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APA Nationals

Posted By: dave waters (pool-71-98-229-241.tampfl.dsl-w.verizon.net)
Date: Sunday, July 1, 2007, @ 3:25 p.m.

I attended the APA Nationals Saturday hosted by Main Street Fitness in Zephyrhills, Fl. I can only sum up the days experience in two words. IT SUCKED ASS! Ok, that's three words but who's counting. Here's why.
- Did not have a monolift for the warm-up room.
- Did not want to use a squat bar
- Squat warm-ups had to be walked out with a bar sans center
knurl.
- DJ announcer from a local radio station (complete moron)
repeatedly referred to the squat as a bench and squat press.
- Over an hour late start time.
- Scott Taylor side judged from the announcers table (20 feet
from platform) while taking digital photos.
- Karioke machine for PA system. It was facing the crowd so the
lifters had a very difficult time hearing the line-up.
- Back spotter for squat not supplied. Some poor skinny guy
kept getting asked to spot.
- Too long of a break between lifts.
- Flights were scribbled down after each lift without listing
the lifters weight class and sub-totals. This also prolonged
the break between lifts.
- The word "Jazzercise" written on the front of the monolift???
What the fu@#???
- Hand tallying of totals after meet completion. Hope he had
all ten fingers!
- DJ announcer (complete moron) skipped lifters once the
lifting order was announced and competitors were wrapped.
- DJ announcer (complete moron) should stick to radio. How do
you "warm up" a powerlifting crowd? He must have been paid
by the word as he continued to rap and rhyme throughout the
competition.
- Weigh-ins were in the middle of the gym floor, not in a
private setting.
- During Fridays weigh in session, there were no officials to
record lifters info such as openers, rack height, etc.
- Warm up room doubles as a sauna!!! Freakin HOT!!!
- Award plaques were ok except for the very impersonal stickon
plate the just said 07 Nationals and your placing. No weight
class or anything.
- Only one squat flight with 23 lifters. The main platform
monolift had to be used for warm-ups.
- Apparently another gym had to supply a squat bar, deadlift
bar and hundred pound plates just so the meet could run.

I'm sure there are some positives to the meet but for a national level competition I gotta say, it sucked. I overheard many of the lifters saying this would be the last APA event they ever participated in. When you pay over a hundred dollars to compete in a national level event, you expect a national level run meet. Nothing less. Well less is what the lifters got. What a waste of time and money.

Messages In This Thread

• APA Nationals
  dave waters (pool-71-98-229-241.tampfl.dsl-w.verizon.net) -- Sunday, July 1, 2007, @ 3:25 p.m.
  • Re: APA Nationals
    Michael Churchman (216.176.246.2) -- Thursday, July 5, 2007, @ 6:55 a.m.