Monthly Archives: January 2011

Zercher Meet

By Joe Garcia

MEET RESULTS – THE 2011 ZERCHER MEET

The mighty have fallen. This last Saturday, Jan 29, the longest running meet in the USAWA, in fact dating prior to the formation of the USAWA, the Zercher meet was once again held in Clarks gym at Columbia, MO.  At one time, it was one of the premier meets  of our organization,  but recently has fallen on small times.  This one was no exception.  We had a total of three people in the gym, Bill Clark who judged the meet; Tom Powell, our exceptional loader, who never lifts in any of these meets, but like clockwork, shows up to put the weights on the bars; and myself, the lone lifter in the meet.  Quite a bit different from the ones back in the late 80’s,  where we ran three platforms for the lifters.  Consisting of 13 lifts, it makes for a hard day on the body.

On a side note, we may see Bill back lifting in the near future.  He has been to Atlanta to see his favorite surgeon, and they will be replacing his shoulder down the road.  That will be welcome news as he really can’t even move his arm more than about 3 – 4 inches at this point.  Add a new hip and he’ll be good as new.

Since I have been favoring a rotator injury from last summer that started out with a fall from a horse, I pretty much knew that the overhead lifts and the bench weren’t going to be too outstanding for me.  I was correct in that they were all down in poundages, though not as much as I thought they would be.  In the other lifts, except for the Hand and Thigh, I either was able to do the same as last year or bettered a couple of the lifts.  The older lifters in the association will understand how that becomes a victory.  Anyway, for the most part I was happy with the results, and as always, enjoyed seeing Bill and we did end up at the Golden Corral for a late lunch.

2011  Zercher Meet
Clark’s Gym, Columbia, Missouri
January 29, 2011

Meet Director:  Bill Clark
Official:  Bill Clark
Loader: Tom Powell

Lifts: Leg Press, Heels Together Clean and Press, Clean and Jerk, Heels Together Deadlift, Bench – Feet in the Air, Hack Lift, One-Hand Deadlift, Zercher Lift, Steinborn, Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh, Hip Lift and Harness Lift.

Results

Lifter Age BWT Lg Press HT Press C&J HT Dead Bench
Joe Garcia 57 212 400 150 165 315 205
Hack 1Hd Dead Zercher Steinborn
275 245 -R 255 195
Neck HandThigh Hip Harness Total
375 1075 1675 2300 7630

All results in pounds.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds.

News from the IAWA(UK)

by Steve Gardner

Andy Tomlin is awarded the Clubman of the Year for the Castlemilk Gym.

I attended the Castlemilk Gym Weightlifting Clubs annual dinner in Glasgow on Friday 14th January. It was a very pleasant evening, and after dinner William Wright made the presentations of the clubs awards for their acheivements through 2010. Andy Tomlin was the winner of the overall clubman of the year cup. At the end of the presentation I took them all by complete surprise when I told them that in fact myself and Karen had not just travelled up to see them and enjoy their evening with them, I had another duty to perform. It was well worth the trip to Scotland to see the expression on young Robbie Hughes’s face when I presented him with the wonderful Health and Strength Cup, which is presented annually for the best performance by a IAWA(UK) Junior lifter!

Robbie Hughes receives the Health and Strength "Best Junior" Trophy for 2010.

Final Postal Series Ranking

by Al Myers

Al Myers wins overall best lifter of the 2010 USAWA Postal Meet Series, pictured with his 617 pounds 12" base deadlift in the 2010 National Postal Meet.

I have finally tabulated the final rankings for the 2010 USAWA Postal Series.  The USAWA Postal Series consists of 4 quarterly postal competitions – the Eastern Open in March, the Middle Atlantic in June, the Delaware Valley in September, and the National Postal Meet in December.  John Wilmot has been the meet director for these Postal Meets for several years now.  He deserves recognition for all his hard work – organizing the competitions, calculating the meet results, and sending out award certificates to the winners.  Thank you John on behalf of the USAWA!!

The Postal Series Ranking is done using this simple scoring system.  Each lifter accumulates points based on their overall placing in each postal meet.  For example, if there are 10 lifters entered, first place receives 10 points and the last place finisher receives 1 point.  This way EVERY lifter at least receives some points toward their yearly ranking total.  If more lifters are entered – more points goes to the winner.  The National Postal Meet is worth DOUBLE POINTS since it is the most important competition in our Postal Meet Series.

For the 2010 Postal Series, 21 men and 1 woman lifter participated. Only TWO lifters participated in all 4 postal meets – Denny Habecker and John Wilmot.  The National Postal Meet was the most participated in with 16 entrants.

Top Ten Men Final Rankings

1.     50 points – Al Myers

2.    38 points – Mark Mitchell

3.    35 points – Joe Ciavattone Jr.

4.    34 points – Chad Ullom

5.    28 points – Denny Habecker

T.    28 points – Scott Tully

T.    28 points – Chuck Cookson

8.    26 points – Orie Barnett

9.   25 points – Randy Smith

10. 21 points – Joe Ciavattone Sr.

Top Women Final Rankings

1.    3 points – Helen Kahn

BEST LIFTER AWARDS

Women Best Lifter – Helen Kahn
Junior Men Best Lifter – Joe Ciavattone Jr.
Men Senior 20-39 Best Lifter – Chad Ullom
Men Master 40-44 Best Lifter – Al Myers
Men Master 45-49 Best Lifter – Orie Barnett
Men Master 50-54 Best Lifter – Mark Mitchell
Men Master 55-59 Best Lifter – Randy Smith
Men Master 60-64 Best Lifter – John Wilmot
Men Master 65-69 Best Lifter – Denny Habecker
Men Master 70-74 Best Lifter – Mike Murdock
Men Master 75-79 Best Lifter – Rudy Bletscher

Billy Parker: Friend of the JWC

S & H: April 1966 issue: Billy Parker, Drug Free bodybuilder and friend of the JWC!

by Thom Van Vleck

In the 60’s my Uncle Phil was stationed in Alabama while in the Air Force and got to meet a lot of top lifters and bodybuilders of that era.  One in particular that he became friends with was Billy Parker.  Billy had a brother Randy and they often frequented Karo Whitfield’s gym.  My Uncle Phil, when he was not doing Air Force work, would do personal training and that’s how he met the Parker Brothers.  They often came over for back yard BBQ’s and outdoor workout sessions.

Phil told me that the Parker’s came from Southern money.  They had a trust fund that allowed them to do whatever they wanted and not have to work.  So they decided to become professional bodybuilders and trainers and had their own “health club” as gyms were often called in that day, the Bel Aire Health Club (Phil thinks it was named for the shopping center it was located, the “Bel Aire Shopping Center”) .  Plus, they enjoyed being young and rich!  Phil said that Billy had a brand new thunderbird convertible and they would often cruise the streets of Atlanta looking for fun.

Phil said that what he liked most about Billy was he was drug free at a time when steroids was becoming commonplace.  It could also be why you never heard of Billy after that as that era was dominated by drugged up bodybuilders.  In 1964, Billy was 9th in the AAU Junior Mr. America and 6th in the Mr. USA.  In 1965 he was 15th in the Mr. USA.  In 1966 he was 15th in the Mr. America and was again mentioned for his posing ability and muscle control.  Phil said when he knew him in 1966 he had won over 70 bodybuilding trophies in regional meets in the south.

Phil said he was a he was a master poser and muscle control artist, having learned from Mr. America Harry Johnson.  In that 1965 contest he was listed as one of the top three posers in that contest.   Billy was not a big man, he was small boned and short, but he made the most of what he had!   Phil lost touch with him and Randy over the years and I’m currently trying to locate him so if you know where he’s at, let me know!

Dear Dino Man

by Al Myers

I get HUNDREDS of questions per month from individuals pertaining to weight lifting or other matters since I have been webmaster of the USAWA Website. I guess that goes along with making your email address publicly known on a website. People are always looking for free advice and the internet provides plenty of it – some good and some not so good. I try to respond to most questions, but there are lots I don’t get around to. I hate to deprive the USAWA Daily News readers of these “email exchanges” so I’ve decided to start an advice column to share some of these questions and my responses. Maybe it will answer a few questions that I repeatedly receive, and cut out having to answer the same question over and over again. I have decided to name this column Dear Dino Man. I am leaving off the names of the email senders – to insure confidentially and possible embarrassment.

Dear Dino Man,

I am interested in all round weightlifting, and would like to know where to find out more information and a listing of the competitions. Where do I find this?

It’s all on the USAWA website – the same place you found my email address.

Dear Dino Man,

Our company (fill in the blank) sells (fill in the blank) and would like you to link our website to yours. Would you do that?

Sure – and how much do you plan to donate to the USAWA in yearly sponsorship? (followed by no response from the sender).

Dear Dino Man,

Im 17 years old and been liftin waites for 6 months now. Me and mine buddies is allready lot stronger than u guys. We train at the high school, and coach tells us we need to do a liftin meat cuz wear so good. We think ur meats sound fun and we no we would be da champions. How big uf trophes will get?

For the time being, it sounds like it would be best if you focus on your academic studies, and if you get time  take a course in humility.

Dear Dino Man,

Is the bench press and the roman chair bench press the same thing?

No, not even close.

Dear Dino Man,

I really enjoy the USAWA website! Thank you for the refreshing approach to weightlifting that I don’t see any more. I especially like the stories written by Thom Van Vleck. Is he someone famous?

Thom is indeed someone famous! He has written many articles published in MILO and other strength publications. He has weight trained for over 30 years and has a wealth of lifting knowledge.  He has directed many competitions (Highland Games and Weightlifting) and is a real leader in the strength World. He is also the assistant webmaster of the USAWA website. I only wish he would contribute a little more often instead of leaving most of the work to me.

(Disclaimer: Dear Dino Man provides answers that may fall into the grouping of “not so good” amongst the multitude of  free internet advice)

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