This year the INSA/INSAA will be adding a new division that will be open to anyone that has ever lifted weights. The INSA is proud to introduce the new Repetition Bench Press Championship Series. As the name implies, competitors will be scored on the number of repetitions they can accomplish on the bench press. The following is a summary of the rules and guidelines for these events:

Categories: Novice and Open.

Divisions: Men and Women

Open age class's: None (Anyone lifting in the Open Category will lift against all other open lifters).

Novice age class's: (All lifters must bring current I.D.)

Men	Women
13-15	13-15
16-17	16-17
18-19	18-19
20-29	20-29
30-39	30-39
40-49	40-49
50-59	50-59
60-69	60-69
70-79	70-79
80 and over	80 and over

Amount Lifted:

Men - All men will lift their body weight for repititions. (to nearest 5 pounds)

Women - All women will lift half their body weight for repititions. (to nearest 5 pounds)

(example: body weight 113 lbs., will lift 115 lbs.; body weight 112 lbs., will lift 110 lbs.)

All weight lifted will be done in standard pounds. (Not Kilo's)

Equipment:

Bars - Standard 45lb. bar, must be straight and well knurled and grooved.

Discs - All discs used in competition must be in US pounds.

Collars - Only use the spring type collar. The colloar weight will not be added in to the amount lifted.

Bench - The bench used shall comform to all rules and standards under the official INSA equipment specifications.

Personal Equipment:

The only personal equipment that will be allowed is an official lifting belt and wrist wraps. These must adhere to the official INSA personal equipment specifications. There will be no other lifting gear allowed. (this includes but is not limited to bench shirts or lifting suits). Men may wear only one single ply shirt. Women may wear only one single ply shirt and one bra or single ply sport bra. The head judge will have final say on any lifting apparel.

Rules for Performance:

Body Position - Body position will adhere to all official INSA lifting regulations. The lifters buttocks must stay in contact with the bench throughout the lifts. The feet must stay in contact with the floor or block surface at all times.

Hand Position - The spacing of the hands shall not exceed 81 cm. measured between the forefingers. The bar shall have markings or tape indicating this maximum grip.

Spotter/Lift Off - Only an official spotter may lift off the bar to the lifter. There will be no personal spotters allowed on the platform.

Lifting - After the bar is lifted from the supports, the lifter must bring the bar to full arms length. The lifter may not begin until the head judge begins the lifting commands: There will be two commands for each repitition. The judge will say bench, the lifter will bring the bar down to the chest, the judge will say press, the lifter will bring the bar to full arms length. The lifter may not do either motion without the judge command. The head judge will have a counter in hand, and will count every full repitition. A second judge will watch the lifters buttocks and feet. The second judge, with counter in hand, will only count repititions where the buttocks has lost contact with the bench or if one or both feet have moved in position. At the end of the lifting, any repititions the second judge counted will be deducted from the overall count. The final count will be solely deternimed by the head judge. Bouncing or sinking of the bar will not be counted reps.

Rule Meeting - It is required for the head judge to hold a rules and demonstration meeting before the beginning of each competition.

Weighting In - All competitor weigh-ins must be done no sooner than 30 minutes before competition. It is the choice of the competitor to weigh in clothes or without. Whatever the weight on the scale is, will be lifted on the bar.

Order of Competition - The order of the competition will be as follows: Novice women, Open women, Novice men, Open men. The order for each group will be from the youngest age group to the oldest age group.

*Special Note - A lifter may enter both, the novice and open division. The lifter must pay two entry fee's to do so. If a lifter elects to do this, he/she will lift in their perspective age category during the novice lifting. Their repititions will count for both divisions.