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USAPL President Micheal W. Overdeer |
President's Message
October 2001
In the past two weeks as I write this, We have seen our Nation set upon, wounded, suffering, and reeling to grasp some bit of understanding, as senseless carnage was inflicted upon innocent people. Understanding will never, ever come. Evil has no justification - only rationalization in the sick and twisted minds of those who are it's instruments.
We have also seen selfless heroism of epic proportions. Firefighters, Law Enforcment Officers, Medics, and caregivers of every profession who have given everything, even their lives, to save anyone they could. We can never
forget those of our brothers and sisters who were charging up the stairs to help those first injured while the impending collapse took them all down. Everyone from Steelworkers, Excavators, Search and Rescue Teams, to Nurses
and Doctors set in to sift through the rubble, for any who might still be saved. Their work remains and will go on until they are forced to end their efforts.
Flags appear everywhere across America. Patriotism surges. Messages of support pour in from practically every free nation, whose empathy and sensibilities have been shocked, evoked by these terrorist attacks. Our National
consciousness has been permanently impacted, and will never be the same. Those from generations who have lived through war, take account of what will be to come. They know that the heavy price of Freedom will again be paid.
USA Powerlifting's Junior World Team had just left for Sofia, Bulgaria. Most had arrived, those who were delayed at airports at home, were never able to leave the ground. We scrambled into contact with our Embassy in
Bulgaria via email, fax, telephone, to provide every detail that we could on our people there, requesting their help. Help they did, guards were posted on them at the hotels and venue. They were advised, and had already put
away, their team uniforms, t-shirts, and anything that would identify them as Americans. They were restricted in their ability to move about, but were able to focus on the IPF World Championships that they had come to compete in.
True to the levels of excellence that got them there, our athletes mustered; and proudly represented their sport and their nation, under all of the pressures of the tragedies that had occurred back home. Our Junior Men's Team took third at this IPF World Championships, and the Junior Women's Team took fourth. Individual medals were won, and a new crop of American Records were set. We are extremely proud of this team effort, and very thankful that they all made it home safe & sound.
Meanwhile, there are several other USA Powerlifting World Teams preparing for IPF World Championships which all fall close together at the end of the year. Almost back to back with the Juniors, is the new Sub-Junior World Championships, to be held next week in Sotchi, Russia. Those teenage athletes were to begin travelling as this message is written. The tragic events of two weeks ago had taken it's toll on all of our sensibilities. These events took a dominant place in the minds of those teenage athletes, and their parents, who were preparing for the Sub-Junior Worlds. As family
decisions were made, one by one, this team began to diminish. With full respect for the decisions of the individual families, we again scrambled to try and coordinate travel itineraries with one of our Executive Committee
members who was attending the Championships as an official. On short notice, the change fees were extraordinary, and as Friday, Sept. 21 rolled around, only two remaining members of the team were still committed to going. Nonetheless, we remained hopeful - coordinating travel, transfer of visas, exchanges of funds - to accommodate the two remaining athletes, so that they could be accompanied by one of our Executive members. Finally, The President and
Vice President, who were monitoring all of this, received information that an incident, or incidents, had occurred in Detroit, which was where their International flight was to leave from. The decision was made at approx.
5:30 P.M., 09-21-01, to pull the plug. While we regret not being able to send a team to the first IPF Sub-Junior World Championships, there will be others in the future. The safety and security of our athletes must take priority.
Having recounted these events, it must be known that USA Powerlifting will purposefully forge ahead. We intend to participate in the remaining IPF World Championships to the fullest extent. Barring any changes in our Nation's
policies toward international travel, we will continue to send our best and brightest to represent the USA and the great sport of Powerlifting. The enormity of what has happened cannot be lost on us, and we must proceed with
the best guidance available to us through the US Government agencies. The light of USA Powerlifting's mission has not been dimmed.
These events cause us to look at our own priorities. On one hand, there are those who might say that powerlifting is just a sport, a hobby that pales into comparison with the issues of war and terrorism. This might be true. On
the other hand, this great nation is founded on the principles of freedom - we champion the rights of free people to live without tyranny, or under the thumb of oppression. We hold fast to the freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that are spelled out in our constitution. We cherish these rights and fiercely protect them.
The mission of USA Powerlifting is a proud exercise of these constitutional rights. We are a organized group of people committed not only to promoting a sport, but even moreso to promoting the ethics of fair play, to achieving excellence with accountability, to the virtues of healthy lifestyles, wellness, and long-term goals. We have chosen to make a difference in our world. We shall not be underestimated. The impact of a free people carrying the torches of excellence and accountability as an example for the world, is altruism, and brotherly love in it's highest degrees.
This is what we do, and yes, it is important - to America and to the World.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
Sincerely,
Michael W. Overdeer
President, USA Powerlifting
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USAPL Vice President
Larry Maile
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Vice President's Message
October, 2001
Vice President's Address
With the conclusion of the Master World Championships in Moose Jaw, this past week, we pass an important milestone: we have solidified our position as one of the premier powerlifting federations, and countries in the world.
The U.S. enjoyed a long history atop the Men's and Women's Open divisions, very likely because our sport started here in the U.S. It took several decades for the rest of the world to catch up, but clearly they have. We have gone through a period since in which powerlifting has been dominated by Eastern European and Asian countries. And while that still remains the case in the Open Divisions to some degree, we have been improving over the past several years, and have clearly established ourselves as significant players in the Master's, Bench Press, and Junior Divisions.
Some of the reasons for this include that we have a large and diverse population to draw from. One of the comments that I have heard frequently overseas has addressed the turnover on our teams. We continue to fill teams with lifters who are new to international competition, while maintaining a core of veterans. We have both experience and new blood, which can only strengthen our program. The improving results demonstrate that we are our own best competition.
In this vein, "hat's off" to Shawn Cain and Harriet Hall, who successfully defended their world championship titles. This may be a first (sorry if I am overlooking someone) since our affiliation with the IPF. While this is far from the dynasties of the past, it is a positive trend since our affiliation with the IPF in 1997.
In light of the events of September 11, we cancelled our participation in the first Sub-Junior World Championships. Security concerns had to be foremost at that time, and these deserving young athletes were denied the opportunity to get their feet wet on the IPF platform. The meet participation suffered as a result of our not attending, and we lost as well, in terms of the experience. But, we remain committed to the Sub-Junior program, and to full participation in all up coming championships. We will travel outside of the North American continent again for the Open (Men's) World Championships in Finland this month, with a strong team and the commitment to do our best.
We look forward to 2002, with the return of IPF World Championships to the U.S. in March. The 2002 World Master's Bench Press Championships will be held in Killeen, Texas. We expect a professional quality production, as always, from Johnny Graham and the Phantom Corps, and outstanding performances from our athletes. Wouldn't it be great to welcome a world back to the U.S. with a resounding victory?
Larry
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