2026 Referee Availability

The following is the REFEREE form for all USA Powerlifting events at the 2026 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 6th through Sunday March 9th, 2026  

Technical Secretaries: Shannon Murphy and Angela Simons (ts.arnold@usapowerlifting.com)

All referees are responsible for booking their own hotel rooms.  

Additional information about the competition can be found at

2026 Arnold Sports Festival Website

All referees are expected to work the entire session (weigh-in/equipment check + lifting)

Stipends will be paid in the following way:

Category Referees: $200 per full session worked 
National Referees:  $175 per full session worked
State Referees:      $100 per full session worked

$50 per early equipment session
Meal for each session worked

Arnold referees will also receive a wristband for expo entry.

NOTE - If you are not a referee but know how to run a powerlifting scoretable you can fill out this referee form with your information and availability. 

Please fill be sure to fill out this form by January 31, 2026. 

Referee assignments include:

Technical Controller, Score Table, Platform Referees and Jury.

If there are reasons why you cannot perform the roles of any given task, for example, inability to stand for the length of time needed to work as a technical controller, please make those things known in the comment section.

Referee Attendance and Arrival Times

Referees and jury members assigned to work a session must arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start of equipment check/weigh-in for that session.

Unless prior arrangements are made with the event technical secretaries (Shannon Murphy and Angela Simons), referees who are not present for the full equipment check/weigh-in period for their scheduled session will be paid a prorated amount.

By checking the box below, you understand and agree to this policy. Note: Referees assigned to work two sessions in-a-row will not be scheduled to work the equipment check/weigh-in for their 2nd session.

Referee Testing

Scheduling of referee exams must be approved by the Technical Committee Chair, Joe Warpeha. You must contact him at tc@usapowerlifting.com and he will provide  a list to us of all those approved to test.

I acknowledge that stating my availability does not necessarily mean that I will be assigned a job during the events. The Technical Secretaries for the event will contact referees as-needed for the various positions.

Preliminary schedule will be sent to all referees by February 6, 2026