, I wanted to express my thanks to everyone who made it possible. I am sure to miss some, and apologize in advance.  First, to the lifters who had to confidence in USA Powerlifting to make this the largest meet in history. Without you, it wouldn’t have been the great show that it was. Thanks also to Steve Mann for taking this on, adjusting as it grew, and being flexible in the face of emergencies. Bill Clayton and Eliot Feldman did an outstanding job as Technical Secretaries, and Mike Zawalinski as scoring manager, working for days in advance to get the paperwork right, the weigh-ins started on time, the competition started and complete as quickly and close to schedule as possible, and for getting the results posted each session quickly and accurately. There were so many administrative volunteers, working computer scoring, registration, etc, but some of them were the kids from NEU, Jill Arnow and Joanne Craig, Mike Armstrong, Joanna Charl Rieber, Bonica Lough and too many other who cycled in and out to count. Geno Powerlifting did an excellent job announcing, managing four platforms when other help wasn’t available and was assisted for several days by Linda McFeeters from the CPU. Trey Cunningham kept the live stream up and running the whole meet. The spotters and loaders were among the best in the world. Some of them were from the teams at Northeastern University, Penn State, Scranton University, and many of the referees did double duty, spotting and loading when they weren’t in the chair. And for those of you who questioned the ladies spotting, they did an excellent job (they were on my platform when I lifted and I had complete confidence in them). The referees did an outstanding job. To run four platforms over four days, it takes almost 70 officials. Thank you all for giving your time and effort to make this a success. Jack Marcus and Brandi had the thankless task of administering more than 100 drug tests over four days, and without them we wouldn’t meet our standards of a level playing field. And finally, I wanted to thank all the sponsors. No meet of this scope would be possible without the financial support of the corporations and individuals who made it possible (and I apologize if I miss anyone) Bodybuilding.com, Rogue, Barbell 1, Titan Support Systems, Caffeine and Kilos, Doughnuts and Deadlifts, Strengthshop.com, Juggernaut Training Systems, Anderson Powerlifting, Team Rohr, Bench Blokz, Brown’s Gym, E.R. Equipment, Purepowerlifting.com. I am sure I am forgetting someone, but that’s all I can remember right now. For my part, I enjoyed returning to the National platform after three years. As administrators, we must always remember why we are here and what this sport is about. There was no better place to do it than the 2015 Raw Nationals. L.J. (Larry) Maile, Ph.D.