SAPF-affiliated lifters wanting to compete at the South African National Champs must post a qualifying minimum (see below) total at a Provincial Champs competition. Those lifters who won their category at National Champs in the previous year receive automatic entry qualification to “defend their title”, provided they enter the same weight and age category.
“Making weight” is a critical component of being a competitive powerlifter, and some lifters are not naturally under their weight category maximum at all points of their training cycle. This often leads lifters to compete at their Provincial competition in a different (usually higher) weight class than the weight class they intend to compete in at National Champs. The question then arises around what minimum qualifying total they need to achieve given the planned weight class change between Provincials and Nationals.
Standard Qualifying Minimums
The SAPF publishes an Incentive Badges and Qualifying Standards Schedule, which allows lifters to see the Provincial total they must achieve to “compete” at National Champs. For unequipped (raw/classic) male lifters in the Open age category, a Green qualifying standard is needed to compete at SA National Champs. The equivalent for Open women is an Orange qualifying standard. The required total for the lifter weight category can be determined using these colour codes.
- An Open male lifter requiring a Green standard and competing at a bodyweight category of 93 kilograms needs a total at a Provincial competition of 490 kilograms to compete at the National Champs.
- An Open female lifter requiring an Orange standard and competing at a bodyweight category of 76 kilograms needs a total at a Provincial competition of 246.5 kilograms to compete at the National Champs.
Qualifying Total for a Changed Weight Category
What if a Male Open lifter competes at a Provincial competition at a body weight of 105 kilograms but intends to compete at National Champs at a lower body weight of 93 kilograms? What qualifying total do they need?
Rule of thumb: Assume the most onerous (highest) qualifying total is required!
For instance, a Green standard for 105 kilograms is 520 kilograms rather than 490 kilograms for a 93-kilogram lifter.
Even though the lifter intends to move down a weight category for National Champs, they must achieve the qualifying total for the weight category in which they competed at Provincial Champs to qualify. In this example, the Open male lifter who lifts at Provincial Champs at 105 kilograms must achieve the minimum qualifying standard for the 105-kilogram category even though they intend to drop to 93 kilograms for National Champs.
Occasionally, a lifter may intend to compete at National Champs in a higher weight category than the weight category in which they competed at Provincial Champs.
In this instance, the “rule of thumb still applies”. Assume the higher qualifying total is required.
For example, a female Open lifter takes part at Provincials at 76 kilograms but intends to compete in the 84-kilogram category at Nationals. An orange total for a female Open lifter at 76 kilograms is 247.5, and for the 84-kilogram category is 270 kilograms.
If the female lifter in this example wants to enter Nationals in the 84-kilogram category, they must have achieved the 84-kilogram minimum qualifying total, i.e. 270 kilograms, at the Provincial competition, even though they competed at 76 kilograms.
More Information
In addition to the Incentive Badges and Qualifying Standards Schedule the SAPF has also made an SAPF Guidelines document available which contains valuable information, not just about weight categories but about all aspects of competing as an SAPF-affiliated powerlifter.