USA Weightlifting has released a list of the four rule changes taking effect on January 1st, 2017 and if you compete in weightlifting, these rules will definitely affect you.

Stationary Cards at National Competitions

USA Weightlifting will now follow suit with the International Weightlifting Federation's marshaling rules which means the cards will remain stationary at the Marshall table in the order of start number instead of shuffling around with every attempt and change. In the case of failure of scoring equipment the competition will revert to a manual clock and shuffled cards after three minutes to make sure the competition continues.

The Addition of the 90kg and 90+kg (75 and 75+ for Youth) Weight Classes for Women

Continuing to follow along with the IWF's new rules, USA Weightlifting has already begun 90kg and 90+kg contests. If you're trying to figure out if the new weight classes are right for your athlete, check out this article from Sean Waxman of Waxman's Gym.

The Removal of the Bodyweight Advantage Tiebreaker

Another of the IWF's rule changes involved the removal of the bodyweight advantage tiebreaker. From here on out, the tie doesn't go in the favor of the athlete who weighs less but instead goes in favor of the athlete who achieves the tied total first. The idea here is to force a 1kg increase if the athlete wants to win.

The 20kg/15kg Rule Becomes The 20kg Rule

The 20kg/15kg Rule required athletes to declare opening attempts adding up to within a certain range (20kg for men and 15kg for women) of the athlete's entry total. This rule has now been adjusted to the 20kg Rule, which requires both men and women to declare opening attempts which add up to within 20kg of their entry total.