I did get my card online, Carl. It's actually a funny story. (I don't think they like you get the card at the meet, or if that's even possible. I think the instructions were to get it online and send the info to the meet director.)
I knew I'd done one USAPL meet a few years ago, so I clicked on the option to renew instead of register as new. It found my email address, told me what seemed a plausible year for when I had joined, 2013, but it said I was 22 years old!
I tried to renew, anyway - besides your email, you just have to give it your membership number, and it had shown me mine - but it gave me some sort of error. So I contacted the meet director, who put me in touch with someone at the national office, who told me to give my birthday and my age and they'd fix it. That done, I was able to go online and renew my membership. So I do have my card now.
And as to gear, I don't have any that I'm concerned about. Deadlift slippers, knee-high soccer socks, a jock strap, a t-shirt, and a singlet, and that's it. I think everything there is OK in every PL federation on the planet.
-S-