Experiences with different feds?

[_3M_]

I was just curious as to what everyone's experiences have been with different federations. Doesn't matter if its raw or geared I would like to know. I've only done 2 meets with Raw United and 1 with APA, Raw united seems like they're still getting things together but have enjoyed competing with them even though they are a bit unorganized at times. The APA meet that I did ran extremely smoothly, and was ran perfectly. I also enjoyed getting a medal at the APA meet for placing top 3. With Raw United you can either pay for a trophy or get a certificate.
I've seen quite a few people on here posting about RPS which I would like to compete in sometime next year possibly, its seems like RPS meets are ran very well.

Anyways what about you guys?

 

[hawkeye]

I think any federation you pic, you can see pro's and con's. Also, geographically speaking, you can see where some feds are strong in some areas. RPS is big out East. UPA has a decent foothold in the Midwest with Bill Carpenter running things out of Dubuque, Iowa. NASA is a national fed, but really what it comes down to is preference in my opinion. Each federation has their own set of rules and by laws. I think the biggest thing is what works for you and what you like.

Look at the SPF, they attract some big lifters and are growing, but there are many that say the judging is lax. Then you go to NASA and people say their judging is ridiculous. I think if you look at things on a bigger picture and ensure that you can qualify for things like RUM or the Arnold or the LA Fit Expo, then that is what matters. For me, I enjoy UPA because Bill Carpenter puts on a great venue. I would like him to expand more nationally but in the greater scheme of things, the proximity to go do a meet that is a few hours away and the knowledge that judging is pretty legit, I cannot complain.

As far as trophies and certificates, they are great, but I would trade both in for just a great meet with a bunch of great lifters. The experience itself and the ability to showcase your hard work is what truly counts in my book.

 

[5.0]

I was amazed at how well the RPS events run, will definitely be looking to do a different event than just my home town one. Great thread 3M I need this knowledge too

 

[porky little keg]

The "problem" of too many feds has become a good thing. Now, we're back to comparing meet directors since most feds are really similar.


I've lifted in and handled guys in the APF, WPC, UPA, RPS, XPC, USPA, SLP, SPF, and IPA. I've also judged a few meets...... I've called depth exactly the same in all of them. Press calls were about the same in all of them. Deadlift is always the same.

The exceptions to that are when a meet director or judge themselves is more relaxed or more strict..... for example, I know that when a particular guy judges I should expect a more strict depth call and a 3 second press call because he cares about what the internet kids have to say and will purposely make his judging excessive just to "prove a point"...... which is dumb as hell. Nice guy, terrible judge.
There are judges I know who go the opposite way too - super fast press calls and/or a slightly higher idea of parallel..... now, keep in mind that I'm talking about a difference of only about an inch.

The only real differences you'll notice as a competitor are the operations/ classifications that a fed runs...... things like the USPA, IPF, USAPL, and some others making you walk out your squats ( other than multi ply USPA which allows a monolift). Or, the UPA,IPA,SPF allowing wraps in raw but the APF not allowing them.

The fed means less now than the meet director..... when Relentless was APF it was the same as how it is now as UPA. When I go to a Carpenter meet in Iowa I know it'll be top notch, whereas the same fed in other states is run more like a local rinky-dink meet and nowhere near as professional.... BUT, those little meets can still be a lot of fun. It's all about finding where YOU have the most fun.

 

[uncxrt]

I've had great experiences with uspa meets. And spf meets have been one great one (was at supertraining) and the other was pure shit (local meet).

https://www.theironden.com/rps-powerlifting-revolution-powerlifting-syndicate/

 

[ChrisLindsay9]

The APF/AAPF federation recently announced that there will be a separate division for squatting with sleeves/wraps. So they will have Raw Squat (no knee support) and Classic Raw Squat (knee support) categories of competing. I can't find a link to the announcement but you can read about it on the APF Powerlifting's Facebook page.

So if you have this federation in your neck of the woods, it gives you some versatility in how you want/prefer to compete.

"To ALL powerlifters. The APF executive committee has discussed the addition of a "raw" class to allow knee wraps/sleeves. We now have the Classic Raw division which will allow wraps/sleeves. This goes into effect immediately. This is ONLY allowed on an APF National basis. This does not apply to any WPC meets.
This means that I will be offering the classic raw division at my meet in two weeks. All meet directors need to make appropriate accommodations for this division." -- John Bolger

The rules/guidelines for wraps/sleeves is still in the WPC handbook. They never removed it even when they went totally raw a few years back.

 

[hawkeye]

The "problem" of too many feds has become a good thing. Now, we're back to comparing meet directors since most feds are really similar.


I've lifted in and handled guys in the APF, WPC, UPA, RPS, XPC, USPA, SLP, SPF, and IPA. I've also judged a few meets...... I've called depth exactly the same in all of them. Press calls were about the same in all of them. Deadlift is always the same.

The exceptions to that are when a meet director or judge themselves is more relaxed or more strict..... for example, I know that when a particular guy judges I should expect a more strict depth call and a 3 second press call because he cares about what the internet kids have to say and will purposely make his judging excessive just to "prove a point"...... which is dumb as hell. Nice guy, terrible judge.
There are judges I know who go the opposite way too - super fast press calls and/or a slightly higher idea of parallel..... now, keep in mind that I'm talking about a difference of only about an inch.

The only real differences you'll notice as a competitor are the operations/ classifications that a fed runs...... things like the USPA, IPF, USAPL, and some others making you walk out your squats ( other than multi ply USPA which allows a monolift). Or, the UPA,IPA,SPF allowing wraps in raw but the APF not allowing them.

The fed means less now than the meet director..... when Relentless was APF it was the same as how it is now as UPA. When I go to a Carpenter meet in Iowa I know it'll be top notch, whereas the same fed in other states is run more like a local rinky-dink meet and nowhere near as professional.... BUT, those little meets can still be a lot of fun. It's all about finding where YOU have the most fun.

I agree PLK. Carp runs a great meet and doesn't skimp. He makes it all about the lifter and really works hard to make the meet run smoothly. While most of his meets are based out of Dubuque, Bill does his best to promote the UPA and support Relentless. I think Carp being a former powerlifter, it gives him great insight on what works and what doesn't. Feds get so political and some of the crap is just too much, but location can be huge. You could go to a meet put on by one fed and it could be awesome and then go to a meet in a different location and it could be complete crap.

 

[_3M_]

I realize it varies by geographic location as well. I was really curious to see what experiences others had with different feds not only for myself because I am pretty new to the world of powerlifting but for some other members that may be looking into competing for the first time and not sure what fed to start out with considering as some of you have said there are so many feds out there now.

 

[porky little keg]

I agree PLK. Carp runs a great meet and doesn't skimp. He makes it all about the lifter and really works hard to make the meet run smoothly. While most of his meets are based out of Dubuque, Bill does his best to promote the UPA and support Relentless. I think Carp being a former powerlifter, it gives him great insight on what works and what doesn't. Feds get so political and some of the crap is just too much, but location can be huge. You could go to a meet put on by one fed and it could be awesome and then go to a meet in a different location and it could be complete crap.

For sure! He runs great meets geared towards giving the lifter a good experience..... He also donates $5 from every membership card ( that's 10% of his earnings from the cards) to Relentless. That's HUGE.


Honestly, for a new lifter, I miss Derryl Latch..... he ran SLP meets at state fairs all over the country. They'd be pretty lax and half the time only have one judge. Powerlifting Watch didn't even count half of the meets because he only had one judge........ but, a new guy could go and compete for $40 in a super low pressure environment.