Powerlifting Meets in BC: What to Expect at Your First Competition
You’re probably ready to compete sooner than you think.
The first time you compete in powerlifting is one of those experiences that is genuinely hard to prepare for, not because it is complicated, but because nothing quite substitutes for actually being there.
We have coached athletes through their first BC meets for years. The ones who go in knowing what to expect have a better day. Not necessarily a better total, though that helps too, but a better experience. They are not spending mental energy figuring out logistics when they should be warming up. They aren’t rattled by things that are completely normal and predictable if you know they are coming.
So here is what we would tell every athlete walking into their first BC powerlifting meet.
Before the Meet: Get the Admin Done Early
This is the part that catches people off guard. Competing in a sanctioned BCPA meet involves more paperwork than most people expect, and none of it can be left to the week before the meet.
1. CPU Membership You need an active Canadian Powerlifting Union membership to compete. If you have competed before, check that it is current. New athletes need to get this done first, before anything else. CPU memberships are registered at powerlifting.ca.
2. Register for a BCPA Competition Once your membership is active, find a meet on the BCPA Events Calendar at bc-powerlifting.com and register. BC meets fill up. The more established ones fill up fast. Do not decide you want to compete and then assume there is a meet waiting for you in six weeks. Check the calendar early and plan around it. If registration is at 10am, expect it to be sold out in minutes so you have to be active online!
3. Complete the Anti-Doping Course Every CPU athlete needs to complete the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport anti-doping education course. It is at education.cces.ca and takes about an hour. You need your certificate on meet day. Do it early, save the certificate somewhere you can find it, and do not leave it for the night before.
4. Sort Your Equipment This one matters more than people realize. Everything you wear on the platform needs to be on the IPF approved equipment list. Meet officials will check it. If something is not approved it does not go on the platform, and finding that out on meet day is a terrible situation to be in.
Here is what you need:
Singlet
Belt
Wrist wraps
Knee sleeves
Deadlift shoes and squat shoes
Tall socks for deadlift, short socks for squat and bench
A plain t-shirt with no logos worn under your singlet
Inner Strength Products at innerstrengthproducts.ca is a reliable Canadian source for approved equipment. Order early. Some items have lead times and showing up to your first meet in borrowed gear because yours did not arrive is not a situation worth creating.
Note that the singlet and shirt, both socks, and shoes are required, but although they need to be on the approved list if you use them, you are not required to use a belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps.
What to Pack the Night Before
Pack this list the night before the meet. Not the morning of. Meet day mornings are already busy enough without searching for your BCPA number or realizing your deadlift socks are in your other bag.
Anti-doping certificate
BCPA powerlifting number, printed out
Photo ID
Your rack heights for squat and bench, written down (you can get these on the test rack after weigh-ins if this is your first meet)
Belt, wrist wraps, knee sleeves
Deadlift shoes and squat shoes
Singlet and plain t-shirt
Tall deadlift socks and short squat and bench socks
Something warm to wear between attempts
Food for the day
Water
On food: meet days are long. Depending on your flight and the size of the meet you could be there for six to eight hours. Bring more than you think you need and bring things you know sit well with you. This is emphatically not the day to try something new.
How Meet Day Actually Runs
Arrive early. Earlier than you think you need to. There is equipment check, weigh in, rack height submission, and the general process of figuring out where everything is. Athletes who arrive rushed make worse decisions and lift worse. We have seen it enough times to say this with confidence.
Weigh In Weigh in happens in the hours before your session lifts. You will be weighed to confirm you are within your weight category. For most first time competitors this is straightforward. If you have been managing your weight aggressively to hit a category, your coach needs to be guiding that process well before meet day.
Equipment Check Your equipment will be checked by meet officials. This is why buying approved equipment matters and why checking the list yourself matters. Do not assume something is approved because it looks similar to approved equipment. Check the list.
Rack Heights You need to submit your squat rack height and bench rack height/pin height before lifting begins. You need to make sure you test the rack height for your squat (wearing the shoes you will squat in), the height for your bench, plus the safety pins as well. Make sure you get these numbers correct so that it doesn’t mess up your lift. There is a test rack at the meet, and you can get these numbers figured out before or after weigh ins if it’s your first meet. All BCPA racks are standard, but you may not have these exact numbers unless you happen to have one at your gym or have done a BCPA meet before.
The Lifting Order Powerlifting competitions lift in order of opening attempt, lightest to heaviest across all athletes in your flight. You choose your attempts and the bar goes up as the session progresses. You are not lifting against specific opponents in a fixed order.
Your opener should be a weight you are completely confident with on your worst day. We mean that literally. Not a good day, not an average day, your worst day. The opener is not the place to be aggressive. It gets you on the board, settles your nerves, and confirms your equipment is working properly. There is no prize for a big opener and there is a significant cost to missing one. You cannot go down in weight for your second or third attempt if you miss, only the same or up.
How Attempts Are Called
At a BCPA meet, the lifting order moves quickly and you are responsible for paying attention to where you are in the lineup.
You will hear three important calls during the flight:
"In the hole" means you lift three attempts from now. Start getting mentally and physically ready.
"On deck" means you are the next lifter after the current person on the platform. Chalk up, tighten your belt, and be ready to move immediately.
"The bar is ready" means your loaded barbell is set and your one-minute clock has started.
Once your name is called and the bar is loaded, you have one minute to begin the lift. For the squat and bench press, this means you must start the unrack before the minute expires. For the deadlift, you must begin pulling the bar from the floor before time runs out.
If you are following yourself because of a weight change or being the only lifter at a certain weight, you receive additional time, but for most attempts assume you have one minute and be ready.
The platform moves fast. Do not wander away. Stay aware of the order and listen carefully.
The Commands
The judges give commands for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Missing a command is one of the most common reasons first-time competitors receive a red light on an otherwise perfectly good lift. It happens constantly and it is entirely preventable.
Practice these in training before the meet. Walk through them out loud. It sounds unnecessary until you are standing on the platform in front of judges for the first time and every instinct you have is telling you to just lift the bar.
Squat Commands and Standards
For the squat, once you unrack the bar and step back into position with your knees locked and body motionless, the head judge will give you the "squat" command.
You must wait for this command before beginning your descent.
After completing the lift and standing back up with full control and locked knees, you must remain motionless until receiving the "rack" command.
To receive white lights:
The crease of your hip must clearly descend below the top of your knee
You must stand back up to full knee and hip extension
The bar must remain under control throughout the lift
Common reasons for red lights:
Squatting high (missing depth)
Stepping after the squat command
Not locking out fully at the top
Racking before the rack command
Dropping or losing control of the bar
Having spotters touch the bar
One of the biggest mistakes newer lifters make is rushing the setup. Take your time, settle your feet, lock in your position, and wait for the command.
Bench Press Commands and Standards
The bench press has three commands:
"Start"
"Press"
"Rack"
After receiving the handoff or unracking the bar yourself, you must hold the bar motionless with locked elbows until the judge gives the "start" command.
You then lower the bar to your chest and pause it motionless. Once the judge sees the bar under control on your chest, you will receive the "press" command to begin pressing upward.
After locking out the lift, you must hold the bar steady until receiving the "rack" command.
To receive white lights:
Your head, shoulders, and glutes must remain in contact with the bench
Your feet must remain in contact with the floor
The bar must pause motionless on the chest
Elbows must fully lock out at the top
Common reasons for red lights:
Pressing before the "press" command
Lifting your glutes off the bench
Uneven lockout
Sinking or bouncing the bar into the chest
Racking before the rack command
Moving your feet during the lift
The pause on the chest often feels much longer in competition than in training because of adrenaline. Expect that feeling and stay patient.
Deadlift Commands and Standards
The deadlift only has one command during the lift: "down."
Once the bar is loaded and you approach the platform, you may begin pulling whenever you are ready. There is no start command.
At the top of the lift:
Knees must be locked
Hips fully extended
Shoulders back and under control
Once the judge sees control at lockout, you will receive the "down" command. Only then may you return the bar to the floor.
Common reasons for red lights:
Hitching or ramping the bar up the thighs
Soft knees at lockout
Lowering the bar before the down command
Dropping the bar instead of controlling it to the floor
Failing to fully lock out hips and shoulders
One of the most common first-meet mistakes is getting excited at lockout and dropping the bar early. Hold the position and wait for the command, even if it feels awkwardly long.
The judges are not trying to fail you. They are looking for clear, controlled lifts performed to standard. The calmer and more deliberate you are with commands and positioning, the smoother your meet will feel.
What Happens If You Miss a Lift
Missing a lift is part of competing. Every experienced powerlifter has missed attempts. The ones who have competed for long enough may have even bombed out of a meet entirely. It is disappointing but it is not the end of anything.
If you receive red lights on your opener, take a breath, talk to your coach, and make a calm decision about your second attempt. Almost every missed opener is missed for a specific, identifiable reason. Going up in weight after a missed opener is almost never the right call. The answer is almost always to either repeat the weight and fix the technical issue or make a conservative jump and build from there.
Bombing out means missing all three attempts at one of the lifts and not receiving a total. If it happens, the meet is over for scoring purposes but not for learning purposes. Figure out what went wrong, write it down, and use it. Every experienced lifter who has bombed a meet came back from it. Most of them will tell you it was one of the more useful experiences they had as a competitor.
Note that after each attempt, you need to get your card in with your next attempt, and you have one minute to do so. This is why you need to have a game plan beforehand with different scenarios. If you do not submit your attempts card in time, it’s an automatic 2.5kg increase for the next attempt.
The Atmosphere at BC Meets
This is the thing that surprises first time competitors most consistently, and we never get tired of watching it happen.
Powerlifting has a genuinely welcoming culture and BC meets reflect that. The athletes in the warm up room are not trying to intimidate you. They are not sizing you up. They are generally focused on their own lifting and quite happy to answer questions, help you figure out where the equipment check is, or explain something about the flow of the day if you ask.
The crowd cheers for everyone. A white light on a tough lift gets a reaction regardless of whose lift it is or what weight is on the bar. The atmosphere in the room when someone hits a personal best or makes a lift they were not sure they had is one of the genuine pleasures of this sport.
BC has a strong and active powerlifting community. The BCPA runs meets throughout the year at various locations across the province. Your first meet will feel chaotic and overwhelming in patches. Your second meet will feel completely different because the unknown is gone. What is left after that is just the lifting, which is the part you have been training for.
Powerlifting meets are super welcoming and uplifting!
When Are You Ready to Compete?
Sooner than you think.
If you have been training the squat, bench, and deadlift consistently with a coach, you know the commands, and your equipment is sorted, you are ready to enter a meet. Your total at your first meet is a baseline, not a ceiling. Everything after it is progress.
The athletes we have watched wait the longest for the right moment are rarely glad they waited. The ones who entered something before they felt completely ready are almost always glad they did.
At Thunder & Lightning we have coached athletes through their first BC powerlifting meet and through everything that comes after it. If competing is something you have been thinking about, come in and let us talk through what preparation actually looks like for you specifically.
Useful Links
BCPA: bc-powerlifting.com
CPU Membership: powerlifting.ca/membership.html
BCPA Events Calendar: bc-powerlifting.com/calendar
Anti-Doping Course: education.cces.ca
Approved Equipment List: powerlifting.sport/rulescodesinfo/approved-list.html
Equipment Orders: innerstrengthproducts.ca
Take the Next Step
If competing is on your radar and you want to talk through what preparation looks like, come in for a free No-Sweat Intro. We will walk you through exactly what getting competition ready looks like at Thunder & Lightning.