Qualifying Standards for Provincials, Regionals and Nationals

Athletes are required to achieve qualifying standards in order to compete at the provincial, regional, and national level in Canada.

Everything you need to know should be on this page:

Qualifying Pathways Clinic – watch a recording of the clinic that walks through qualifying until 2026 CPU Nationals.
Calendar – see when provincial, regional and national championships are scheduled to be held to plan out your competitions or qualifying pathway.
Qualifying Standards – find out what is required to compete at BCPA Provincials or CPU Regional or CPU Nationals. There are some differences for CPU Regionals and CPU Nationals depending on if it’s your first time, or you’ve competed at nationals before.
BCPA Volunteer Requirements – make sure you’ve done this before registering for a CPU Regionals or CPU Nationals.
FAQ
Do I Qualify? – Follow an easy flow chart to help determine if you qualify for CPU events in the next few years.

Qualifying Pathways Clinic

If you’d prefer to watch, we recently did a clinic that you can watch here:

Note: Since this video was published there has been an amendment to the volunteer requirements policy.

Calendar

After 2024 CPU Nationals, the competition calendar should return to a somewhat regular cadence. This should help you plan out your competitions.

BCPA Provincials: Late spring / early summer

CPU Regionals: Late August to mid-November

CPU Nationals: Late winter to early Spring

Qualifying Standards

Provincial Championship Qualifying Standards

BCPA Provincials are typically held in later spring/summer.

The BC provincial qualifying totals are equivalent to the CPU Regional qualifying totals.

Click here to view the CPU Regional qualifying totals.

Qualifying totals must be obtained in the 24 months prior to BC Provincial Championships.

Qualifying totals can be obtained in an IPF-sanctioned competition including any BCPA and CPU competitions.

Some other notes on qualifying totals:

Athletes who achieve qualifying totals as an Equipped lifter also qualify to compete as an Unequipped lifter at Provincials.
Athletes cannot use a total from competing as an Unequipped lifter to meet the Provincial qualifying standards as an Equipped lifter.
Qualifying totals for a Bench Press Only competition can be obtained from a Bench Press Only competition or in the bench press portion of a regular Powerlifting competition.
You must obtain a qualifying total for the age category you intend to compete in.
You may get a qualifying total only for the weight class you competed in (for example, if you register and compete as a 93kg lifter, your total must match or exceed the 93kg qualifying total). This then allows you to compete in any weight class.

Regional and National Championship Qualifying Standards

Regional and National Championships are administered by the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU). There are three Regional Championships held by the CPU each year. BC athletes will likely compete in the Western Regional Championships, which also includes athletes from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

CPU Regionals going forwards will be held late August to mid-November. CPU Nationals (barring 2024) will be held late winter to early spring.

Both CPU and BCPA have requirements for athletes to compete at a CPU Regional or National Championship.

The CPU maintains national qualifying standards and regional qualifying standards.

The BCPA maintains volunteer requirements for athletes competing at both CPU Regionals or CPU Nationals.

Please ensure you meet these standards before registering for Regional or National Championships.

Competing at Nationals or Regionals for the First Time

For 2025 National Championships ONLY there is an exception in place for athletes who have not competed at Provincials or higher before.

A first-time athlete to CPU Nationals is required to have competed at and obtained a total at CPU Regionals within 24 months (strict, based on competition start date) of the start date of CPU Nationals and met BCPA volunteer requirements.

A first-time athlete to CPU Regionals is required to have competed at any Provincial Championships within Canada within 24 months (strict, based on competition start date) prior to the start date of CPU Nationals and met BCPA volunteer requirements.

2025 National Championship Qualifying Standards Exception

The BCPA has decided to exercise their right to adjust the qualifying standards for athletes who have never competed at Regionals or higher before, and who intend on competing at 2025 Nationals.

If you have competed at a BC Provincial Championship or higher level competition before, this exception does not apply to you.

The CPU has an exemption in place to allow athletes to compete at CPU Nationals 2025 providing they have achieved the 2025 qualifying total and they have competed in at least two IPF sanctioned competitions before.

BCPA athletes will still be required to meet their volunteer requirements in order to compete.

If you have previously competed at CPU Nationals

If you have previously competed at nationals and wish to compete at nationals again you have two requirements:

Obtain a national qualifying total for the age category you wish to compete in (at any IPF sanctioned competition)
Complete BCPA volunteer requirements

The qualifying total can be obtained at any level of competition as long as the competition was sanctioned by the BCPA, CPU, a CPU-affiliated province, an IPF-affiliated member organization, or the IPF itself.

BCPA Volunteer Requirements

You must do at least one of the following:

Compete at or volunteer at their Provincial Championships within the 12 months preceding the CPU Regional or higher event that they wish to compete in, OR
Acted as a meet director for a sanctioned powerlifting or bench press competition within the province of BC during the previous (12) months, OR
Assisted in one (1) BCPA executive run meet as an official or other volunteer role as assigned by the meet director between the previous year’s National Championships and upcoming National Championships*, OR
Assist the BCPA or one of the committees with it’s tasks, while not being a member of said board or committee. The minimum obligation of volunteer time and acceptance criteria for the task shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

*Athletes who live outside of Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley may meet their volunteer
requirements at a competition local to them, provided they have prior written consent from the
BCPA board of directors before the competition they intend to volunteer at starts.

Completing a requirement only counts towards one meet. If you intend to do regionals and nationals back-to-back you must ensure you’ve sufficiently met the requirements.

FAQ

What is a BCPA run meet?

A BCPA executive run meet will have the BCPA board of directors be the meet director(s). BCPA money is used to fund the competition, and profits are used to keep the organisation going. Club run meets will be organized by members, gyms or teams and keep any profit for themselves.

These are typically recurring meets on the BCPA calendar: Provincials, Fall Classic, Winter Open, Summer Open.

How can I assist the BCPA or one of it’s committees with its tasks?

As we get closer to the dates of Regionals or Nationals, the BCPA creates a signup of online, remote activities that members outside of the lower mainland can easily complete.

Email the BCPA with reasons that you cannot volunteer at a BCPA run meet and we will share the signup with you.

Determining your qualifying total.

A qualifying total must be achieved within the defined period before the competition for which you’re qualifying. For example, BC Provincial Championships requires athletes to obtain a qualifying total in a sanctioned competition during the 24 months before the date of their BC Provincial Championships. The qualifying total can be obtained at any level of competition as long as the competition was sanctioned by the BCPA, CPU, a CPU-affiliated province, an IPF-affiliated member organization, or the IPF itself.

Qualifying totals can be found on the CPU website. Ensure you are looking at the correct year, event, weight and age category.

First, determine your age class at the time of the competition in which you will compete. For example, if you are a Junior athlete who will turn 24 next year then you will be competing in the Open class next year. If you wish to compete at BC Provincial Championships next year as an Open athlete, then you must achieve a qualifying total in the Open class even if you are currently a Junior athlete.

Next, you must achieve a qualifying total in one of the weight classes for that age class. You do not have to achieve a qualifying total for the weight class in which you intend to compete. You only have to achieve a qualifying total, for any weight class, defined for the age class for which you are attempting to qualify. For example, you do not have to obtain a qualifying total in the 93 kg weight class even if you intend to compete in the 93 kg weight class at the competition for which you intend to qualify.

Example 1

John is a Men’s Open 93 kg Classic athlete who wants to compete at BCPA Provincial Championships next year in the Open class. He looks at the BC qualifying totals chart to find the qualifying totals for Open athletes. Since he has competed for years in the 93 kg class, he expects to compete in his next competition at 93 kg. He looks at the chart to find the qualifying total for Men’s Open 93 kg Classic. This is the total he must achieve in competition before the next BCPA Provincial Championships in order to qualify.

Example 2

Jane is a Women’s Junior 84 kg Classic athlete who wants to compete at BCPA Provincial Championships next year. She will turn 24 next year, which means she will have to compete in the Open age class. She looks at the BC qualifying totals chart to find the qualifying totals for Open athletes. She decides she can safely compete as a Junior 76 kg lifter before BCPA Provincial Championships and obtain the Open qualifying total. Once she does, she can compete at BCPA Provincial Championships in any weight class.