International Weight Pull Association

IWPA International Championships

What is it? When is it? Where is it? Who is invited? Lots of questions but first let's talk about what it is and how you might qualify to get there.

The International Championships are held after the end of the pull season, usually in late April or early May and located somewhere in the United States or Canada. IWPA rotates their Championship locations between Western US and Canada, Central US and Canada, and Eastern US and Canada. Organizers submit bids to host the Championships in their location. They must have an approved site to hold the wheel pull whether it be on natural surface or artifical surface. They also must have an approved site for the snow pull. This could be on natural snow, or on shaved ice on a pad or in an ice rink. The submitting organizer also arranges for a location for the awards banquet, and general meeting. Sufficant lodging also needs to be available for the out of town travelers. The Championship Chairperson reviews the bids and selects the best proposal based on the presenting bid package. This is all completed early in the pull season.

Now how do you get to go to the International Championships? Well first you need to be a member of one of the twelve regions within the United States and Canada. During the season ( September 1st thru March 31st), IWPA members compete with their dogs within their region for points earned based on placings at a pull in one of the 8 weight classes. The top 5 highest points earned at different pulls within their region are added together at the end of the season to determine the placing for regional medals - gold, silver or bronze. These regional medalists along with qualifying 4th and 5th placing dogs (to qualify must have beaten a medalist during the season) are invited to attend the Championships. They gather in one place to compete with other regional medalists to win the title of "International Champion."

2023 IWPA Championships
2024 IWPA Championships

A lot of truly good dogs have pulled awesome weights in relation to their own weights, but the records are only set at the Championships. Below is a list of record holders from previous years' Championships.

IWPA Record Holders

WHEELS/NATURAL SURFACE

Class	Dog	Handler	Region	Pulled	Breed	Location/Year
10	Monarch Joseph	Robbie Reed	9	295	Mixed	Estes Park, CO (2019)
20	Sanchez	Trent Vance	4	935	Pitter-Patt	Kalkaska, MI (2005)
35	Two Dogs	Larry McGee	3	2000	American Pit Bull Terrier	Greeley, CO (1997)
40	Gracie	Damon Keels	6	2135	American Pit Bull Terrier	Kalkaska, MI (2005)
60	Throttle	Jim Walters	9	3985	Mixed	Estes Park, CO (2019)
80	Sky	Chris Stock	9	3980	American Bulldog	Estes Park, CO (2015)
100	Chevy	Darryl Spauldin	4	4900	American Pit Bull Terrier	Cheyenne, WY (2001)
120	Maynard	Derrick Exstrom	9	4045	Rottweiller	Greeley, CO (1997)
125	Neebles	Mark Landers	9	3980	American Bulldog	Evans, CO (2007)
150	Delbert	Debbie Lee	7	3800	Alaskan Malamute	Estes Park, CO (2019)
Unl	Sly	Frank Wells	9	5395	English Mastiff	Greeley, CO (1997)

WHEELS/ARTIFICIAL SURFACE

Class	Dog	Handler	Region	Pulled	Breed	Location/Year
10	Chewy	Carol Dodds	7	307	Poodle	Grand Rapids, MI (2018)
20	Kora	Justo Montanez	11	1550	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	Cicero, NY (2014)
25	Obie	Courtney McDermott/ Eric Markson	5	450	Mixed	Grand Rapids, MI (2016)
35	Willey Makett	Anita Persinger	4	2030	American Pit Bull Terrier	St. Louis, MO (1995)
40	Lucy	Eli Landers	9	2090	Patterdale Terrier	Spokane, WA (2004)
60	Lyra	Jessica Joyce	11	3250	American Pit Bull Terrier	Cicero, NY (2014)
80	Dixie	Daryl Anderson	4	3810	American Pit Bull Terrier	Spokane, WA (2004)
100	Chevy	Darryl Spauldin	4	4700	American Pit Bull Terrier	Leavenworth, WA (2000)
120	Ox	Ron Poitras	5	4400	American Bulldog	Leavenworth, WA (2000)
125	Dezzy	Jenna Starr	11	4475	Greater Swiss Mountai Dog	Grand Rapids, MI (2022)
150	Delbert	Debbie Lee	7	4475	Alaskan Malamute	Spokane, WA (2017)
Unl	Tank	Darwin Lumbattis	3	6075	Mastiff	Grand Rapids, MI (2022)

SNOW/NATURAL SURFACE

Class	Dog	Handler	Region	Pulled	Breed	Location/Year
10	Monarch Joseph	Robbie Reed	9	42	Mixed	Estes Park, CO (2019)
20	Destiny	Philip Beauvais	8	275	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	Butte, MT (2023)
35	Swampdog’s Diffy	Todd Pederson	7	440	American Pit Bull Terrier	Delaware, PA (1999)
40	Diamond Lil	Dean Mircos	9	930	American Pit Bull Terrier	Loveland, CO (2003)
60	Cody	Larry Brillart	11	1100	Siberian Husky	Loveland, CO (2003)
80	Eli	Bill Arndt	9	1130	Mix	Estes Park, CO (1994)
100	Shaq	Chris Stock	9	1700	Oklahoma Bulldog	Loveland, CO (2003)
120	Mack	Fred Jenson	9	1270	Alaskan Malamute	Estes Park, CO (1994)
125	Swampdog’s Bugg	Todd Pederson	7	1500	American Bulldog	Loveland, CO (2003)
150	Moses	Mark Pickrel	11	1500	Alaskan Malamute	Loveland, CO (2003)
Unl	Chunka	Nathan Sellers	2	1390	Alaskan Malamute	Cheyenne, WY (2001)

SNOW / ARTIFICIAL SURFACE

Class	Dog	Handler	Region	Pulled	Breed	Location/Year
10	Chewy	Carol Dodds	7	90	Poodle	Grand Rapids, MI (2018)
20	Bridget	Jenny Cousino	6	425	Terrier	Kalkaska, MI (2005)
25	Ripper	Diane Krupski	6	135	Patterdale Terrier	Grand Rapids, MI (2016)
35	Jackie	Bob Bonacorsi	4	1005	American Pit Bull Terrier	Grand Rapids, MI (1998)
40	Honeysuckle	Rodney Martin	9	861	Norwegin Elkhound	Grand Rapids, MI(2018)
60	A.I.D.E.W.	Clay Fonvielle	8	1597	American Pit Bull Terrier	Grand Rapids. MI (2022)
80	Scout	Darwin Lumbattis	3	2161	Mixed	Grand Rapids, MI (2018)
100	Ranger	David Gallagher	5	2105	Alaskan Malamute	Enfield, CT (2010)
120	Bubbadog	Bob Bonacorsi	4	2630	Alaskan Malamute	Grand Rapids, MI (1998)
125	Hope	Richard Felice	9	2010	Mixed	Grand Rapids, MI (2022)
150	M.J.	Stephanie Pitz	6	2105	Saint Bernard Cross	Enfield, CT (2010)
Unl	Riddle	Joal Brisbois	6	2630	Mastiff	Grand Rapids, MI (1998)

Address further questions about IWPA to: Melissa Kehler
or Membership questions to: Mary Felice
or Web site questions/comments to Sheryl Franklin