New for IFSA in 2004: 100-kg Class, Health Policy
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2003
Recognizing that some countries simply do not produce many 150-kg men, and seeing the widespread success of Willie Wessels in attracting a range of amateur strongmen in the NAS competititions, IFSA is seriously evaluating introducing a 100-kg class into some 2004 competitions, and this might lead to a 100-kg world championships.
NAS, which is headed by Wessels, has different bodyweight classes, which opens strongman competitions to many more competitors. NAS is also the feeder mechanism to IFSA-USA, the professional arm of strongman in the U.S., and Jon Anderson, for example, came out of NAS this year and immediately became a force to be reckoned with on the IFSA level.
In another development with broad implications for the sport, IFSA plans to implement its Health Policy, which is said to include a drug-testing program modeled after the WADA approach, in 2004.