2004 News Archive

November 10, 2004

Nominations for the 2004 Longhorn Open are now available. Click here to check them out.

October 17, 2004

Entry forms are ready for download! The Longhorn Open is the weekend before Thanksgiving and the December Fest is the second weekend in December. Start your training today!

September 23, 2004

Fellow Texas Powerlifters-
This year’s USAPL Longhorn Open is upon us once again! As you may, or may not know, the Longhorn Open is a powerlifting event that is hosted and run by The University of Texas Powerlifting Club. All its members, myself included, are collegiate students. We host this meet primarily as a fundraiser to send as many of our team members as we possibly can to the USAPL National Collegiate Championships each spring. Throughout the last nineteen to twenty years “The Longhorn” has become its own institution; as Tony Cardella remarked, “You always seem to get your entries out late but you always have a great turnout. I just don’t understand it.” Yes, that seems to be the way it is. Due to University policies we have to wait until the fall semester begins before we get the facility approval; therefore, our entries always go out late since I don’t want to try and get new information to everyone if we do not get the facility we request. Thanks to all the patient powerlifters out there who are willing to train and wait!

As do all meet directors, the Club and I strive to put on the best powerlifting event we can. For the last several years the UT Powerlifting Club has managed to fulfill the spotting and loading responsibilities that go along with a high class event, but this year we are going to have to do things a bit differently. Our team has suffered some membership drawbacks this year due to some extraordinarily high graduation rates this past year (one of the perpetual problems with collegiate programs)! We are in a rebuilding stage with many young and inexperienced lifters. Plus, due to the technological advances of the gear now being worn I will not trust just anyone with the responsibility of spotting – the weights are much heavier, the margin for error too narrow, and the potential for physical damage too great.

So…I am asking for fellow lifters who won’t be lifting who would be willing to volunteer for spotting and loading duty – squats and bench press only. We can’t really afford to pay you (see above fund-raising comments), but we would supply you with a free t-shirt and a free meal or two. We will be having a two-platform meet so we need several EXPERIENCED persons per platform. While the UT Club will still be doing the lion’s share of work on the platforms, I would like to get approximately six to eight more spotters that would be willing to be shuffled in and out so everyone can get an occasional rest. The work will be mentally as well as physically taxing. (For those of you that missed seeing the USAPL Bench Press National’s spotters in action a few weeks ago, you missed a sight! They were great and saved many a lifter, literally!)
Anyone that is interested in volunteering please contact me via e-mail: beckfish@ev1.net. Thanks for reading this lengthy note and for considering this opportunity to give back to the sport that means so much to you and me. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,
Kim Beckwith
2004 USAPL Longhorn Open Meet Director
UT Longhorn Powerlifting Coach
USAPL Texas State Chair
beckfish@ev1.net

June 24, 2004

Results from the 2004 State Meet have been posted.

June 6, 2004

The Summer Powerfest will be held in Killeen on August 14th. Download your entry form and start your training cycle today!

June 1, 2004

Records have been updated!!!

May 10, 2004

A message from Katie Ford:

Hello everyone, I am in the final weeks of preparation for Women's Worlds in Cahors, France. In order to raise additional travel funds, I will be holding a raffle at the Texas State Meet this weekend in Killeen. Thanks to Titan Support Systems, Inzer Advanced Designs, and House of Pain for their generous contributions to my fundraising efforts. Also, thanks to Johnny Graham for letting me hold the raffle at his meet.

I will be be doing one drawing on Saturday and one on Sunday, each at the completion of that day's lifting. Raffle tickets are $5 a piece and can be purchased Friday-Sunday at the meet. If you are unable to attend, but would like to participate, contact me prior to the competition to purchase tickets. You do not need to be in attendance at the drawing to receive a prize.

Prizes are as follows:

Saturday

Titan Support Systems Gift Certificate - worth $83
2 Inzer Advanced Designs Gift Certificates - worth $25 each
One Pair Inzer Iron Wraps
One Pair Inzer Wrist Wraps
Various Inzer or House of Pain attire, dependant on the winner's size

Sunday

Titan Support Systems Gift Certificate - worth $223
1 Inzer Advanced Designs Gift Certificate - worth $25
One Pair Inzer Iron Wraps
One Pair Inzer Wrist Wraps

See you all this weekend!

Katie

April 25, 2004

The entry form for the State Meet has been posted. Download it today and send it in tomorrow! The deadline is April 28th!

April 16, 2004

Records set at the Sam Houston State Meet have been updated. The entry form for the State Meet will be posted very soon.

January 29, 2004

The records have been updated from Willie Mastin's 2003 December Fest.

The new Sam Houston State University team is holding a meet on February 28th. Entry forms are due by Valentine's Day, so stop instant messaging your online lover and download your entry form TODAY!

January 29, 2003

There has been confusion concerning who is eligible to set state records and how to properly claim a record. Here are a few answers to the most common questions:

In order set a state record, you must...

• be registered as a Texas USAPL member.
• weigh in 2 hours before you start lifting (not the night before).
• submit a Record Request Form to the Webmaster.

Also, you can set a Texas record at any USAPL/IPF sanctioned meet in any state or country.

Certain state records may be higher than American, National, or even World Records because they are much easier to claim and do not require national-level judges.