For more information contact:
Rick Fowler
Chairman USA Powerlifting of Missouri
618-451-4737
Mens99Meet@aol.com
Everyone,
It has been quite some time since I have thrown out an official message from the State Chairman, and I’d like to give some updates.
Most are aware that Harold Gaines has decided to step down as one of our event directors. We certainly appreciate Harold’s efforts and all he has done for USA Powerlifting of Missouri. While on board as an event director his accomplishments were of a major level and very impressive. Some of them include:
I as the State Chairman was glad to see Harold come aboard in 2003 as a meet director His level of professionalism and efforts to accommodate powerlifters was certainly noted. Harold will still be part of the meets working tables, judging and filling in wherever needed, we will still have him play a part. Very big thanks from USA Powerlifting of Missouri to Harold and his family for all of their work.
USA Powerlifting of Missouri is happy to announce that we have two lifters going to the IPF Worlds. They are Rodney Wood and Nick Weite. Rodney will be going to the World Masters Championships held in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The event will be held September 27th through October 3rd and will feature the world's top Master powerlifters. In an effort to help defray the cost of travel we have created a special T-shirt as a fundraiser. Contact Rodney at rodwood1967@yahoo.com for info on how you can help.
Nick will be traveling to New Dehli, India for the IPF Mens World Powerlifting Championships that will be held November 1-7. Nick has made the team and will fill in the 275 lb. slot for Team USA against the World’s top 275’ers. Bill McDonough of STP Fitness will be traveling with Nick and will be onboard as one of the Team USA coaches. Info on how to help Nick can be viewed at this link
As a state Chairman it makes me really proud to have guys such as Rodney and Nick representing not jut the USA, but also USA Powerlifting of Missouri. Good luck guys!
Since we are talking about World Teams, another lifter who should be mentioned is Darrell Branson. Darrell was selected to also go to the IPF Masters Worlds but due to an ankle injury had to decline. His performance at the Master Nationals cemented his spot on the team and there’s no doubt in my mind he would have done very well.
In July we took a crew to help promote the Paraplegic Benchpress Championships that were held in St. Charles. The large support staff of USA Powerlifting of Missouri that was on hand is too numerous to name but they included some of the usual players such as Dr. Mike Cissell, Sam Greco, Brad Manion, Bill McDonough and his entire family who helped out, Dillon Horn and Garrett Andreasen.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed we have a very full schedule of events coming up. This past July we re-activated the old Mid-American Benchpress/Deadlift and 2-Man Deadlift with great success. Nearly 20 lifters were on hand for the party like atmosphere. This will be an annual event each summer. Thanks goes out to several people who made this possible but I’d like to mention the crew who spotted, loaded and helped tear down. They were Steve Welch, Scott Baquet, Darrell Campbell, Andy Odenwald, Tim Thomas and others I’m sure I missed. Your help was appreciated!
On September 19th I will promote the Strongest Man in Granite City contest at the Heritage Festival in Granite City. Local lifters on the slate include Shane Hopkins, Dillon Horn, Josh Lupardus, Tim & Jessica Borelli. Held right in the middle of the street, there will be 6 events and plenty of good food to be had. If you are free that day stop by. Info on the event can be found on the website.
In October we will be especially busy. A local gym in Granite City, American Family Fitness, has approached me about running another Strongman event. On October 17th I will be promoting the Spartan Strongman Contest at American Family Fitness and it will be another outdoor extravaganza with music food and heavy events. Info will be online soon.
On October 24th we will be running the 5th Rivers Edge Powerlifting and Benchpress Championships. It will be held in one of the industrial warehouses at the River’s Edge and will be plenty spacious. Weather is the only unknown. The buildings are neither heated nor cooled, so we are hoping for a cool comfortable day on the 24th. We are planning for a two-platform meet so it is very possible that we will need all hands on deck. I will post more later on our needs, as that is determined.
For anyone who wants to try another Strongman event, Darrell Branson will be running Halloween Havoc, which if you could guess…will be held on Halloween at the ancient but venerable temple of iron, Eagle Gym, located in Overland. Contact Darrell at darrellbranson@hotmail.com for more info.
In December Bruce Thomas will hold the Kentucky State / Bluegrass Open in Henderson, KY. Entries for this fun contest can be grabbed from the site. For those unaware, the venue for this one is nearly perfect for powerlifting. We’ve held a lot of great meets here and we are looking forward to another one on December 5th.
Anyone on the Southside, who is looking for a good place to train, be sure to stop by STP Fitness. Bill McDonough and Mike Pratt have opened a safe haven for powerlifters and athletes who want to train serious. Check them out online at: stp-fitness.com.
I am glad to report that after a few years of tinkering with the Raw division and then having a Raw Nationals, we have compiled a set of Raw State Records. Jeff Brown has volunteered to help keep track of the Raw records and we are glad to have his help.
I’d like to give an overall thanks to everyone who continues to make our meets and our local lifting community what it is. I have been very busy lately with a lot of projects and although I’d like to set aside more time than I do, I’m doing my best to stay caught up. I was recently asked to be the head coach of my son’s hockey team and this is a new frontier for me. A VERY new one since I have never coached hockey and have never even played on a team. So my time is spread a little thinner thanks to practices that can be virtually any day of the week and at times spread across the board. It should be interesting. For those who would like the info, I’ll keep you posted on when Jake’s first game / my coaching debut is.
Training for me has been sporadic, but I have managed to get in at least a couple days per week to stay semi-strong. I no longer have the luxury of training partners, so I get in what I can, when I can. However if time permits I will see about lifting in December.
Well gang that about wraps it up. Feel free to send any and all questions to me at mens99meet@aol.com
Thanks again for all of your help,
Rick Fowler
Chairman
USA Powerlifting of Missouri