Q-Points, Q-Youth to be Used in 2025 to Determine Best Lifters
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COLORADO SPRINGS - Starting on Jan. 1, 2025 USAW will adopt Q-points and Q-youth to determine “Best Lifter” at national events, replacing the use of the Sinclair, Sinclair-Meltzer-Faber formula (SMF) and Sinclair-Huebner-Meltzer-Faber (SHMF) formulas.
Published by Marianne Huebner, David Meltzer, Ásgeir Bjarnason and Aris Perperoglou, Q-points is a statistical formula to adjust the total weight lifted for body mass. It calculates a score based on body mass and total weight lifted and can be used for overall awards in competitions. The statistical method is called quantile regression, hence the name “Q-points.”
Sinclair and Robi points rely on world records, while Q-points were developed from the results of the Olympics and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Championships. Sinclair points favor some body mass ranges, while the Q-points reduce or eliminate that bias. For masters weightlifters, Q-points are multiplied by age factors (Q-Masters).
The Q-points system was developed by a team of academics, athletes, coaches, and officials. The method has been peer reviewed and is published in the renowned scientific journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Q-youth was developed by Huebner and Perperoglou to account for light body mass and changing body mass with increasing age in youth. The statistical method is called quantile foliation, hence the name “Q-youth.”
An online calculator is available for both the Q-points and Q-youth:
