The Milwaukee Powerlifting Club is heading to Ohio State University to compete at the Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals from April 11 to 13. The team has prepared for the past seven months by competing in October and December to qualify for the big stage.
There are 20 lifters from the powerlifting team that qualified for Collegiate Nationals. Very few qualified in October, but many qualified in December. The team has lifters from various weight classes.
Powerlifting consists of three main lifts: squat, bench and deadlift. There are several federations that lifters can compete in. United States of America Powerlifting (USAPL) and International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) are the two popular ones that most powerlifters compete in. The Milwaukee Powerlifting team is a USAPL sanctioned club.
To qualify for Collegiate Nationals, lifters must meet their qualifying total in their weight class. These totals are calculated based on lifters best attempt for each of their three lifts. Lifters get three attempts for each squat, bench and deadlift. If they fail their first two squat attempts, they will not be able to place in the meet. There are three lights, one for each ref. A successful lift would be two or three white lights. If a lifter receives three red lights, it is a failed lift.
The sport has two divisions: raw and equipped. The main difference is that equipped uses gear and raw does not. Equipped lifters use a squat suit and knee wraps to give them an advantage of how much they lift. Raw lifters use a singlet and knee sleeves, which provide minimal support compared to equipped gear. For bench, equipped lifters wear a tight shirt to help them with their explosion going up. Raw lifters wear only a singlet for help. Footwear and other miscellaneous gear vary between both divisions.
Qualifying member Calvin Radka recently switched to equipped this school year and will compete at Nationals for the first time in his new division.
“The excitement is super immense to prior meets I’ve prepped for,” Radka said. “From my experience with my first meet going equipped in December, the adrenaline rush that came with lifting equipped is hard to put into words. I’m looking forward to representing UWM at Ohio State along with my teammates.”
Radka is a sophomore at UWM studying architecture. He is currently in his second year with the team and enjoys the motivation the team gives him as he is preparing for his set of heavy squats.
Milwaukee Powerlifting has also grown immensely from when it started in 2016. Several new members have qualified for the big stage in April.
“I joined the team because of the great experience I had in high school from my old one, hoping to find another community as welcoming as that,” said Sophie Swanson. “I continue to grow as a lifter from the support this team gives me, even if I may not know some well.”
Swanson is a first-year qualifying raw lifter and has been lifting since her early years of high school. She is an engineering major at UWM and enjoys being around a positive atmosphere.
The powerlifting team is currently three weeks away from Collegiate Nationals. They have overcome the obstacles to get to this point. Now, it is time for them to show all the hard work they put in on the grandest stage at Ohio State University.