From Russia to Alabama: 2022 IPL World Championship moving to Orange Beach

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Ally Dorrough, APR • Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events
[email protected] • GSOBsports.com
1-800-745-SAND • 251-968-9327 (direct) • 334-391-7745 (cell)

GULF SHORES AND ORANGE BEACH, ALA. – More than 300 elite athletes from across the globe will converge at the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf Oct. 20-23, 2022, as the International Powerlifting (IPL) World Championship moves from Russia to Alabama. The event was originally slated to take place in Russia prior to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Charlie Lyons, meet director and the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Alabama chair, said it has been a whirlwind but worthwhile endeavor to take on this global event. As a former powerlifting competitor at the highest levels and a meet director for many years, including successfully hosting and directing the IPL North American Championship in 2021 and winning the bid to host the 2023 USPA National Championships, Lyons was asked to submit a bid for the Alabama chapter to host the IPL World Championship in Orange Beach when it could no longer take place in Russia.

“After we won the bid for the 2023 USPA National Championships in Orange Beach, I got a call the next week from the vice president of the USPA,” said Lyons. “They were in the middle of an emergency meeting with the IPL group to move the championship, and they all agreed they wanted me to run the event on the Alabama Gulf Coast with my experience running high-level powerlifting events in the area. We have put in the work for many years, and Alabama is going to be on the world’s stage!”

Countries represented at the championship include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Aruba, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile and Kazakhstan. Showing Alabama’s beaches to competitors, families and fans from all over the world is win for Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events as the championship heads to the Southeast for the first time.

“It’s a big deal for an international championship to take place on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and we are proud to welcome athletes and fans from all over to experience Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for the first time,” said Michelle Russ, vice president of sales, sports and events for GSOB Sports & Events. “From an economic impact standpoint, this event is taking place during a need period outside of the peak summer season, which will benefit our local tourism-based businesses.”

Spectators are welcome to attend, and admission is $20 per day. Visit https://events.powerlifting-ipl.com/ipl-worlds-2022 for the IPL World Championship schedule of events. For information on upcoming athletic events along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, visit GSOBsports.com, or call 1-800-745-SAND.

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Caption: The 2022 IPL World Championship, originally slated to take place in Russia, will commence at the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama, from Oct. 20-23.
Credit: DVXT Images
 

About Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events:

Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events is a partnership among Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (GSOBT), the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, Gulf State Park and the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. In 2007, the organization became a department within GSOBT. In this role, the GSOB Sports & Events – along with assistance from both cities – works to bring quality athletic and leisure events to Alabama’s Gulf Coast. To learn more about sports and events along Alabama’s 32 miles of white-sand beaches, please visit GSOBsports.com.