Look, I appreciate your standpoint, even agree to an extent. But it is a very real fact that some lifters like awards. Some just want recognition for being ranked or placed /whatever/ in their division.
Since you and your lifters disagree, vote with your pens as it were; enter everyone in the Open division. When most of the lifters at our local level meets opt for this, then they will have shown their choice; we'll stop offering the myriad divisions, and we'll await the argument to travel back to "how come there's not _______ division offered?"
Steve brought up the cost..heck yeah its cheaper to only have to get one set of awards, but for those lifters who want those awards, its what I'll do as a meet director to get em to the meet.
You as lifters have the choice to enter whatever division you see fit!
I too am a strong proponent of head to head competition...but right now we get more lifters in the door by offering the divisions. Look its not as silly as some other organizations are, and the divisions offered are logical and linear and do not require any level of academic achievement or association (ie; offering teen and junior instead of high school or collegiate).
There also is the factor of dealing with the org's that ARE offering tons of much more silly divisions than these (sub-master, novice, super-novice, category I, etc). USAPL has to compete, and to pretend we're not in jeapardy of loosing lifters to those other orgs would be foolish.
Lets not argue this, just YOU show ME when you and your lifters and frieds fill out the form, and that will be the lead I as a meet director will take.
Trav, if you could call me I'd appreciate it, its about the registrar thing. I can return your call during my lunch about 1215 (lost your phone number).