Election of Officers: The following people have been nominated for the election at the EPF Congress, to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 8 May 2003:

Executive Officers:
President: Arnulf Wahlström (NOR)
Vice President: Klaus Broström (DEN), Kalevi Sorsa (FIN)
General Secretary: Heiner Köberich (GER)
Treasurer: Gerhard Geissler (GER)
Technical Committee Chairman: Myriam Busselot (BEL)
Law & Legislation Committee Chairman: Dietmar Wolf (NOR)

None Executive Officers:
Disciplinary Committee Chairman: Pavol Müller (SLO)
Appeal Committee Chairman: Kalevi Sorsa (FIN)
Finance Secretary: Pavol Müller (SLO)
Record Registrar: Jari Tähtinen (FIN)
Internet Officer: David Hinchley (GBR)
Doping Control Officer: No nominations

Hotel Prices at the Men's Seniors: Christo Meranzov has negotiated a reduction in hotel prices at the 2003 Men's European Powerlifting Championships, which are being held in Sofia from 7 to 11 May. The single room rate is now €40 and the double rate is now €27 per person per day. Breakfast is available for an additional €3 per person per day.

Danube Cup: The 2003 Danube Cup was held in Kiskorös, Hungary from 21 to 23 Mar. The competion was a great success and a very positive feature was that the sponsors paid the hotel fees for the female lifters. However, it must be noted that whilst Eleiko bars were used for the competition, the plates were made by Atlas, which is not an IPF approved manufacturer. Failure to use approved bars and plates at European Championships and Cups results in a fine of €1500. However, the EPF acknowledges the otherwise good technical standard of the Danube Cup, and recognises that it was the first European competion to be held after the new rule was instituted. Consequently, the EPF has decided in this case to waive the fine and only issue a warning to the Hungarian Federation.

Membership Fees: The 2003 EPF membership fee was due in January. The following nations have not yet paid: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Latvia. The fee is €250 and the fine for late payment is €10 per month overdue. National Federations that fail to pay the membership fee before the 2003 Congress will be denied both a voice and a vote.

Swiss Federation: The Swiss Powerlifting Federation has left both the EPF and IPF. The General Secretary has suggested that some of the Swiss lifters form a new federation. In the interim, Swiss athletes will lift for the Austrian Federation.

Questionnaire: Twenty-one nations have returned the questionnaire, which was sent out in November. The General Secretary requests that those national federations who have not yet completed their questionnaires do so as soon as possible.

Congress Agenda: The 2003 EPF Congress Agenda is available for download as a a Word document. Delegates are asked to bring a copy of the agenda with them to Congress.

President's Message: "I wish delegates from all member federations welcome to the Congress in Sofia. This is an important Congress for EPF because of: a) Election of new officials will take place for the 4 coming years. b) A completely revised Constitution and Bylaws have been made.

It is important for EPF to have devoted officials that work together as a good team and co-operate to guide and to decide what is the best for our sport.

Nominated officials have all served European powerlifting for many years and I know that all of them are hard workers and work unselfish for the sport. They also have the ability to co-operate to the best for our sport. So, I hope all member nations will support the election by supporting the candidates.

The revision of the Constitution and Bylaws gives EPF better rules to avoid lawsuits but it is also an improvement in protecting the individual lifters and officials. This gives EPF a future prospected Constitution and Bylaws.

The meet director, Christo Meranzov, has been working hard to prepare the 26th Men's Open Championships - thank you to Mr. Meranzov and his organising team and I am looking forward seeing you all in Sofia!

Arnulf Wahlstrom."

Note: The original version of this newsletter is available for download as a Word document.