Archives

3/23/2010: The results are in and this was the closest finish that we have had during our first four years of battling it out! When the Unified Team was unable to get a scoring benchpress in the results, we decided to tabulate the scores, as we did last year, with the top benchers from heavy and lightweight classes being combined with the top full powerlifters, thus using a total of 8 lifters. When the dust settled, South Carolina came out on top for the first time in four years. Next year is sure to be another great competition between the States! The Top 10 list has been updated as well. There was a good bit of shuffling on the lists with a few new names. There continues to be an increasing trend for stronger and stronger lifters coming to the Battle every year, thus making it increasingly difficult to make our Top 10 list. Great lifting!
3/22/2010: Having the lights turned off on us was definitely a first for us! Despite running a little late, thus forcing us to postpone the announcement of the Battle on the Border Champion and hastily completing the awards ceremony, the 2010 USAPL Battle on the Border continues to be the best meet going today! This year, we had close to 120 lifters from the States of North and South Carolina, as well as a Unified Team consisting of athletes traveling from Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia. Most meets of this size are completed in two days - we did it in 8 hours! With our time running out to complete the meet, there were several awards that were not given out. Once the results are completed and posted, I will be contacting those lifters who should have walked out with more hardware. Huge thanks goes out to the volunteers that make the Battle possible: our spotters and loaders were unbelievable and worked like a well-oiled machine. No one was injured and the meet moved very quickly and efficiently. The judging was once again fair and consistent. I saw no lifts given away- lifters definitely earned every lift awarded. `I would put our team against any National caliber crew any day. Our scorers' table rocked. The attempts were in and on the screen with quickness and accuracy. There really were no technical problems through the entire event!` Our sponsors: Anderson Powerlifting, EO Sports/ Garage Ink, Quest Nutrition and West Cary Barbell were all extremely generous in their donations. We were able to provide all of our Best Lifter award winners with equipment in addition to their trophies. The Dowd YMCA continues to be a fantastic venue to hold a competition. I would also like to thank John Demchak, as well as Jennifer and Donovan Thompson, who once again brought in their equipment for the meet. It is truly a privilege to lift on the same equipment that National and World Competitions utilize. Finally, I would like to thank all of the lifters who came out to compete at our meet. With your support, the Battle on the Border has grown larger than I could ever have imagined and it is my hope that lifters enjoy the experience of competing at a high level. Powerlifting in the Carolinas and surrounding states has come a long way in the last 5 or 6 years, and we hope to continue that standard of competition in the future. The final roster has been updated and photos from the meet are up and ready to view. If anyone has additional pictures that you would like to submit, please send me an email and I will get them up on the site. Look for the results to be completed within the next day or so, along with the announcement of the Battle on the Border State Champion! I would like to apologize for any confusion or inconvenience that may have occurred due to the brevity of the awards ceremony. After reflection on how to improve the event for next year, we will limit the number of lifters to the first 100 registered. Although it has always been my intention to never turn lifters away in order to encourage the growth of our sport, it is increasingly more difficult to find volunteers for such large event and even more so to keep the our meet's completion within a reasonable time frame. Hopefully, the outstanding lifting and spirit of the day's competition will be the prevailing thought in everyone's memories. Please email me with any suggestions or comments regarding the meet.
3/18/2010: The mail has arrived and the FINAL roster is up and available to view. 117 lifters have registered and this is bound to be the best and most competitive meet to date! If you think you have registered and do NOT see your name on the roster, be sure to give me a call at 864-844-0083 and arrange to send your entry via e-mail and payment by Credit Card. Again, we do not want to turn lifters away from this meet, however we WILL NOT be taking lifters at the door.
3/14/2010: NO SURPRISES!!! That is our goal for all of the newer lifters coming to the Battle on the Border. It is an awful feeling to go into a meet for the first time and not have the proper equipment required to compete. The USAPL maintains some of the highest standards when it comes to lifting and competing, so PLEASE go the "New Lifter" section of the website and read about the attire, equipment allowed on the platform and the rules of each lift. We want you to succeed and have a great time this weekend. Be prepared! We currently have over 90 lifters registered for this meet and it looks like we may hit 100 lifters again this year! If you haven't gotten in your entry, please put it in the mail on Monday, March 15th!!!! I have to have it in my hand when leaving on Friday in order for you to compete this year.
3/10/2010: We have 76 lifters and counting!!! Please check out the roster and double check the accuracy of what you are signed up for. Email or call me if there are any discrepancies. If you plan to (or hope to) make a different weight class than what is listed, don't worry about that as of now. We can make the changes once you step off of the scale. Make sure that your divisions are correct. We are adding a new twist to the competition this year by adding a "Unified States" team to take on North and South Carolina. As of right now, the Unified States team, made up of Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, has a total of 13 lifters registered and only lacks a RAW bencher to complete the team.
3/3/2010: We are up to 55 lifters to date and the entries are still coming in at about the same pace as last year's huge total of 103 lifters!!! We will plan to run 2 platforms again this year and will also plan to NOT take lifters at the door. PLEASE be sure to mail your entries in so we can enter everyone into the computer and get rolling on time. Garage Ink Powerlifting and EO Sports Gear are our newest sponsors and will be setting up a table to display and sell their Extreme Board Vests along with other products. Thanks for coming out and supporting the Battle on the Border!
3/1/2010: The official roster is finally up and ready to view. As in previous years, I will continue to add names to the roster up to the day of the meet. Again, PLEASE send your registration in early, so we have a better idea as to the number of lifters to anticipate. Our team has a great reputation of completing huge meets in a reasonable amount of time. Preparation is the key and having everyone accounted for can aid us in this process. Tennessee as well as Virginia will have strong contingencies at this year's meet and may challenge the Carolinas for the Battle on the Border Title! I welcome this and encourage other States to bring it on!
2/24/2010: The first roster will be posted on March 1st. Please get your entries in early so we can have a better idea of the total number of lifters competing. We will continue to take lifters up to the day of the meet, however lifters may be turned away if the decision is made to hold the venue to one platform instead of two. All entries postmarked by March 1st will receive a free meet t-shirt.
1/29/2010: Another sponsor has joined the list of fantastic companies that have come together to support the Battle on the Border for 2010. Max Muscle Sports Nutrition will be on site for this year's competition and will be providing supplement samples to the lifters as well as setting up a table with products for purchase. Please be sure to check out all of our sponsors that help make the USAPL Battle on the Border one of the most successful and competitive meets in the Southeast!
1/24/2010: West Cary Barbell is the newest sponsor to join the effort in bringing the best of powerlifting to the Carolinas! Tom Simon has graciously offered to donate several pieces of equipment to be awarded to our best lifters at this year's Battle on the Border. West Cary Barbell is an up and coming company specializing in distributing gym supplies, supplements and their own line of equipment designed specifically for powerlifters. Check out their website at www.Westcarybarbell.com.
1/18/2010: We are just over 8 weeks away! March 20, 2010, we need powerlifters to step up and take the challenge to lift at the Battle on the Border! The last three years were HUGE successes with the last year blowing up with over 100 lifters competing. In addition to having an open powerlifting and bench championship, lifters will be representing their home States in competition for bragging rights and a Battle on the Border plaque that will be passed on from year to year to the State that wins. North Carolina has beaten South Carolina and Virginia for three years in a row. The Battle on the Border plaque with be determined by adding the top 2 powerlifting WILKS scores (1 lightweight and 1 heavyweight) along with the top bench press scores. We will do this for both the equipped and RAW categories for a total of 6 lifters to represent each State. Registration is $45 for the Bench press competition and $50 for the full power meet. This continues to be one of the best bargains going in powerlifting today! Registration can be competed at the door, but for those who postmark their registration by March 1st, they will be given a free Battle on the Border T-shirt. Due to the large number of lifters competing at last year's event, we had to increase the venue to a two platform meet. With this being said, if we cannot find the appropriate help needed to run such a large meet, we may have to limit the number of lifters this year. Get your entry in as early as you can to secure a spot in the meet. The Battle on the Border will be awarding newly designed custom medals to all those who place 1st - 3rd at the meet and Best lifter trophies will be awarded to the best lifter of the bench press and full powerlifting divisions in both RAW and equipped categories. The Battle on the Border will once again be held at the Dowd YMCA in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 20th. In the upcoming years, we hope to expand the meet across the border to Rock Hill, Greenville, or even Clemson, SC. Sign up and experience a family friendly atmosphere and talk with and learn among some of the best lifters across the Carolinas. Also, if anyone would be willing to help out with this event, please send me an email. It would greatly be appreciated.