WI USAPL Members:

Last weekend hundreds of teenagers competed in WHSPA regional powerlifting contests. There are two more contests this weekend. An exciting month, leading into four-five regional contests in January. Many are trying to qualify for state held in Osceola, Wis. on Mar. 8 and 9. This is a sanctioned USAPL contest with as many as 400 participants.

The WI State Open contest on Jan. 18, 2014 has 70 registrations in. The cap is 115 with an entry form deadline of Jan. 11th. Meet information is available in the original post with the registration link.

Christmas goodies will definitely not help those trying to stay within a weight class! Good luck over the next twelve days.

I’ve been state chair since Jan. 2011, having been voted in by active USAPL members residing in Wisconsin. Bruce Sullivan was the former state chair for many years. Quite a challenge to fill his shoes. According to the USAPL bylaws, section 2.1, every two years there is to be an election. Members will be able to vote via an on-line survey link or vote in person at the Jan. 18, ’14 contest. I’ve enjoyed the role and am looking forward to continue as there many opportunities to continue membership growth in our state. Should there be another individual who like to be added to the ballot, please let me know. Providing a resume, so to speak, will be helpful.

Best regards,

Tonya Lambeth
WI USAPL State Chair

The Wisconsin USAPL Advisory Group has been formed to assist the state chair with the development of a strategy to promote drug-free powerlifting in the state and in the mid-west. The group is comprised of ten members who represent high school coaching & teenage competitors, age divisions of open, collegiate and masters. Five of the members are certified referees. There is also fairly decent geographic representation from around the state; Madison, Racine, New Richmond, Milwaukee, Osceola, Eau Claire. Several members had voluntarily offered their assistance in the past and I took them up on their offer. We have so many talented individuals in the state who already give quite a bit of their time to the sport and I wanted to create another opportunity where the offered assistance could be leveraged to grow our support network.

Members of the group:

• Erin Walterman
• Jon Kradecki
• Kyle Nelson
• Jeff Hahn
• John Shields
• Bruce Sullivan
• Matt Rodock
• Kat Kasubuske
• Alexa Schillinger
• Shawn Cain

You will soon learn a bit more about what the group comes up with as we brainstorm on how / what to promote about this great sport.

Tonya L.

Powerlifting has been in my life since I was seven and it was quite some time before I realized it wasn’t a “normal” sport.  “Normal” as in “mainstream”, at every high school, on TV, everyone knows the sport.  I grew up with a powerlifter who later became my coach.  Lifting weights and working towards a competition was normal and exciting.

My coach, Bruce, wouldn’t let me start training until I was in ninth grade.  I wanted to start sooner.  I had been going to contests for years; carrying a full backpack to keep me busy from early morning into late, late evening.  One year I even had my paper dolls with me.  This was back in the day when the contests were run on the progressive loading system.  Those of you, who have experienced this type of system, know it is not “progressive”.  Still, I loved the sport.  The chalk, the adrenaline, the yelling, cheering and lights flashing on with each lift.  Wow – I was hooked!

Continue reading Chair’s Message – September 2013 →