European Classic Open, Junior & Sub Junior Powerlifting Championships 2017

14–19 March 2017 — Thisted, Denmark

Sanctioning Body: The European Powerlifting Federation

This is an important document. Please read it carefully as it should answer many questions you may have about the championships.

Getting There

All prices, times, dates, etc. are correct as of October 2016.

Thisted is in the north-west of Denmark about 420km from Copenhagen by car.

There are several options to get there:

• Fly to Copenhagen (Ryanair/SAS) then rent a car and drive to Thisted
• Fly to Copenhagen (Ryanair/SAS) then get the train (InterCity, about three stops) to Thisted
• Fly to Copenhagen then fly to Aalborg (SAS Airlines) then rent a car and drive to Thisted
• Fly to Copenhagen then fly to Aalborg (SAS Airlines) then get the bus (970X) to Thisted

Return flights from Dublin (DUB) to Copenhagen (CPH) with Ryanair are pricing at approx. €60 return for the 13–20 March.

Return flights from Dublin (DUB) to Aalborg (AAL) with a stopover in Copenhagen (CPH) with SAS Airlines are pricing at approx. €150 return for 13–20 March.

The train from Copenhagen (CPH) to Thisted is pricing at between 120–420 DKK (€15–60) one-way.

The 970X bus from Aalborg (AAL) to Thisted crosses 14 zones and is priced at 140 DKK (€20) one-way.

Getting to Thisted is the athlete’s responsibility. The Irish Powerlifting Federation does not guarantee or provide transportation services.

Staying There

Hotels in Thisted seem to cost between €90–150 per night for a twin room during March however as with all EPF/IPF competitions we must wait for the competition organisers to provide official hotel details and reserve our rooms with them.

We would recommend a budget of €75 per night based on sharing with another athlete.

Competing

Again, the official competition schedule is not available yet however we expect the competition to follow the standard EPF/IPF formats and proceed through the week from lightest Sub-Junior and Junior to heaviest followed by lightest Open to heaviest.

Our guess is a schedule like the following:

• Tuesday 14th: Sub-Junior and Junior Females 47kg to 63kg; Sub-Junior and Junior Males 59kg to 83kg
• Wednesday 15th: Sub-Junior and Junior Females 72kg to 84+kg; Sub-Junior and Junior Males 93kg to 120+kg
• Thursday 16th: Open Females 47kg to 57kg; Open Males 59kg to 66kg
• Friday 17th: Open Females 63kg to 72kg; Open Males 74kg to 83kg
• Saturday 18th: Open Females 84kg; Open Males 93kg to 105kg
• Sunday 19th: Open Females 84+kg; Open Males 120kg to 120+kg

Please note that is is a completely uninformed guess at the schedule and you should NOT book flights, etc. based on this schedule. Once we have a confirmed schedule from the European Powerlifting Federation then we will inform you immediately.

Budget

Our recommended budget for an athlete competing in the European Classic Open, Junior & Sub Junior Powerlifting Championships 2017 is as follows:

• Flights & Transfers: €190
  • Flights to either Copenhagen (€60) or Aalborg (€150)
  • Transfers from either Copenhagen (€120 return) or Aalborg (€40 return)
• Hotels: €300
  • This assumes a four-night stay and sharing with one other athlete
• Food: €200
  • This assumes €40 per day for lunch and dinner, assuming the hotel includes breakfast

Total: €690

As with everything there are options to reduce the financial cost of competing (stay less nights, eat cheaper, etc.) but as a rough guess we believe this to be an appropriate budget for the championships for an athlete.

Key Dates

• Apply for Selection: Friday December 2nd, 1300 Irish time
  • You must complete this form to nominate yourself for the selection pool
  • It is assumed that if you nominate yourself, and are selected, then you will compete
  • Please do not nominate yourself for selection unless you are fully committed to competing if selected
• Team Selection: Friday, December 2nd – Friday, December 16th
  • During this time, the National Team Selectors will review all athletes who have nominated themselves for selection
  • Selections will be based on:
    • international competitiveness
    • domestic and international performances throughout 2016
    • contribution to the Irish Powerlifting Federation (spotting and loading, refereeing, etc.)
    • ability to perform as part of a team
• Invitations to Compete: Friday, December 16th, 1600 Irish time
  • Athletes who nominated themselves for selection and who have been selected will be invited to compete via letter (email)
  • Athletes are asked to keep their invitation to compete private until the full team has been selected and notified
  • Athletes who are not immediately invited to compete will be placed on the reserve list in case of injury, etc.
• Accepting Invitations: Monday, December 19th, 1600 Irish time
  • Athletes will have 72 hours to accept the invitation to compete
  • If athletes do not accept their invitation and pay a deposit (see below) within 72 hours then they will be considered to have rejected their invitation and we will select an athlete from the reserve list
• Team Announcement: Wednesday, December 21st, 1100 Irish time
  • We intend to have the full team selected and confirmed by this time and we will announce the team via social media
• Hotel Payment Due: Tuesday, January 10th 2017
  • We had considerable difficulty securing hotel places for IPF Worlds 2016 due to late hotel payments from athletes so we are asking that all hotel payments are paid just over two months prior to the start of the championships
• Pre-Championship Team Meeting: TBC, February 2017
  • We will be asking the team to attend a mandatory team meeting sometime in February 2017 at a mutually agreeable date to discuss all aspects of the Championships
  • Expected openers will also be agreed and confirmed between athletes and the National Team coaches at this date (openers can, of course, change right up to the day of competition)

Why do I have to pay a deposit to accept my place on the team?

Firstly, this is not extra money you have to pay. The deposit will be deducted from your final hotel payment so you are not paying any additional money.

The deposit is intended to ensure athletes have begun paying for their hotels as many athletes felt an optional staged payment system would have been beneficial in their preparation for Worlds 2016 as well as ensuring that athletes are 100% committed to competing at the European Classic Open, Junior & Sub Junior Powerlifting Championships 2017.

We also have to work with our sponsor, SBD Apparel, to ensure all athletes have appropriate competition attire.

Further Questions

Please contact Rob Burke with any queries you have regarding the European Classic Open, Junior & Sub Junior Powerlifting Championships 2017.