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PAWF — Pan American Weightlifting Federation

The IWF’s continental federation for the Americas, which calls itself the Federación Panamericana de Levantamiento de Pesas (FPLP); the IWF’s directory gives its address as Lima, Peru.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
Full namePan American Weightlifting Federation (PAWF), as the IWF lists it; Federación Panamericana de Levantamiento de Pesas (FPLP), as the federation names itself[1][2]
AddressLima, Peru, per the IWF’s directory of continental federations[2]
FoundedNo founding date could be retrieved from a primary source; the IWF directory gives none[2]
World federationIWF — International Weightlifting Federation, which lists it as one of its five continental federations; Article 5 of the IWF Constitution (Manama, 4 December 2024) governs them[2][3]
MembersIWF member federations of the IWF’s PanAmerica region; no count is printed by the IWF or on the federation’s home page[4]
Senior championshipPan American Weightlifting Championships; most recent, Panama City, May 2026[5]

What is the PAWF?

The Pan American Weightlifting Federation is the continental federation for weightlifting in the Americas. The International Weightlifting Federation lists it under that name, with the acronym PAWF, as one of five continental federations, beside the Weightlifting Federation of Africa, the Asian Weightlifting Federation, the European Weightlifting Federation and the Oceania Weightlifting Federation.[2] On its own site the body uses the Spanish name Federación Panamericana de Levantamiento de Pesas and the acronym FPLP; the site is organised around its history, objectives and mission, executive committee, members, regulations, resolutions for 2024 and 2025, a hall of fame, news and a calendar.[1]

The federation covers one sport, Olympic-style weightlifting: the snatch and the clean and jerk, contested in bodyweight categories for men and women. Its legal form could not be established: the regulations section of its site could not be retrieved, and the IWF’s directory entry states none.[2] Within the IWF’s structure, a “Continental Federation” is defined as “a continental confederation that is referred to in Article 5” of the IWF Constitution.[3]

What does the PAWF govern or do?

The PAWF writes no rules of the sport of its own. The IWF Constitution requires each continental federation to “have and maintain a constitution and rules in line with the IWF Constitution, the WADA Code and the IWF Policies”, so competitions in the Americas run under the IWF’s Technical and Competition Rules.[3] The same article gives continental federations the obligations to “promote the Sport at continental level” and to “organise and supervise continental championships”, and Article 5.1.3 sets their purposes as “(a) to develop and promote the sport of Weightlifting in their continents; (b) to promote and conduct Continental Championships; (c) to authenticate and register all Continental records.”[3] Pan American records are therefore the continental federation’s to register, while world records remain the IWF’s.

Eligibility for its championships turns on standing with both bodies: the conditions for the 2024 senior championship in Caracas stated: “Only IWF Member Federations that are not in arrears with the IWF and FPLP are eligible to participate.”[6] On anti-doping, the obligation runs through the IWF Constitution’s reference to the WADA Code; the federation’s own news in March 2025 reported a coaches’ training programme across the continent that included anti-doping education.[1] Results of its championships are published in the IWF’s results database.[5]

When was the PAWF founded and where is it based?

No founding date for the PAWF could be confirmed from a retrievable primary source. The federation’s site carries a history section, but that page could not be retrieved on 1 October 2026, and the IWF’s directory entry for the federation gives no founding year.[2] The IWF itself states that it “was founded in 1905” and is based at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland; that is the world federation’s history, not the continental body’s.[8]

The IWF’s directory gives the PAWF’s address as “Lima, Peru”, lists its presidency as “TBD” and names William Peña of Colombia as general secretary; contact addresses use the domain pesasamerica.org, while the federation’s public site is panampesas.org.[2] The legal seat set by the federation’s statutes could not be checked, because the regulations section of its site could not be retrieved. The two names, PAWF in English and FPLP in Spanish, are used side by side rather than as a renaming: the IWF uses the English form and the federation’s own site and championship documents the Spanish one.[1][6]

How is the PAWF recognised?

Recognition comes from the IWF. Article 5 of the IWF Constitution, approved by the IWF Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on 4 December 2024, sets out the rights, obligations and purposes of the continental federations, and Article 5.3 provides that “The existing Continental Federations are listed in Schedule 2.”[3] The IWF’s published list of continental federations names the “Pan American Weightlifting Federation (PAWF)” as the body for the Americas.[2] Under Article 5.1.2, the IWF Executive Board “may provide funding to the Continental Federations subject to terms and conditions set forth by the Executive Board.”[3]

The recognition is a delegation inside the IWF’s structure: continental championships, continental records and development in the region. Olympic recognition belongs to the world body; Article 1.1 of the Constitution states that the IWF “is the sole international governing body for the sport of weightlifting recognised by the International Olympic Committee.”[3] The PAWF holds no IOC recognition of its own. Weightlifting is contested at the Pan American Games, run by Panam Sports; a Panam Sports list naming the PAWF among recognised continental confederations could not be retrieved.

What does the PAWF organise?

The PAWF runs a senior continental championship, the Pan American Weightlifting Championships, with the national federation of the host country as local organiser. The IWF’s results database lists the 2025 edition in Cali, Colombia, from 12 July 2025, and the 2026 edition in Panama City, Panama, from 5 May 2026 — the most recent completed edition on 1 October 2026.[5] The 2024 edition, the “Pan American Championship Senior Category, ‘Simón Bolívar’ Cup”, was held in Greater Caracas, Venezuela, from 23 to 29 February 2024, organised by the Venezuelan Weightlifting Federation “with the endorsement of the Pan American Weightlifting Federation”, and served as “a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”[6] The 2022 edition in Bogotá, organised by the Colombian federation with the approval of the IWF and the Pan American federation, ran from 22 to 30 July 2022.[7] A 2027 senior edition had not been listed in the IWF’s results database on 1 October 2026.

The federation also runs age-group championships: the IWF lists Pan-American Youth Championships in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, in November 2025.[5] Its home page reports youth events, a hall of fame whose 2025 inductees were announced in January 2025, and coaching courses.[1]

Who are its members?

The PAWF’s members are the IWF member federations of the Americas. Neither the IWF nor the federation’s home page prints a count. The IWF’s member-federation directory, filtered to its PanAmerica region, lists the national federations of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, the United States of America, Venezuela, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.[4] The IWF states that it has “193 affiliated National Federations worldwide, from all five Continents”.[8]

Standing with the continental body matters for entry: only federations not in arrears with both the IWF and the FPLP could enter the 2024 senior championship.[6] The federation’s own news also reports on sub-regional bodies, such as the election of a new board of the Central American weightlifting confederation in April 2025.[1]

References

  1. Federación Panamericana de Levantamiento de Pesas (FPLP) — official site, home page and news. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  2. IWF — Continental Federations directory (Pan American Weightlifting Federation entry). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  3. IWF — Constitution, approved by the IWF Congress in Manama, Bahrain, 4 December 2024 (Articles 1.1, 2.1, 5). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  4. IWF — Member Federations directory, PanAmerica region. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  5. IWF — Results by events (Pan-American Championships 2025 Cali and 2026 Panama City; Pan-American Youth Championships 2025). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  6. Venezuelan Weightlifting Federation — Conditions, Pan American Championship Senior Category, Caracas 2024 (published by the IWF). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  7. Federación Colombiana de Levantamiento de Pesas — Invitation, Campeonato Panamericano de Mayores 2022, Bogotá (published by the IWF). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  8. IWF — About us. Accessed 2026-10-01.