LIFTER HAS NO SUPPORT

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Ian Gregson, an amputee weightlifter, cannot enter the national championships because of an international rule requiring two feet on the ground during competition. Gregson has vowed to sue if the rules are not changed at a meeting Finland early next month.

CHAMPION HAS NO SUPPORT Amputee weightlifter will sue international body over human rights issue on rulesBy Tom Berridge
BURNABY NOW SPORTS REPORTER

A Burnaby amputee says archaic rules are preventing disabled powerlifters from competing on an equal basis with able-bodied athletes.

Ian Gregson, who lost a leg in a train accident at the age of 15, was officially banned from able-bodied powerlifting competition in May following a catch-22 ruling by the International Powerlifting Federation.

Under the rules, a prosthesis is an illegal piece of equipment. But without an artificial leg, Gregson was in contravention of page 15 in the official rule book, which stipulates two feet must be in contact with the floor.

For Gregson, who has been competing in able-bodied meets since the single bench lift competition came into vogue in 1992, the ruling flies in the face of fair play and equal participation.

"I don't understand why the issue of amputees came up now in 1995, " said the 33-year-old Gregson, who first competed in the 1984 Paralympics in New York as a track and field athlete.

"I've got the impression it's an issue that should have been dealt with a long time ago and my being banned in Canada has brought it to a head."

Gregson's first brush with controversy came in February at the bench press nationals in Chilliwack when a Canadian judge insisted his disability was a contravention of present laws.

Although he was allowed to compete and placed third in the heavyweight division with a 155-kilogram lift, Gregson the first disabled chair of the Sports and Fitness Council for the Disabled, was informed three months later that he could not take part in further powerlifting meets sanctioned by the Canadian Powerlifting Union.

The issue of updating old rules to reflect the new reality in powerlifting circles is on the agenda of the world body IPF's November 5 annual general meeting in Finland.

And if delegates from around the world do not pass the resolution, Gregson is prepared to take the human rights issue to court.

"I don't want to sue the CPU and I don't really want to sue the IPF, but what other option would I have?" asked Gregson, who has already sought legal counsel.

"I can't be affiliated with an organisation that disallows someone with a disability to compete in a sport that they can do," he said

But BC Powerlifting president Dan Kram believes changes must come from within the system itself

"We always allowed (disabled lifters) and encouraged them to compete with us and we still do," said Kram. "The rule changes that Ian (Gregson) has brought up have already been submitted and hopefully (the IPF) have to do something.

"There's a procedure and sometimes it takes a little bit longer than some would like, but it's not Canada or the BC Powerlifting who are making these rulings. It's the IPF."



More rules will only cloud issue: Gregson

More rules to govern powerlifting will only further cloud the definition of what a disabled athlete is, said Ian Gregson, a Burnaby powerlifter banned from a national competition for wearing a prosthesis.

"I think it's important people in the sporting community are doing a damn good job equalising the playing field, but every once in a while we are reminded there are flaws in the system," said Gregson.

Gregson would like to see the rules streamlined to allow disabled lifters to compete with the able bodied at the international and national levels if they wish. "I see the issue as human rights issue and believe it to be fundamentally wrong for a national or provincial body to uphold a rule or regulation, whether it be internationally motivated or not, that denies opportunity based on physical disability," he said . 

this page was last updated12/22/04