APEX Pilot APEX

Powerlifting meet software that runs on one laptop

APEX runs your meet from weigh-in to results. The table, the referees, the coaches and the TVs all connect to that laptop over the meet's own Wi-Fi, so nothing depends on the venue's internet.

Who we are

We compete, referee and run meets ourselves. Our team is made up of referees, meet directors, state chairs, and athletes who have competed at Nationals, the Arnold, and Worlds.

We built APEX for the people at the table, around the platform and in the warm-up room, and we tailor it to your federation's rules and set it up with you.

A coach's phone during squats. A yellow banner reads Submit now: Maya Chen, squat 3, with 46 seconds on the clock. Below it, Kai Mendez is lifting 190 kg, and Maya is 8 attempts out, about 10 minutes, after a good second squat at 147.5 kg.
A coach's phone in the warm-up room: 46 seconds left to send Maya's third squat.

How it works

One laptop runs the meet. Everyone else opens APEX in a web browser on the meet's own Wi-Fi.

1 Laptop

Runs APEX for the whole meet and saves every change the moment it's made.

1 Travel router

Makes the meet's own Wi-Fi, so a weak venue connection changes nothing.

0 Apps to install

The table, referees, coaches and TVs open APEX in a web browser.

Plus a phone or tablet for each referee, and a TV with anything that can open a web page. We work with you to get it all set up.

Every seat in the room

Real screens from a sample meet, each built for the person using it.

Scoring table

The table keeps the meet moving and fixes everyone's mistakes, usually against the clock. APEX keeps the lifting order for you, puts each coach's weight up to confirm with one click, and puts an Undo button next to every recent change.

The scoring table screen. Kai Mendez is lifting 190 kg, with Good lift, No lift and Skip buttons. Maya Chen needs a weight, with 41 seconds left. Ava Brooks's 107.5 kg from her coach is waiting for Confirm. Below are the lifting order and a list of recent changes, each with an Undo button.

TV

The crowd and the loaders read the TV from across the hall, so it shows the lifter, the weight and the plates for each side in big type. The lights appear only once all three referees are in. The loaders get their own view with bigger plates.

TV display: Kai Mendez, 190 kg, with the plates for each side drawn in competition colours: 25, 25, 25, 5 and 2.5 plus collar. Up next: Jordan Blake 210 kg, Tyler Nash 215 kg, Owen Hale 252.5 kg.
Before the lift
TV display after the decision: the panel turns green with three white lights and the words Good lift.
Three white lights: good lift

Referees

Referees judge standing up, with one hand free and their eyes on the lift. So each one gets two big buttons on their own phone. The light goes in at once, and the failure cards come after. At smaller events, one phone can give all three lights.

Referee phone for the left seat: Kai Mendez, 190 kg, flight A, squat 2, with a large Good lift button and a large No lift button.

Coaches

Coaches handle several lifters at once in a crowded warm-up room. One glance shows how many attempts until each lifter is up, the weight they take next, and whether the table has it. Signing in takes a 6-digit code from the table.

A coach's phone. Jordan Blake is 1 attempt out and on deck, and his next squat of 210 kg is confirmed by the table. Ava Brooks is 4 attempts out, about 5 minutes, with 107.5 kg sent to the table and waiting.

Check-in station

Identity, equipment and weigh-in in one place, then Clear to lift. The scoring table can do the same from its own tab.

Optional

Walk-up kiosk

A screen at the table where lifters hand in their next weight, the way they would hand in a paper card.

Optional

Why we built it

The things we wanted fixed, from every side of the platform.

  • Coaches shouldn't have to sprint to the table

    Coaches send the next weight from their phones inside the 60-second window, and the table confirms it with one click.

    Paper still works. The table can enter any weight by hand.

  • The table shouldn't type everything twice

    Bring the roster in from a spreadsheet. Weigh-ins, openers and rack heights are typed once, and every screen uses them. Results come out as a file ready for OpenPowerlifting.

  • Lifters should know why they got a red light

    After a red light, the referee taps the failure card on their phone. The reason shows up on the coach's phone and the TV within seconds.

    Ellie Brandt's entry on her coach's phone: no lift at 137.5 kg on squat 2, with two red lights and one white, and a red card for depth: hips not below the knees.
    What Ellie's coach sees after her second squat.
  • The table should always have the final say

    Every change is saved the moment it's made, and any change can be undone. If the laptop restarts, start APEX again and every screen catches up on its own.

Your federation's rules

Every federation runs things a little differently, so APEX keeps every rule in one place and sets it up for each one. USAPL's 2026 rulebook comes built in, since that's where we started, and our tests run against it. We tailor APEX to your rulebook and set it up with you before your meet.

Set for your federation

  • Weight classes and age divisions
  • Bar, collar and plate weights
  • Attempt increments, minimum jumps and change limits
  • The clock for declaring the next attempt
  • Failure cards and their rule numbers
  • The check-in checklist

Results

  • Placings, and best lifter by DOTS or IPF GL points
  • A results file ready for OpenPowerlifting
  • Weigh-in, equipment check and check-in sheets for Excel or Google Sheets

What we're building next

APEX runs one platform today.

  • Several platforms at once
  • Lifters sending their own attempts
  • Following the meet live from home

Pilot APEX at your meet

We're looking for a few meet directors, in any federation, to run APEX at their meets.

We run meets too. Tell us how you run yours, and we'll set APEX up around it, including your federation's rules.

For your first meet, run APEX alongside the system you use now, so nothing depends on it until you trust it.