Powerlifting in the Netherlands

[Kittenmancer]

Hi all,

I would like to start participating in powerlifting meets/competitions in the Netherlands. When I first contacted the NPB (Nationale Powerliftingbond) about it they said that I would require a Dutch passport, but I've checked the rules recently and that is not the case any more - foreigners who are registered residents in the Netherlands are allowed to participate in competitions, except for the national championships.

Now, from what I can see on the NPB website, there are two options for me:
1. Register as a "general member" (but no team competitions).
2. Register with one of the affiliated clubs and participate under their wing.

The affiliated clubs are all rather far away from me (I live in the Utrecht area and work in downtown Amsterdam), so the second option would be less feasible. The question is, am I missing that much if I don't participate in team competitions? How often do these happen?

My second question is: where do you get your powerlifting gear from? I train (and plan to compete) in raw powerlifting, so I don't need much (belt, straps, singlet, maybe shoes). I did some searching of the big brand names (Titan, Inzer etc), but before I spend a bucketload of money on their stuff I'd like to know if there are any good alternatives closer to home (some of the brands I've looked at won't even ship outside of the US). Also, the sizing might be a bit of a problem for me (1.5m, 55kg, tiny feet), so a physical store where I can try on stuff would be ideal, but if not I'm perfectly happy with an online store that accepts returns/exchanges (in case stuff doesn't fit).

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eddine]

Send me a pm with concrete questions, I can answer all of them

 

[Sjors26]

Where do you train in Utrecht? I live there as well and I'd like a competitive trainingpartner.
Contact Eddine for gear, I tried some of it and Titan really has some solid material. You won't be dissapointed.

 

[Kittenmancer]

I train in Amsterdam at Health City (my company has a deal with them and it's 2 minutes' walk from my office, so yay! convenience). In Utrecht I train at Newstyle Maarssen.

 

[romutis]

Can I join this topic with a question - are there any powerlifting gym in Amsterdam? Not just couple of guys in a gym like F4F performing deadlift occasionally but a place with professional trainer who can help with exercise technics and program improvement. Not necessary a gym competitive ambitions (I'm too old for that) but still a true powerlifters club.