GOMETAL.COM

[gabrielfaust]

Ano, where does Metal stand with the IPF?

Personally, I think the fee is outrageous, and when it comes down to it, we will no longer compete in IPF meets.
If the USAPL is adopting that ban, then we will probably be leaving the USAPL as well, except for bench contests.

All of my girls wear Metal for for one lift or another, and all of them are national champions or nationally ranked lifters.

April Shumaker will be doing the State meet this month & the National meet in May, but after that it is up in the air.
We will certainly bid the IPF adious.
- bill s.

[Tom]

Are you suggesting that metal will no longer be allowed in the IPF?

[gabrielfaust]

[Ano Turtiainen]

We have made the deal with IPF, so this is okay now.

This is the system:
- manufacturers have to pay annual fees for the IPF in every year, last year the total fee was 4500 euro (1500 for the bench shirts, 1500 for the suits and 1500 for the wraps), this year IPF has doubled the fees, total is 9000 euro (3000 for the shirts, 3000 for the suits and 3000 for the wraps), there is no limit how many items are sold.
- for the racks the manufacturers have to make a deal for 4 years, the value has been 8000 euro, but also this fee will be much higher when making new deals.
- in the year 2010 METAL has to pay 9000 euro for the equipment, 2000 euro for the racks, total is 11000 euro / little bit over 15000$.

Because the fees are now so high, we want to begin discussion, how long the lifters can use the gear, if the manufacturer does not pay the fees. Now it is only allowed during the year payment is done, and it is too short time, we want to SECURE the rights of the lifters. There can be many different reasons, why companies do not pay the fees any more, for example: the company is sold, the company does not exist anymore, the company changes the manufacturing line, the owners of the company die, some disaster happens to company, for example fire, etc..

If something happens to the companies, lifters/customers have to be able to use the gear which they have bought, for longer time, our opinion is that the time is 3 years, Now in IPF there is no time, the fees is only for the year when they have bought it. For example if the manufacturers do not pay the fees next year, the lifter cannot use the equipment any more next year, even that they have bought it in December, THIS IS NOT RIGHT!

I think there is a fear, if the gears are allowed three years, the manufacturers will leave one year without paying, but this must be done by any other solution than the manufacturers have to pay every year.

We have got a lot of messages from the lifters all over the world and we have got their support. We want that the lifters will discuss about this and let us know their opinion, because this issue concerns them a lot.
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[gabrielfaust]

Thank you Ano - and thank you for thinking about the lifters.

Its all about choice. - We make nothing for lifting - in fact we pay, sometimes a great deal to travel to far places and put it all on the line.
All competing lifters do this.
We should be able to choose what gear we want to lift with if it conforms to the accepted standards of that federation.

Again, thank you.

[phil frost]

its nice to see a manufacturer thinking about the customers for once.
that once you have bought an approved suit or shirt it should be ok to use even if the company does not pay the ipf fee the following year.
you could even cover up the logo if that was a problem.