[RULES OF THE ROAD] YOUR FIRST MEET


Welcome to your first meet! Congratulations… you’ve decided to


bring it out of the gym and onto the com- petition platform! This sheet is intended to optimize your first experience with this and get you a bit more familiar with the rules of weightlifting.


Weigh-in When you come to weigh-in, you need to


bring a picture I.D. and your USAW registra- tion card to present to the weigh-in official. If you are too young to have a picture I.D, bring your registration card and present that. Women athletes will be weighed in by a female official; male athletes will be weighed in by a male official. The rules require stepping onto the scales wearing only underwear (or less in the case for those needing to do this). For men, this means un- dershorts, sport briefs or less. For women, bra and underpants or less are the rule; in addition, also allowed are items conven- tionally worn under a competition singlet, i.e., sports bra and briefs. Weighing in while wearing your singlet is not within the rules. Your privacy will be strictly maintained during weigh-in. Minor children may have a parent accompany them to the weigh-in.


Starting Attempts After you have stepped off the scales


and before you leave the weigh-in, you will be required to give the weigh-in official your starting attempts for the snatch and clean and jerk. These are called your initial declarations. It’s best to enter starting at- tempt weights that you know you can make smoothly. You will receive three official attempts in each lift on the competition platform. After your name is called and the weight


is loaded, you have one minute to execute your attempt. If you are following yourself for your next attempt, you will have two minutes in which to execute your next at- tempt. For each weight that you declare as an attempt, you are allowed two changes to that weight before the final call (last 30 sec- onds on the time clock) if you decide you want a different amount. Strive to make lots of successful attempts in your first meet. Go by the way you are feeling on competition day to judge your attempts.


12 >> USAWEIGHTLIFTING.ORG


By Fred Lowe, ‘68, ‘72, ‘76 Olympian


Backstage There are warm-up platforms backstage


for your session. Space is at a premium, so the only people backstage should be that session’s lifters and their coaches. After you have completed your final clean and jerk, gather up your things and leave the back- stage area. This will make room for the final lifters in your session to finish their warm- ups and some of the lifters in the following session to enter the warm-up area. Remain aware of your fellow com-


petitors at all times during warm-ups in consideration of others and for your own safety. Avoid walking in front of someone’s platform when they are setting up to do a warm-up lift. Simple courtesies and coop- eration go a long way toward making for a better warm-up environment.


Basic Rules Only you and the barbell are allowed on


the platform surface during your execution of the lift. When you complete a lift you must become motionless in all parts of the body with the bar overhead and your feet on a straight line. When you become mo- tionless, you will receive a down signal from the head referee. WAIT FOR THE DOWN SIGNAL! If you lower the bar before the signal, your lift will be turned down. You must stay on the platform surface to


complete the lift. After receiving the down signal, you must replace the entire loaded barbell on the platform surface. If you are very close to the edge of the platform when you receive the down signal, take a step back before lowering the bar to ensure you can replace the entire loaded barbell on the platform to comply with this rule. After the down signal, you may lower the


barbell by letting it fall back to the platform with your hands remaining on the bar down to the level of your shoulders or lower. Do not add speed to the barbell as it falls to the platform (spiking the bar). This will earn you a “no lift” decision from the referees. Weightlifting competition serves to show who can lift the most weight overhead within the technical rules – not who can throw the bar down the hardest. There are three referees who will judge your lift as “good lift” or “no lift” by show-


ing a white card for “ good lift” and red card for “no lift.” A majority decision (2 cards the same) determines “good lift” or “no lift”. You will be primarily concerned with the head referee, who will be sitting in front of you. The head referee is the official who will give you the down signal by waving his arm down and giving you a verbal com- mand of “down.” If you have any trouble locking your elbows for any reason, display this to the officials each time you mount the platform. Simply pointing to your elbow(s) will suffice. After your name is called, you have one


minute to begin your lift. If you are follow- ing yourself, you have two minutes to begin your next lift. When you leave the platform, tell your


coach how the lift felt (be honest!). This will help him determine what to request for the next attempt. If lifters are attempting the same weight,


first attempts precede second attempts and second attempts precede third attempts. After you complete an attempt success-


fully, you will automatically be given a 1-kilo increase for your next attempt. If you fail an attempt, you will automatically be given the same weight for your next attempt. If you want a different weight than the


automatically assigned 1 kilo increase or automatic same-weight repeat amount, let the marshal or scoring table know within the first 30 seconds after your name is an- nounced and the clock begins running for your next attempt. Like all sports, weightlifting has its rules.


These are not all of them, but should be enough to help you through your first meet.


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