The IPF 2007 Agenda: A partial look from the Periphery

By Fernando Canteli and Marilia Coutinho
(canteli@uol.com.br and marilia-coutinho@uol.com.br)

Why partial and why periphery?
Partial because you are not going to get a comprehensive report from anyone under the Equator line – not from Brazil, at least. Your best bet is someone who can look at things going on in Austria from a multi-faceted point of view, who knows enough about the local setting as well as the international context and – important – who can speak languages other than their native one - and here we are. We took part in IPF championships, one of us translated their last rulebook, but we are not IPF officials in Brazil and we do not support the IPF – we believe in honesty, so you must understand where we stand.

Periphery because Brazil is economically, politically and culturally peripheral in the global system, because Powerlifting is a marginal sport, because it is even more marginal in Brazil, where it is almost a typical working-class sport, which makes our position twice as peripheral.

Disclaimers properly stated, let us proceed to some contextual information: Brazil is not a relevant country in powerlifting in general, or in IPF powerlifting in particular. In most World Championships, Brazil scores low, in spite of the fact that it sends a small team of its best IPF lifters. A quick examination of Committees and deliberative bodies in the organization shows that Brazilians are not politically active at the IPF.

Powerlifting in Brazil is concentrated in a small number of South and South-eastern states. Most athletes come from underprivileged segments of society. Most have no higher degree and no knowledge of foreign languages. Although Brazil has surprisingly high indicators concerning internet and computer access (any slum has dozens of cheap lan houses), the level of internet literacy is actually low and the ability to retrieve information from the net, poor. Athletes that have felt encouraged by winning titles for a couple of consecutive meets more often than not do the effort of buying Titan equipment. Most of them spend many months paying for a single shirt. Those who aren’t able to do this, use Murphy support equipment, which provides lower carry-over and support, but is cheaper and easier to purchase.

It is hard to put true numbers to proportions, but we would estimate that, considering all Brazilian lifters who have ever taken part in a meet, 30% are IPF-only; another 30% participate both in WNPF and WABDL meets (mostly Southern lifters), and the rest will go to whatever is organized close to them, irrespective of the federation. The number of un-sanctioned, raw-only bench press meets is growing in the country and, at this point, are too scattered and isolated to be counted.

Southern lifters going to WNPF and WABLD meets often use bench shirts produced by local manufacturers such as HADES or Canhão, which offer good carry-over and support and are not accepted in IPF meets.

Until a few years ago, powerlifting was practiced in Brazil with no concern whatsoever for the international scene – from rulebook to organizational procedures, everything was locally invented. The moves that gave rise to IPF, WABDL and WNPF Brazilian chapters took place between the States of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. Presently, IPF has more member states, but is still concentrated in São Paulo, whereas WABDL and WNPF have their basis in the South. A fourth national federation, with no international counterpart appeared, called CONBRAFA, spreading fast chiefly at the Southestern region, and concentrated in Rio de Janeiro.

The level of awareness about federation existence, divergence and conflict is almost nil. The great majority of lifters that have ever competed have no idea there are other federations at all. They actually have a very vague idea who the organizers of the event they took part actually are.

The agenda 2007 document has been online for quite some time and as far as we know, half a dozen lifters in Brazil even took notice of its existence, let alone read it, let alone discuss it. We have inspected internet communities and forums and found no mention of the document nor the Congress, in which dramatic transformations in present rules, procedures and even records may take place within IPF lifting, affecting not only IPF-only lifters but the whole powerlifting community.

No effort on the part of IPF officials in Brazil has ever been done to discuss proposed rule changes among lifters before they were voted in Congresses, making rule change appear as a sort of “religious revelation”: it comes from heaven and thus must be followed without criticism. The agenda 2007 is no exception. When we ask: “are you aware that Australia proposed banning support shirts all together, re-defining all weight classes and starting new record registration, putting the old records in a virtual museum?” what we receive are blank looks.

This said, it is easy to understand that it would be impossible to point out what a “Brazilian Perspective” on the IPF agenda would be.

We believe that the main issue here is this state of perverse isolation that has never been dealt with seriously. There are no democratic discussion channels or news channels. The result is that Brazilian lifters go on pretending there is nothing going on beyond national borders, which doesn’t help them at all once the new rules are poured over their benches and platforms leaving them utterly impotent. Once there, all they can do is either make their best to adjust to the new rules or quit attending IPF meets.

Both have happened in the past and, should the most radical changes proposed by Australia or Germany take place, we foresee a denser flight from IPF rows towards other federations and to unsanctioned meets. Lifters who have, with much sacrifice, purchased Titan shirts will feel betrayed and will not simply throw their most expensive item away to satisfy leaders. These lifters are more experienced and know enough about the national powerlifting scene to seek other alternatives among WABDL, WNPF and CONBRAFA. Unequipped lifters at this point are not benefited by the rule change either. These are lifters who struggle with much more difficulty, who have still a lesser contact with rules and procedures and who have found some hospitality in unsanctioned meets with more flexible rules. Should they be forced to lift according to a 30 plus page rulebook that legislates from the amount of buttock area that may be in contact with the bench, to head and feet position, whether elbow locking must or must not be simultaneous and other hair splitting issues, these lifters will either give up lifting or seek other alternatives. Such “other alternatives” are popping up around the country like mushrooms after the rain and will absorb this demand.

This is basically our prediction for the approval of what we both see as a set of suicidal decisions the IPF has ahead – at least in what concerns the unfoldings within Brazil.