The XI BILL BECKWITH MEMORIAL
Powerlifting & Single Events Championships:
Sanctioned by the
by Gary Morrison
On March 3rd, despite fierce winds causing non-stop horizontally falling snow and numerous whiteouts, 46 lifters accompanied by coaches, families & friends pulled into Wayland Michigan to participate in the 11th annual BILL BECHWITH MEMORIAL. Some of the registered lifters had to bail on this event, due to treacherous driving. Meet Directors Jan & Dick Van Eck phoned lifters who had not hit the scales after the first hour of weigh-in. All were safe but disappointed to miss the competition.
Once again, a contingent of Canadian lifters helped turn this BILL BECKWITH MEMORIAL Powerlifting & Single Event Championships into an international event. Despite the heavy snow blanketing western Michigan, 10 Canadian lifters made the trip across the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario boarder to demonstrate their lifting prowess. The Canadians living close to the boarder find it easy to compete in the United States without having to travel too far. They added that the Michigan snowstorm added at least an additional hour to their travel.
Lifters on both sides of the boarder proved that they are not strangers when it comes to lifting heavy steel. The U. S. contingent rewrote the records book by setting 54 A.D.F.P.F. American Records and 80 A.D.F.P.F. Michigan State records. (All records noted on meet results.) The A.D.P.F. is the U.S. Affiliate to the W.D.F.P.F. Both the W.D.F.P.F. & the A.D.F.P.F. follow the same rules; sanction SINGLE-EVENT and full POWERLIFTING meets; allow lifters the opportunity to compete in both the EQUIPPED and UNEQUIPPED Divisions and allow A.D.F.P.F. & W.D.F.P.F. records to be set in a MINIMUM OF 7 CATEGORIES.
In all, six Canadian along with 11 U.S. lifters reached or surpassed the World Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation’s qualifying totals for the 2007 WORLD POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS to be held November 17 (UNEQUIPPED Division) and 18th (EQUIPPED division) in GRANGEMOUTH SCOTLAND. Names of lifters who qualified for this event found listed in meet results. All lifters who successfully completed the competition qualified for the W.D.F.P.F. SINGLE EVENT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS to be held October 12 (SQUAT event), 13 (BENCH PRESS EVENTS) & 14th (DEADLIFT event) in MONTESILVANO, ITALY. The Qualified U.S. lifters MUST notify the A.D.F.P.F. National Office IF they want to apply for a slot on one of the ADFPF Teams attending these exciting events. The Canadian lifters must join the CANAIAN DRUG-FREE POWERLIFTING ASSOCIATION to be eligible to compete on the W.D.F.P.F. platform. Alliance with the W.D.F.P.F. provides lifters with the opportunity of competing internationally against like-minded athletes who are committed to train and compete without the use of strength enhancing chemicals.
The following lifters were drug tested: Jeffery Campion, Matthew Marsiglia, Shawn O’Halloran & Luke Skaarup; all test results were NEGATIVE.
Many thanks to Meet Directors Jan & Dick Van Eck who along with Barb & Jack Bowen along with John Jachim who all worked tirelessly in organizing & setting up another successful BILL BECKWITH MEMORIAL Championships. Thank you to the meet officials, spotters & loaders, scoring table crews, announcer, concession stand workers and the Wayland Middle School staff.
As a fairly new and growing organization the A.D.F.P.F. was developed to serve DRUG-FREE lifters” said Judy Gedney, who along with Dick Van Eck and Dennis Brady form the A.D.F.P.F. Board of Directors. “We are continuously seeking members with a vision for the future; people who would like to promote drug-free sport by acting as STATE CHAIRS, MEET DIRECTORS, and/or certified A.D.F.P.F. REFEREES” Gedney said. “Thus far the A.D.F.P.F. has sanctioned 2007 events in Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and Missouri. Currently Michigan hosts our largest membership. Check out the website for a list of upcoming events including the A.D.F.P.F. SINGLE EVENT NATIONALS held on June 23 in South Bend IN and the A.D.F.P.F. POWERLIFTING NATIONALS held in Six Lakes, MI on August 11th. Meet Information and Entry Forms for all A.D.F.P. F. events available at: www.adfpf.org