What is LI?
Is there a chapter in my area?
How do I go about starting a chapter in my area?
How many members do I need to start an LI Chapter?
What happens at a LI meeting?
I?m not sure I like the idea of locksports. Aren?t you just teaching people to break into things?
Ok, but what good could come of a club like yours?
What is LI? LI is Locksport International, a worldwide organization of lockpicking enthusiasts who meet on a regular basis to discuss their hobby, share ideas, and work to advance the promotion of locksports within their community.
Is there a chapter in my area? There is a current list of existing chapters maintained on the Chapter List page.
How do I go about starting a chapter in my area? You can inquire about starting an LI Chapter by sending a note expressing your interest to questions@locksport.com. You will be contacted with more information promptly.
How many members do I need to start an LI Chapter? LI was started with the 'Field of Dreams' philosophy which states 'If you build it, they will come'. Even if it?s just you and one or two friends that wish to meet regularly under the LI banner that?s fine. There are some great promotions available through LI and the larger the club you have, the more you can tap in on the LI resources, but don?t be discouraged if you only have one or two members to start a chapter with. If you get good at conducting fun and exciting locksport meetings, the enthusiasm of your members will attract newcomers who wish to see what it?s all about. Let?s face it, what?s it like when you first tell someone about your strange lockpicking hobby? Once they get past the initial discomfort with the whole idea, isn?t it true that many people ask questions and seek to know more about this unique and challenging hobby? The LI board has always felt that locksport is an attractive hobby to many, and the only reason it isn?t more widely adopted is that people just don?t know about it. That?s something that we at LSI hope to change!
What happens at a LI meeting? There are many activities that can be a part of an LI meeting. There is an article called ?Conducting a Locksport Meeting? in the Chapter Resources section of the LI website that details many of the things that can be done at an LI meeting. Of course, the options are only limited by your own creativity. In a simple sense, and LI meeting is all about getting locksport enthusiasts together to discuss ideas, techniques, tools, and hardware. There is a competitive element to locksports as well. Most LI meetings will have some competitive aspect to them, and larger competitions are being considered for the future. When attending any LI meeting you can expect to learn a bit, maybe share some things, and have a lot of fun in the process.
I'm not sure I like the idea of locksports. Aren't you just teaching people to break into things? No! One of the paramount concerns for LI is to promote the hobby/sport of lockpicking in an ethical manner. LI has always, and will always, maintain a zero tolerance toward any unethical/illegal behavior. Members are expected to follow a strict code of conduct. They are also issued photo Member ID Cards that identify them as Locksport International members. In order to join an LI Chapter, members must be sponsored in by the Chapter President and one additional member in good standing. All these initiatives are in place to ensure that the ?unwanted criminal element? is kept from the ranks of LI.
Ok, but what good could come of a club like yours? Members of Locksport International are constantly evaluating various locking systems, and strive to find security flaws in them. It is well established that the hobby lockpicking community has done much to increase the security of those who rely on it by discovering exploits and making manufacturers aware of the problem. One high profile example of this is the Kryptonite bicycle locks. These locks were used for years to protect peoples valuable bicycles until it was discovered that many of these locks could be opened with nothing more than a Bic pen. At that time, Kryptonite issued a recall on over 10,000 of their locks and have since upgraded their product to address the issue. If hobby lockpickers are capable of discovering exploits for various locking systems, you can be sure that criminals can as well. By making these weaknesses known the locksport community helps advance the security of those that rely on these products. LI is committed to working with manufacturers to promote greater security for all.
Revised October 29, 2005 /jn Revised July 24, 2008 /dm
