Monthly Archives: February 2013

World Record List

by Al Myers

Chris Bass (left) working "the table" at the 2012 IAWA World Championships along with Steve Gardner (right).

Chris Bass of Grimsby, England is the Official IAWA World Record List Registrar.  Chris has held this position for several years now, having taking it over from Frank Allen. Chris operates an All Round Weightlifting Club, the Haven Gymnasium, and is an active member of IAWA.  Chris does an EXCELLENT JOB of maintaining this World Record  List, which is an overwhelming task.  He also maintains the IAWA(UK) Record List to add to his workload of record keeping.  Lately, Chris has been keeping an updated IAWA World Record List available for downloading/viewing on his club’s website. I know he is updating it frequently as he keeps me informed of any recent World Records performed in the USAWA.

LINK TO IAWA WORLD RECORD LIST –  http://www.havengym.org.uk/

From now on, this link to the IAWA World Record List will be easily available on the USAWA website.  It is now included under the section “RECORD LIST”, located on the top line of the homepage, third item from the left (by jim). The World Record List is located under the information for the USAWA Record List.  Simply “click” on the link to the list there and the IAWA World Record List will always be “at your fingertips!”.

Numerous IAWA World Records were set at the past USAWA Grip Championships.  For those interested, this is the record sheet that Chris sent to me following the meet in which he marks the World Records set – USAWA_2013 Grip Championships

We are very fortunate to have Chris performing this important job in IAWA.  He takes this role very serious.  He made the trip from England to the World Championships in Salina, Kansas just to be the meets scorekeeper/recorder.  He often updates the World Record List at meets when he has “downtime” in his scoring responsibilities.  That’s the way to keep the list current!! Chris is always at the big IAWA events which demonstrates his commitment to the position of IAWA Registrar, and his devotion to IAWA.  We owe him a BIG THANK YOU!!!

Club Champs REMINDER

by Al Myers

The entrance of the historic Ambridge Barbell Club!

It will not be long now and the USAWA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS will be taking place.  This meet is hosted by one of the oldest clubs in the USAWA (the Ambridge BBC) and directed by a couple of the oldest guys in the USAWA (Art Montini & John McKean).  The equipment in the club has been around at least a century (some forged by Bob Hoffman), and I believe the building was one of the first ones built in the Pittsburgh area (an old VFW hall).  

All of this adds up to a GREAT PLACE for an ALL ROUND WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS!  Ambridge Barbell Club has been the site of the Club Champs since it started, and is the perfect location for it.  Ambridge is in the “center” of the USAWA membership, and is within a long day drive for most everyone.  The Dino Gym will have a team present again, as well as the JWC, Ambridge BBC,  and Habeckers Gym.  There may be a couple of other clubs entered as well. 

All it takes to enter is three club members to form your club’s team.  This is a team competition, and NOT an individual competition.  The point scores of the three club members are added together to form a club score.  The club with the highest team total is declared the USAWA Club Champion of the year. 

DATE REMINDER – SATURDAY MARCH 2nd

Entry information is available under  USAWA Future Events in right column of the homepage.

Grip Postal – USAWA vs. IAWA(UK)

by Al Myers

I’m sure everyone is wondering how the Grip Postal Challenge turned out between the USAWA versus the IAWA(UK).  Well, the results have been tabulated and the USAWA won over the IAWA(UK) 258.2 points to 231.2 points.  This was based on the average adjusted point scores of all the lifters entered.  The USAWA points were adjusted to kilogram scores as the USAWA recorded the meet results in pounds while the IAWA(UK) recorded their scores in kilograms. 

This Postal Grip Challenge was initiated by myself and Mark Haydock.  I promoted the USAWA Grip Championships last weekend, and Mark promoted the IAWA(UK) Grip Championships the weekend before that.  We both prior agreed on the selected lifts being the same so this international  postal challenge could be conducted. 

There were many GREAT LIFTS performed in this challenge. But since we decided it would be based on average, that changes things.  A few great lifters won’t win it for ya, as everyone is instrumental in the outcome as their scores are worth just as much.  IAWA(UK) does deserve a consolation prize however, since there were 20 lifters entered in the IAWA(UK) Championships while the USAWA had only 16 lifters entered.   It was great to see some “new faces” entered in these competitions on both sides.  These two meets may end up being the best attended meets for both the USAWA and the IAWA(UK) in the future.

Remember – this is all in fun.  I know both sides could argue that the other side had advantages “here and there” in lift rules and scoring differences.  I know this postal challenge brought several issues “to head” that need to be addressed by IAWA in the future in order to keep consistency between the USAWA and the IAWA(UK).  

Congrats to all lifters that took part in this Grip Postal Competition!!!

Postal Meets Announcement

by Al Myers

The USAWA Postal Meet schedule has been released for 2013!  The USAWA Official Postal Meet Director John Wilmot  has planned a challenging set of postal meets for the USAWA for the coming year. The USAWA quarterly postal series has been gaining in popularity, with this past year being the most participated series to date. John deserves a “BIG THANKS” for the work he puts into setting up these postal meets and doing the scoring. He always sends out nice certificates to recognize a lifters performance. And I want to mention this again – entering these postal meets is at NO CHARGE!

This year’s schedule is as follows:

Eastern Open Postal Meet
March 1st to March 31st

Middle Atlantic Postal Meet
June 1st to June 30th

Delaware Valley Postal Meet
September 1st to September 30th

National Postal Championships
December 1st to December 31st

The rules of entering postal meets are pretty simple:

1. Do all the lifts in ONE DAY only
2. Follow the rules of the USAWA as outlined in the USAWA Rulebook
3. Fill out the entry form correctly (must include signatures of officials)  and send it to John Wilmot
4. Submit the entry form by the deadline date
5. Be a current PAID UP member of the USAWA

That’s it – pretty simple. Anyone should be able to follow those simple rules, and if not, find a training partner who is smarter than yourself to do it for you. You may have anyone judge your lifts to score for the competition, but if you want your lifts to count for an USAWA record, this judge MUST be a USAWA Certified Official. Also, if you are not a USAWA member your results will be omitted from the websites results when I receive them, so it’s a good idea to join the USAWA before you send your postal meet results to John.

The entry forms for these Postal Meets are available under the heading ”USAWA Future Events”, which is located on the right side of the home page.

Dino Gym Record Day

by Al Myers

DINO GYM RECORD DAY

Group picture from the 2013 Dino Gym Record Day: (front left to right) Dan Wagman, Ruth Jackson, Denny Habecker (back left to right) LaVerne Myers, Al Myers, Dean Ross, Mike Pringle

The Dino Gym had a very good Record Day the day following the Grip Championships.  6 lifters took part – Ruth Jackson, Dan Wagman, Dean Ross, Denny Habecker, LaVerne Myers,  and myself.  Ken Glasgow performed a record lift the day before which I added to these results.  I was surprised by the efforts that were displayed, especially considering that most all of these lifters had competed the day before. The current IAWA Womens OVERALL BEST LIFTER Ruth Jackson stole the show with her setting USAWA records in 30 different  lifts!  Just watching RJ max out in one lift after the other made me tired!  Dan Wagman had the lift that impressed me the most – doing a Pull Up with 120 pounds attached to his waist. The rules of the Pull Up call for the chin to be ABOVE the bar at completion, and the lifter must hold for a down command.  This makes doing a USAWA Pull Up MUCH harder than commonly performed pull ups by lifters in training sessions.  To properly judge this lift, it requires the official to stand on a chair to have a level view of the bar and the chin.  I made sure Dan reached the proper height.  I made a point to tell Dan that his big handlebar mustache was providing him an advantage, as it was obstructing (and distracting!)  my view of his chin! LOL.  The second most impressive lift I seen was my Dad, LaVerne, performing a PULL UP!!  I had no idea that he could do that!  However, I made him do another one with 5# so he could get a record.  Doing a lift with no weight doesn’t get you in the record list.  I bet there are VERY FEW  men over the age of 65 that weigh 250 pounds who can do a legal USAWA Pull Up. 

Dean Ross performed the Carter Lift with 433# pounds for USAWA Record.

Dean Ross picked a couple of odd lifts to do for records.  He performed a 1200# Back Lift, which is a lift that is not available to be done in most gyms. He also performed a Carter Lift, of 433#.  This lift is one of the strange, unique lifts of the USAWA.  It requires the performance of a Hip Lift and a Squat in the SAME LIFT!  Only one other lifter has a USAWA record in the Carter Lift, and that is Bob Maxey.  Dean told me the reason he wanted to do this lift was in Bob’s memory.  I remember the day that Bob did his Carter Lift and I also remember how nervous I was spotting him.  Dean had me worried as well when he started as he fell down a couple of times and I didn’t want this meet to be added to Dean’s list of head injuries that he has suffered in his life.  But eventually he got the balance right, and did a perfect executed Carter Lift.

Denny Habecker performed 10 lifts for record which will expand his lead over Art in the Records Race.  Last year at this record day Denny “took it easy” on the record book and only did a few records.  But this year he really went after it, and I don’t blame him as Art seems to be getting stronger with age.  Denny, Dean and LaVerne had a little “mini competition” in the 3″ bar deadlift.  Denny held with these two who are much bigger than him, and finished with a great lift of 280 pounds.

Afterwards, we all went out to eat together at a local Mexican restaurant in Abilene.   That has become a tradition of meets held at the Dino Gym.  I always enjoy getting to spend time with “fellow lifters” over some good food in a relaxed environment after a day of hard lifting, because that’s when I hear the BEST STORIES!

MEET RESULTS:

Dino Gym Record Day
Dino Gym
Abilene, Kansas
February 10th, 2013

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials (1-official system used):  Al Myers, Denny Habecker, LaVerne Myers

Loader: Mike Pringle and lifters

Lifts: Record Day

Ruth Jackson – Age 51, BWT 108#, Female

French Press: 25#
Pullover – Bent Arm: 63#
Bench Press – Fulton Bar: 130#
Bench Press – Reverse Grip: 95#
Gardner – Full: 15#
Gardner – Half: 45#
Abdominal Raise: 25#
Allen Lift: 15#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Right Hand: 68#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Left Hand: 68#
Deadlift – 3″ Bar: 153#
Continental to Chest – Fulton Bar: 63#
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 207#
Clean and Press – Middle Fingers: 25#
Snatch – On Knees: 45#
Clean and Press – On Knees: 55#
Clean and Press – Fulton Bar: 63#
Maxey Press: 73#
Clean and Push Press – Fulton Bar: 73#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 70#
Curl – Dumbbell, Cheat, Right Arm: 40#
Curl – Dumbbell, Cheat, Left Arm: 40#
Pullover – Straight Arm: 35#
Weaver Stick: 1#
Pullup: 25#
Chin Up: 25#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 45#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 45#
Saxon Snatch: 25#
Snatch – 2 Dumbbells: 50#

Al Myers – Age 46, BWT 241#

Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Right Arm: 231#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Left Arm: 198#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Right Arm: 170#
Curl – Dumbbell, Cheat, Right Arm: 85#
Curl – Dumbbell, Cheat, Left Arm: 85#

Dan Wagman – Age 50, BWT 183#

Snatch – Left Arm: 125#
Pull Up: 120#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 110#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 110#

LaVerne Myers – Age 68, BWT 247#

Bench Press – Left Arm: 50#
Bench Press – Right Arm: 50#
Deadlift – 3″ Bar: 255#
Press – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 45#
Press – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 45#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Right Arm: 170#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Left Arm: 170#
Deadlift – Reeves: 185#
Pull Up: 5#

Denny Habecker – Age 70, BWT 196#

Anderson Press: 175#
Clean and Jerk – Behind Neck: 143.3#
Deadlift – 3″ Bar: 280#
Clean and Jerk – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 55#
Clean and Jerk – Fulton Bar: 113#
Clean and Press: 137.8#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 125#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 125#
Swing – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 55#
Swing – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 75#

Dean Ross – Age 70, BWT 269#

Deadlift – Trap Bar: 321#
Back Lift: 1200#
Deadlift – 3″ Bar: 280#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Right Arm: 148#
Deadlift – Reeves: 235#
Carter Lift: 433#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 125#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 125#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 55#
Snatch – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 55#

Ken Glasgow – Age 76, BWT 217#

Deadlift – Trap Bar: 302#

NOTES: All lifts and bodyweights recorded in pounds.

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