The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) shared a letter that was sent to USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Executive Director Priscilla Ribic with regard to consideration of world records secured in powerlifting events at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF), specifically the lifts from North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) or USA Powerlifting (USAPL) competitions.
In short, the records haven’t been secured — not by the IPF.
In the letter, there is a detailing of the IPF constitution, the technical rules, and anti-doping rules. The IPF made clear in their conclusion that they would not count records made during the events at the ASF as IPF records as the events were not sanctioned.
The event in question here was not sanctioned by the IPF and not on its calendar. The NAPF and USAPL did not seek sanction from the IPF for this event despite article 12.1.7 in the IPF Constitution.
[Related: Arnold Sports Festival announces new dates for two 2020 contests.]
For those unfamiliar, here is article 12.1.7 of the IPF constitution:
“12.1.7 Regional Federations cannot issue permits for competitions other than their own regional championships and regional events open for two or more nations of that Region and must also be sanctioned by the IPF.”
As part of the sanctioning of an event, the IPF must consult with the Anti-Doping Commission (ADC) so that an an Anti-Doping Authority can be delegated the responsibility of the event in question to assure that the drug testing complies with the Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) of the IPF constitution. According to the IPF’s letter, neither the USAPL or NAPF communicated to the IPF that they wanted their events at the ASF to be IPF sanctioned. Therefore, no such Anti-Doping Authority was assigned.
[Related: Julius Maddox bench presses world record 770lb at the Arnold Sports Festival.]
The most notable records that are affected were hit by Ashton Rouska at the NAPF Arnold Grand Prix by SBD. Here were the records Rouska set in that one meet:
- Squat – 331.5kg/730.8lb – World Record
- Deadlift – 364.7kg/804lb – American Record
- Total – 880.9kg/1,942lb – World Record
The IPF said further in their letter that:
“Again, we want to reiterate that we could not agree more with your message that we should work closely in the future to better understand how the different rules impact us all and the events we organize.Therefore, we propose that we cooperate more closely in the future, communicate frequently, have signed agreements in place as well as checklists and working documents and follow through so we may have successful high-profile professional championships that work for the benefit of worldwide powerlifting and all lifters.”
Although the records set during the USAPL and NAPF events from the 2020 ASF will not be considered IPF records, they will still maintain themselves as NAPF or USAPL world records and/or American records.
USAPL’s Response
BarBend reached out to USAPL Executive Director Priscilla Ribic for comment:
“The IPF leadership was well aware of the Arnold Sports Festival Powerlifting events, as it has been under the IPF umbrella since 2009. Members of the IPF Executive Committee, including the IPF President, have attended and officiated in the past. To that end, a formal complaint is being filed with the IPF Court of Justice, the 500 Euro filing fee has already been paid on April 23, 2020. We are prepared to take this to the highest level, the Court of Arbitration for Sports if necessary.”
Feature image from Ashton Rouska’s Instagram page: @wreck_it_rouska
