System for Evaluating Powerlifting and Other Multievent Performances

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Biomechanics
• Performance Analysis

Background:

• Current powerlifting scoring systems are complex and may unfairly penalize bench press performance.
• Existing methods for evaluating multievent sports are difficult to update and standardize across different weight classes and sexes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, statistically sound system for evaluating powerlifting performance.
• To create a method applicable to other multievent sports.
• To overcome biases and measurement challenges in current performance evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Collected raw competition data for top powerlifters (men and women) across weight classes.
• Calculated mean and standard deviations for each lift by sex and weight class.
• Evaluated performance using the average of z-scores for the three powerlifting lifts.

Main Results:

• The proposed z-score system provides a dimensionless metric for comparing lifts and total performance.
• This method allows for fair evaluation across different weight classes and between sexes.
• The system is transparent and easily updatable as athlete performances improve.

Conclusions:

• The z-score method offers a statistically robust and unbiased approach to evaluating powerlifting performance.
• This system effectively addresses the limitations of empirical equations and biases against the bench press.
• The findings benefit coaches and athletes by simplifying performance assessment and tracking improvement in powerlifting and other multievent sports.