|
|
|
|
Since this will be the final issue of Powerlines, I thought I would share a few thoughts on it's birth, life and demise.
Powerlines was conceived in 2001 as a communication tool for the USAPL to reach the general membership with recent news, and a place to publish contest results of all levels. Then president Mike Overdeer was the driving force that got it going originally, with Larry Maile assuming that dedication to it when he became USAPL President.
For the most part, I think it succeeded, better in some areas than others certainly. Results publishing was probably the best part. Obviously not every contest made it in, but the great majority did, 90 percent or more. Some came in right away, some 6 months after, or even longer. Every lift received lifter was also entered into the searchable database, which was then used to create the very popular annual Rankings list. The results themselves were often very challenging. Difficult to read handwriting, or 6 point type that was impossible to read after faxing. Dates and locations would be missing, ages and weight classes missing, sometime "M2" meant 45 to 49, sometimes 50 to 59, with no indication of which one it was supposed to be.
Without a doubt the most challenging aspect was getting regular content, like articles and contest write-ups. Despite Powerlines being an official USAPL publication, only a few of the EC members ever contributed. Larry Maile and Rob Keller, were great, even if Mr. Keller was always late! A few others, like Priscilla Ribic, Maura Shuttleworth, Erin Dickey and others that came and went. I don't know how many other people "volunteered" to send in articles, but when deadline time came they were "way too busy right now, but I'll have something for the next issue for sure". Tomorrow never comes as the old saying goes.
But despite all that, it seemed to come together each time, 38 times in total. The rebirth of the hard copy though brought decreased interest in Powerlines, and the empty pages that came from that struggle to get content have resulted in the decision to pull the plug. I enjoyed the journey, and learned from processing over 44,000 lifter results that USAPL is as much or more about the regular lifters, the guys and girls fighting to make it to their state championships than it is about the elite liters we all hear about.
Thanks to everyone who helped out over 7 years, and thanks to every single USAPL member who had their results listed on our pages. I only hope that you continue to get the recognition you all so justly deserve for your hard work and dedication to the sport we love so much.
Mike Armstrong
March 2008
|
|
