IrishPF NATIONAL TEAM
The IrishPF National Team represents the very best lifters in the Irish Powerlifting Federation.
If you hit the national standard for your age and weight class, you may be eligible for selection in the future for the Irish National Team.
ROUND SYSTEM FOR SELECTION TO THE IRISHPF INTERNATIONAL TEAM
On each team, there are:
- Maximum 8 spots per age and gender on a team (9 spots for juniors and subjuniors)
- Maximum 2 athletes in 1 weight class.
Round 1
Places 1st at relevant nationals and hit the qualifying total.
Round 2
Anyone else who has hit the qualifying total, depending on team space after round 1, ranked by % over the qualifying total.
Round 3
Wildcards
Wildcard Information
A wild card allows the head coach to invite athletes who may not have qualified through the standard invite rounds but still have potential to contribute to the national team. Wild card invitations are offered at the very end of the invite rounds system, once all spots for lifters who have qualified traditionally are filled. A wild card does not take away a spot from someone who has already earned their qualification by meeting the established criteria.
A wild card may be an athlete that is close to the National Team standard and has made significant progress or has a chance to medal at an international competition, e.g. won nationals but did not hit the national standard.
Many factors are taken in account when selecting a wildcard athlete, such as
- Medal Chances
- Age & Progression Rate
- Previous Experience
- Contribution to IrishPF
- Reliability, e.g. does not frequently pull out of competitions without significant notice, (especially internationals), does not regularly bomb out, consistently makes weight, etc.
One of the unique aspects of the wild card system is that wild cards can be invited to compete in the weight class above or below their weight class at their most recent national competition upon meeting the weight class change eligibility criteria explained below.
A wild card can also be someone who is already part of the team. For example, an athlete who has already accepted an invitation for one weight class to an international competition would be an eligible wildcard weight change candidate if they meet the following criteria.
Wild Card Weight Change Eligibility Criteria
- Invited to the higher weight class: For a wild card athlete to be eligible for an invitation to compete in the weight class above they must have met the qualifying total for that upper weight class.
E.g 93kg lifter has hit the 105kg national standard total and has accepted their invite to compete as a 93kg lifter. All 105s who have hitÂ
the standard have been invited first and there remains a space available. This lifter would be eligible to be invited to compete in the 105kg class for the International Championship.
- Invited to the lower weight class: To be eligible for an invitation to compete in the lower weight class, the athlete must have weighed in within 2% of the weight class below and totalled above the standard of that lower weight class at their last national competition.
E.g 57kg lifter weighed in at nationals at 53.04kg and totalled above the 52kg standard. This lifter would be eligible for wild card selection as an u52kg on the national team.Â
NOTE: Meeting wildcard weight class change eligibility does not automatically grant a weight class change. The decision to offer a wild card invite or weight class change is ultimately at the discretion of the head coach.
The head coach will evaluate the overall team composition and the lifter’s ability to contribute in the new weight class before making this decision. Lifters who have declined a round 1 or 2 invite cannot be considered as a wild card option.
Please see the link below for current international team standards, and contact headcoaches@irishpowerliftingfederation.com with any queries.