Still working on paying the lifters from a few years ago?

The guy should be in jail.

As far as the APF is concerned:

-Tighten up the judging, that's what will separate the various multi-ply feds.

-Make the qualifying requirements for Seniors competitive; not easy, and not unrealistic -competitive.

-Push to have more local meets to get more lifters involved.

-Cut out a few divisions. Teen & Juniors together, Open, and Masters/Pediatric.

The APF could be a great federation again, but they need people who are willing to put in the work and cater to the lifter instead of personal interest.

No excuses! Just lift it!

There can be nothing but agreement on this post in regards to what Garry has done and is doing for the APF! And things so far are just the tip of the iceburg!

they are paying everyone. i already got my check. i hope they get a meet going similar to the arnold soon.

Just to reply to a few of your observations....

Ask the SHW in this last meet, and the meet in Alabama if the judging was loose. Garry and Buddy only use hard judges. They are working on improveing the image, not playing into stereotypes. If you want token lifts, dont come to these meets. heck the depths from the high schol videos. The ones i saw were deep, nothing was given.

The qualifying marks for seniors are pretty damn competitve. I dont think anyone would call them easy. Maybe the old numbers, but not the current ones.

The APF cannot force more local meets. What they can do is try to hold the best meets possible that make traveling to a meet worthwhile. Competing in multiple locals, or traveling to one or two great meets is a no brainer in my mind. We may differ. I also dont feel bound by federations.

The divisions are only an abstract barrier between lifters. You and i both know that the real lifters are looking for top totals, not hiding in classifications. Most top notch meets have many junior lifters that lift open. Its a matter of paying your dues, and working your way up. While i do agree that there are too many divisions, some of the lifters like winning something, and if that gets more lifters then we accomplished something.

Again i will not speak for anyone but all of the federations are accomplishing the same thing. For the most part its an issue of traveling. Some federations are more concentrated in parts of the country.(USPF-Cal, Tex, APF-South, IPA- Midwest, UPA- eastern, southest) Until we get past that barrier, any positives will not be noticed. People are glued to "their" feds out of convienence more than anything. APF is trying to make a conscious effort to change that.

Hats off to Gary Frank. The meet was great. As a lifter I appreciated the large warm up area as well as the amazing set up for the spectators. Gary covered the rules personally (I can only speak for day two as I was not there for Saturday's lifting) and he stressed that the judges were looking for legit squats and as a deeper squatter, I appreciated that. There were some bombouts because of this, but no complaints as that is part of the game. About 1pm-ish tons of boxes of pizza were put in the warm-up area for the lifters and their handlers, and large containers of water and poweraide were constantly being replenished. Gary was there the whole time Sunday (I was not there Sat.) I have been in the APF since 95 and this was a meet that had a lot of planning behind it. I don't get involved in all the politics of the sport as I feel powerlifting is stronger without it. So simply put, it was a great experience and I like the direction the APF is going in.

APF since 1995, powerlifter since 1989.

Kieran is not paying in full. The letter I received says if I sign off on this offered amount I should basically be happy I received any payment. Give me a break. The guy rips me off and then trys to get me to sign this legal document for $1000 less then what he owes me. Sweeney talking out his ass again.

Was it the full amount? I am sure he is paying some in full and some like my self part of it.

I lifted in this meet also. This was my first meet since an intramural college meet in 1986! I was nervous as all get go, but that was relieved by the great people there. Lifters that I haev been only reading about for the past 10 years were giving advice and helping out in the warm-ups. I would say the squats were judged with depth. I missed my first on depth, got my second and missed my third due to a step at the top. My nephew and his bud, collegiate lifters who only lift USAPL, were impressed by the depth required for whites.

For me, this meet was pure fun. Gary Frank called me aside and talked to me about my lifting and where I was from and where I was workign out. Marc "Spud" Bartley came up to me after the bench press adn spent 15 minutes showing me how to set my shirt to get more out of it. Mike McDaniel gave me kinds words after the meet as did another judge. Now let me say I in no way impressed anyone with my strength. 1575 total at SHW is nothing to write home about.
I made some mistakes (many actually) and got some great help from world-class lifters.

All-in-all I had a blast. I entered this meet because I had invested in double-ply gear and this meet was close to me. Honestly, had it been in Texas or Mississippi, I would probably not have gone with gas prices the way they are. If you had a problem at the meet (I didn't) Gary and his team were on it. I am writing a personal letter to Gary Frank to thank him personally for doing a great job. This meet inspired me, taught me, and gave me more motivation to train than I have had in the past 15 years.

I don't know about you Dan but the last few APF meets I have been to the rules were enforced to the letter.

As far as having more meets the President and VP can't do it by themselves how many meets have you put on or helped at in your area Dan?

As far as cutting back on divisions I don't see why masters couldn't start at 50? I know I can compete well in the open at 42.

You have to admit the short time that our President and VP have been in office they have done a great job!

I'm not slamming Garry or the new direction at all, just listing the things that are going to important to get the APF on top again. I am an avid APF supporter.

I've been a spotter/loader for every meet I could attend while I was still living in WA; Spokane, Pasco, Tri-cities, Idaho, etc.

I would spot and load even when competing later in the day, but thanks for asking.

Garry is an excellent choice as President of the APF. I've really not known him well at all except over the last year. From my perspective his strengths in the role are personal integrity, name recognition, excellent networking, excellent organization/planning skills, excellent work habits, and a true full personal commitment to powerlifting and the APF. There was a thread recently asking what Garry and/or I had done since being named to our roles. There was also a thread asking for info. on long-term vision for the APF. All things considered, these days it seems to be much safer and long-term more beneficial to let actions do the talking. Judging integrity in the APF was justifiably getting negative attention. We've published a guide to lifters for expectations versus rules, have done the same for judges' performance, are actively involved with existing judges, and at quite a few meets to improve consistency, finalized certification for 4 new WPC judges last weekend that perform consistent with requirements, and have more planned to influence for improvement going forward. Another area of concern was negative growth. Garry's working hard on an APF renewal/growth plan that will pay didvidends in a variety of ways. APF High School Nationals was one example. Doubling lifter count for the meet last weekend versus the previous year is another. There will be more announcements and evidence of growth later in the year.

Garry and I are choosing to take the high road in all we do. We'll work very hard to ensure that eventually every meet is consistent with our and lifter expectations for the APF (equipment, venue, judging, lifter treatment, lifter safety, etc.). This year is trending in a positive direction. At the end of '08 if you plot significant events/improvement I expect you'll get a very clear picture of where Garry's taking the APF.

More to come.

Best to all,
mike mcdaniel
apf12766/wpc441

good post mike!

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I've been to one of Garrys AAPF Nationals a few ago, he runs a quality meet. I wanted to return for apf masters nat's, but work got in the way. I have no problem traveling to a meet he is involved with.

I know alot of people may choke at the thought of being in agreement with Sweeney - but it is what it is.

Good job Garry.