HOW TO QUALIFY FOR DRUG-TESTED
RAW NATIONALS 2026!
THE BIGGEST DRUG TESTED POWERLIFTING COMPETITION IN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY!
HOW THE QUALIFYING PROCESS FOR APL DT RAW NATIONALS WORKS:
Qualifying for Nationals will follow 7 steps.
Step 1: Compete at any APL Drug-Tested competition between August 30th 2025 – May 24th 2026.
Step 2: Meet the Minimum Qualifying total (OPEN AGE LIFTERS ONLY)
For Open age lifters, APL will publish minimum qualifying totals by weight class. Achieving the minimum does not guarantee an invite. Minimum totals exist to ensure an appropriate baseline standard at Nationals.
Athletes will still be ranked via a ranking system *Please see Qualifying Totals and Ranking System section for further details
For Masters and Juniors lifters that don’t qualify through the Open age division, please see the Masters and Juniors section for more details.
Step 3: Submit a Nationals Expression of Interest form.
*Expression of interest forms will go live April 1st 2026 and will close May 25th 2026. Competing at an event between April 1st and May 24th will not affect your qualification or put you at a disadvantage.
Step 4: After the submissions have closed on May 25th, we will rank all athletes based on the EOI’s received. *See the ranking system section for further details.
Step 5: Invitations will be sent out based on the rankings, with the first invitations sent May 27th. Invitations will be sent out via a round system with invitations sent until Nationals is sold out. The 2025 Nationals sent out 3 rounds of invitations.
Step 6: If you receive an invitation, you will have 72 hours to accept and process your Nationals entry fee before your invitation becomes void and it is then sent to the next highest ranked lifter.
Step 7: Train hard and we will see you at Nationals!
OPEN AGE LIFTERS:
QUALIFYING TOTALS: Qualifying totals represent the minimum performance standard required to be considered for the Open Age Division at Drug-Tested Raw Nationals. Hitting the qualifying total makes an athlete eligible to be ranked for an invitation, but achieving the qualifying total alone does not guarantee a place at Nationals.
RANKING SYSTEM: Athletes who meet the qualifying total are ranked by total within their division.
For Open age lifters, The top 10 lifters in each Open weight class are guaranteed an invitation (provided the qualifying total is met). This includes any Masters or Junior lifters who place within the top 10 of the Open ranking for that weight class.
Remaining invitations are then issued by continuing down the rankings, with the number of places allocated to each weight class based on demand.
For example, in 2025 the Women’s 75kg Drug-Tested Raw division was allocated more places than smaller divisions such as the 44kg class due to significantly higher EOI numbers. This approach can result in popular divisions receiving up to 30+ invitations (including masters and juniors), while lower-demand divisions may receive fewer.
MASTERS AND JUNIORS:
For 2026, Nationals has been separated into two events. This change was made specifically to allow significantly more Masters and Junior lifters to compete at Drug-Tested Raw Nationals, removing the limitations that previously restricted available places.
As a result, qualification for Masters and Juniors is more accessible than in previous years, with substantially more invitations available across these divisions.
Masters and Juniors are ranked using the DOTs x McCulloch age coefficient, allowing performances to be compared fairly across age groups and weight divisions. Invitations are then issued to the highest-ranked Masters and Juniors until available capacity is filled.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM:
The Nationals Expression of Interest form will be released on April 1st 2026 and will close on May 25th 2026.
Athletes looking to qualify for Nationals must complete the form by the due date of May 25th. Any submissions after this date will not be accepted.
On the EOI you will be required to fill in the details of the competition you achieved your best total during the qualifying time frame (August 30th 2025 – May 25th 2026).
*Do not fill in the EOI until after you have competed. The order in which EOIs are received will have no impact on invites.
Lifters will be required to select the Weight class they wish to apply for at Nationals. You may apply to be considered for multiple weight classes. Masters/Juniors must nominate a weight class in the EOI; moving down is not permitted from the class competed in during the qualifying period
*Lifters cannot go down a weight class from which they set their qualifying total, they may however go up a weight class, but will be ranked against lifters in the weight class they select.
Eg: a 67.5kg lifter may elect to qualify and be ranked in the 75kg weight class, but may not drop down to the 60kg weight class. Please see rule 5.1.10 of the APL rule book
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: As a Master or Junior, if I receive an invite, do I need to choose between competing in my age division or the Open division?
A: No. Masters and Junior athletes who receive an invitation to Nationals will automatically compete in both their age division and the Open division. This means eligible athletes can place and receive awards in both categories.
Q: I won Nationals last year, do I have to re-qualify ?
A: YES! Everyone will need to re-qualify. This ensures fairness across the board
Q: How do I know where I am ranked ?
A: A good indicator of where you may be ranked is via OpenPowerlifting. You can filter Auspl-tested and see where you are ranked against everyone else.
Q: Why don’t we just use qualifying totals Masters and Juniors also?
A: Masters and Juniors are spread across a very large number of divisions. Across Drug-Tested Raw alone, this includes 8 age classes, 12 weight classes, and 2 genders, resulting in nearly 200 potential division combinations, many of which have low participation numbers year to year.
If fixed qualifying totals were applied to all Masters and Junior divisions, this would either unfairly exclude lifters due to limited division depth or shift qualification toward a first-in, best-dressed scenario, where entry timing matters more than performance.
Ranking Masters and Juniors using an age-adjusted coefficient allows performances to be compared fairly across divisions and ensures invitations are issued based on relative performance, not entry speed. This approach is both fairer for athletes and allows significantly more Masters and Juniors to compete at Nationals.