Source: Metal Sport & Wear Blog
METAL and IPF have signed the co-operation contract for next four years.
The contract include the singlets, belts, knee sleeves and wrist wraps. All IPF approved METAL squat suits, bench shirts, deadlift suits and knee wraps are approved until the end of the year 2015.
We (METAL) have been thinking a lot, what we do with IPF, because Classic Powerlifting (RAW) is coming up in the IPF and we think this is a good thing and we want to support it. In every IPF country’s national events there are few lifers with supported gear today and the future looks good only in Classic (RAW) division. With supported gear, it would have been easy the make a decision for one year in time, but the IPF demands the contract for four years. The IPF markets for supported gear are very small in next few years, we do not believe for the markets of the IPF supported gear. But however, the new METAL single ply gear are coming to the markets soon, because outside the IPF there are many organizations where single ply gear are used and the single ply divisions and organizations are getting stronger all the time. Also the WPC, which is the big international organization in addition to the IPF, started the single ply division last year. Also we launched just the new METAL multi ply bench shirt to the markets. The hardcore multi ply powerlifting will be always alive. Also new METAL multi ply suits are coming in near future.
If we had made an expensive contract for supported gear with IPF, it would have been expensive also for the lifters outside the IPF. The approval fees were very high, so we tried the negotiate also with Inzer and Titan, if we had required together lower fees, but Titan and Inzer did not want to make co-operation. Now METAL do not pay the high fees and do not get the money for the fees from the lifters.
METAL wish you all the best! Train hard and keep yourself strong!
- Metal Sport & Wear