FAQ

As was described in previous answers, the APF and WPC were started by Ernie Frantz in Aurora, IL. Let’s put the differences in the organizations as described above aside between the APF and AAPF, and the WPC and AWPC. For the purposes of this question, the AAPF is considered part of the APF, and the AWPC part of the WPC.

The APF was formed as a non-profit organization. So, no one “owns” the APF per say. The APF is controlled by a Board of Directors, and headed by a President. The APF founder, Ernie Frantz, ran the organization as its President for many years, but has since retired. Ernie then appointed Kieran Kidder to being the APF President, who as was described above, started the WPO. In October 2007, the APF Board voted in a new President and Vice President. Garry Frank was voted as APF President; Mike McDaniel was voted APF Vice President. Their terms will run for two years, at which time the Board will nominate and vote in new officials. In addition to those offcials, the current APF Board includes Amy Jackson (secretary/treasurer), Kieran Kidder, Russ Barlow, Mike Sweeney, Lisa Wheeler, Ken Wheeler, J.R. Bolger, and Wayne Pullum. In addition to the Board and President that run the APF, the organization has State Chairman in most States in the US.

The WPC, on the other hand, was started as a corporation by Ernie Frantz. Ernie was the owner and President for many years in the organization, although he let the rules and other aspects of the organization be controlled by representatives of the member nations of the WPC in the Annual Governing Meeting (AGM) at the yearly WPC World Championships. In 2003, Ernie Frantz sold the corporation of the WPC to Kieran Kidder, so that he could semi-retire. So Kidder is now the owner of the WPC. At the WPC Worlds in 2007, Mike Sweeney was also voted WPC President for a 2-year term.

All of that being said, the majority of the paper work and administrative duties of the APF/WPC is handled by the APF Office Manager Amy Jackson. Amy has served as the secretary for the APF for over 15 years, and continues to be the silent workhorse that keeps the organization running.

The APF is a complex organization.  It could almost be described that it is five organizations in one.  Connected together, we have the APF, AAPF, WPC, and AWPC.  So what do all of these letters mean?  See above for the explanation on the difference between the APF and AAPF.  Branching off from the APF and AAPF is the WPC and AWPC–the World Powerlifting Congress and Amateur World Powerlifting Congress.  Soon after Ernie Frantz started the APF, he wanted to have international competition for his US lifters.  So, he went out and formed the WPC as the international arm of the APF.  Currently the WPC has over 30 member nations, and has an annual World Powerlifting Championships.  When the AAPF was formed in 1997, Ernie Frantz concurrently formed the AWPC as the international arm of the AAPF.  The AWPC also has an annual World Powerlifting Championships.  The difference between the WPC and AWPC are the same as described above in the difference between the APF and AAPF.  The home page for the APF/AAPF/WPC/AWPC ishttps://worldpowerliftingcongress.com/ for more information.<\p>

If we put all of the organizations together, one could see the progression from one organization to the next as the lifter progresses in his or her lifting career.  A lifter would go from the AAPF to the AWPC, and then to the APF to the WPC.  Not all lifters will make it up to the level of the WPC, but that is the progression of the organizations.<\p>

The APF/WPC has two levels of referee/judges.  The first is simply being an APF National Referee.  To become a certified APF National Referee, you must first be an APF/AAPF member in good standing, and then must take a test and pay a $10 processing fee to the APF Office. Contact Amy Jackson if you are interested in starting the process.  Assuming you pass, you will be issued an APF referee card and referee patch.  Your certification as an APF Referee is good for two years, although you must keep up your APF/AAPF membership.  After two years, it is an additional $10 to renew your referee certification.<\p>

The second level of referee in the APF/WPC is the WPC World Referee.  To become a WPC World Referee, you, again, must be an APF/AAPF member in good standing, and then must take another, more extensive test, and pass a “practical” test at a National or World Meet.  The test for becoming a WPC referee is much long and more involved than the APF referee test, especially in that it involves a number of real situation essay questions that must be answered.  The “practical” part of the test involves actually judging at a National and World meet while being watched by current WPC referee(s).  Again, you must pay a $10 processing fee, and you will be issued a WPC referee card and patch.<\p>

Once you have become a referee, the standard attire for local/state meets is nice pants (or a skirt for women), and a white shirt with the referee patch on the left breast or breast pocket of the shirt.  For National or World Meets, a dark blue blazer or coat is usually expected with the referee patch again on the left breast or breast pocket, and for men a tie with the white shirt. It is just important that the lifters can identify you as a referee/judge, and that you look professional on the platform.<\p>

The APF is always looking for more referees to help at APF competitions.  It is often a difficult job, and sometimes even a thankless job (although a good meet director should always thank his/her judges), but it is a completely necessary job for competitions to occur.  Most of the time meet directors will feed you when you are working the competition.  If you must travel a good distance to the meet, a meet director also may comp a hotel room for you for the duration of the competition, especially at National or World meets.  We could always use new, quality referees.  Please give back to the sport you love.<\p>

WPC and APF rules are updated continuously.  The latest Rule Book (see link) is available on this website.  FAQs are guidelines and not necessarily up to date.

In powerlifting, an abundance of federations/organizations exist.  It is difficult to keep track of all the different rules and supportive gear and equipment allowed.  If you are not familiar with powerlifting rules at all, the below might not make a whole lot of sense to you.  If so, just skip down to the bottom paragraph.

So, here is a very shortened explanation of the major differences between the WPC and other federations.  First, as far as supportive gear, single or double ply poly, denim, or canvas suits, shirts, and briefs are OK.  You can only wear one suit, one shirt, and one pair of briefs, however, and each of those must be one whole piece of gear.  As far as the briefs, those with legs are allowed to be worn under the suit.  On the bench shirts, the velcro back and open back/split neck shirts are OK.  The bench shirt, however, cannot be pulled down so far that it is off the shoulders and making the arm pit crease visible.  Knee wraps up to 3 meters are allowed.  On the equipment used in competition, we allow the use the monolift squat rack, as well as specialized barbells for each lift, like the 55 lb/25 kg squat bar and the specialized deadlift bar.  On rules, during the bench press, we use the “Press” signal.  We allow 24 hour weigh-ins before the competition as well.

Those are the most common supportive gear, equipment and rules types of concerns that could be different than other federations.  It is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with the full rule book before entering an APF meet, and pose any questions you have to a certified referee.  One thing to keep in mind is that no supportive gear is required.  The only thing that is required is a one piece suit or singlet.  As far as how the WPC rules compare specifically to other federations, you would have to check with those other federation rule books.

All APF\WPC powerlifting contests have a number of weight classes for which men and women can compete. In most contests, the meet director looks to not only crown the first place winners of each weight class, but also pound for pound overall best lifter or lifters. So, we use a formula to compare lifters of different bodyweights. With getting into the statistical analysis of it all, a formula was created by using the best lifts for each weight class. The formula then creates coefficients for a lifter’s bodyweight that is to be multiplied by the total amount of weight lifted. Essentially, multiplying the coefficients times the total weight lifted creates a coefficient total that can be compared to coefficient totals from lifters in different weight classes. And, the highest coefficient total is the Best Lifter. Note that there are different formulas for men and for women.

For example, let’s say a 220 pound male lifter totals 2000 pounds and a 165 pound lifter totals 1400 pounds. First, to use the formula, all of those numbers must be converted into kilograms. So the 100 kg lifter totals 907.19 kg and the 75 kg lifter totals 635.04 kg. Using the coefficient tables (which will be discussed below), the 100 kg lifter (who weighed exactly 100 kg) would have a coefficient of 0.581300. The 75 kg lifter (who weighed exactly 75 kg) would have a 0.688550 coefficient. Then by multiplying the total weight lifted by the coefficient, a coefficient total for the best lifter is calculated. So, 907.19 kg times 0.581300 equals 527.35, and 635.04 times 0.688550 equals 437.26. So the 220 lifter would win the Best Lifter award.

For most of the existence of the APF/WPC, the Reshel Formula was used to determine the best lifter, created by a former APF Technical Officer, Greg Rechel. Recently, however, the APF/WPC adopted the new Glossbrenner Formula, created by Powerlifting USA Statistician Herb Glossbrenner. This formula, however is not really a new formula as much as a combination of two older ones. It took the average of the coefficients from the oldest formula, the Schwartz, and new IPF formula, the Wilks. Herb Glossbrenner contended that the Reschel too heavily favored the very light weight lifters, and was outdated. He also contended that, while they were both okay formulas, the Schwartz formula favored the lighter lifters and the Wilks favored the heavier lifters. So, he took the average of the two to balance them out.

In addition to the regular best lifter formula, the APF/WPC also has a formula for determining a best overall Master (lifters over the age of 40) lifter. For the Master Formula, the APF uses the McCulloch Numbers. These numbers work the same as the best lifter coefficients. After first multiplying the total weight lifted by the Glossbrenner coefficient, that product is then multiplied by the Masters’ Age Number. Again, the highest coefficient total wins.

First, there are a few different National and World meets of the APF/AAPF/WPC/AWPC. As far as National meets, there is the APF Raw Nationals, APF Equipped Nationals, and AAPF Nationals. To qualify for the Equipped Multiply Open class at APF Equipped Nationals or AAPF Nationals, you must hit a qualifying total at an APF/AAPF meet before entering the National meets (these are available on the WPC website). There are no qualifying totals for Raw, Bench Only, Deadlift Only, or age divisions at any national meet. In these cases you need have only competed at a sanctioned APF/AAPF meet within one year of the national meet.

On the World level, there are only two meets, WPC Worlds and the AWPC Worlds. To qualify for WPC Worlds, you must place first through third at one of the APF national meets. Otherwise, you must contact the APF Office to see if there is room on the US team for you as an alternate, after the National meets have taken place. Usually there are alternate spots, especially in the age divisions. To qualify for AWPC Worlds, you must place first through third at AAPF Nationals. Again, you can also apply for an alternate spot on the US team, after AAPF Nationals.

First, you need to know what the current record(s) are. Check out the records page on this website for the current State/American/World records.

Now, let’s start with State Records. You may set State records at a competition in any state, but you may only set records for the state in which you claim residency (E.g. Say you live in Michigan. You can set Michigan state records at a competition in Illinois, but you may not set Illinois state records). Then, you must compete in the sanction (APF or AAPF), weight class, and age division for the division of the current record. Most importantly, you must lift at least 2.5 kg more than the current record. Finally, you must fill out the record application that will be provided at the meet and turn it in to the meet director or technical officer of the meet.

[Note that other States may handle their State Records differently. How the State Records are handled are up to the discretion of the individual State Chairmen of the APF. Some States may, for instance, not allow State Records to be set at a meet outside of the state. Please check with your State Chairman.]

American Records are very similar. Again, you must compete at an APF/AAPF sanctioned meet, but this time it can be anywhere in the US. You must be a United States resident also (citizenship is NOT required). Then, you must again compete in the sanction and weight class, and qualify in the division of the current record. And, most importantly, you must lift at least 2.5 kg more than the current record. Sometimes an American record will be broken by a smaller amount, like by 0.5 kg. But this will only happen if it was broken in conjunction with a World Record (see below). So, sometimes, you can break it by less than 2.5 kg, but it still must be in the regular 2.5 kg breakdowns of the weights. Finally, again, you must fill out and turn in the record application at the meet.

World Records are a bit more difficult to break. To break a WR, you must compete an APF/AAPF National meet or a WPC/AWPC International or World meet. World Records can ONLY be broken and National or World meets, not at local/state/regional meets. Of course you must compete in the sanction and weight class, and qualify in the division of the current record. You can exceed the current record by as little as 0.5 kg. The record breaking plates will most likely be available at National and World meets. And finally, you must fill out and turn in the proper record application at the meet.

When breaking records, the WPC rule book does allow lifters to take 4th attempts, outside of the competition. These 4th attempts will not be counted towards your total for the meet. You must have completed a lift that is within 20 kg of the current record. These 4th attempts, however, are only allowed for World Records. Thus, because WRs can only be broken in National or World meets, you can only get 4th attempts in National or World Meets. 4th attempts are not allowed at local/state meets at ALL, nor are they allowed to soley break State or American records.

One “issue” with breaking records is that the meet must have the proper referees for records to be broken. For State or American records, three certified APF National Referees be judging the lifts. One or all of those officials may be WPC Officials as well. At National meets, at least two of the judges must be certified WPC Officials, and the third an APF certified referee for World Records to be broken. And at World meets, all three judges must be WPC Officials, and two must be from different countries. The official scale of the meet must also have been officially certified with the last 6 months for World Records. These issues should all be taken care of by the meet director, however, so lifters need not worry about them for the most part.

Another “issue” with breaking records is that 3-lift records can only be broken in 3-lift meets. The powerlifting records of squat, bench press, deadlift and total must be broken while competing in a 3-lift powerlifting meet. In addition, bench only and deadlift only records can only be broken at bench only, deadlift only, or push-pull type meets. Full meet lifters can NOT break these records unless they are able and do cross-enter into multiple events in the same meet.

Meets where the meet director runs it in pounds instead of kilograms is another a common issue when it comes to records. All records in Illinois and in the APF are recorded in kilograms. By rule (see above), IL State and American records must be broken by at least 2.5 kilograms. All lifts done in pounds will be rounded DOWN to the nearest 2.5 kg incriment. So, the weight you lift in pounds, when converted to kilograms (and consequently rounded down to the nearest 2.5 kg), must exceed the current record by at least 2.5 kg. For instance, say the record that you are attempting to break is 100 kg or about 220 lbs. If you lifted 225 lbs at your meet, that would convert to about 102.1 kg, but that would be rounded down to only 100 kg for record purposes, and therefore would NOT break the record. On the other hand, 230 lbs converts to about 104.3 kg, which would be rounded to 102.5 kg and would break the current 100 kg record. All of this converting and rounding can be quite confusing no doubt. As a lifter, it would be best to figure this type of conversion out before the meet, or request that the meet director in your area use kilogram plates.

Finally, please remember that the proper record application MUST be filled out and turned into the meet director or state chairman at the meet for the record to be properly recorded. As the former APF Illinois State Chairman Maris Sternberg was fond of saying, “If there’s no paperwork, the record doesn’t exist!” The paperwork should be provided by the meet director at the meet, and only takes a minute or two to complete. Note that at Illinois meets, if the State Chairman is in attendance, you need not worry about getting the officials signatures, that will be taken care of for you. BUT, at other meets, it is advisable that you seek out the referees and officials and get them to sign your application. Many meet directors do not take the time to get their officials to sign the paperwork, and often will cost their lifters a record due to incorrect filing of the record application. All in all, however, make sure you fill out a record application if you break a record.

On an aside with records, if you break an IL State, American or World record, you will receive an official record certificate in the mail from the APF Office, free of extra charge to you.