Monthly Archives: January 2014

Joe the Turk OTSM

by Tim Piper

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRESS RELEASE

Joe the Turk” Old Time Strongman Meet

The Macomb Salvation Army will host the 2nd annual “Joe the Turk” Old Time Strongman Meet on April 19th. “Joe the Turk” was Macomb Illinois’ original “strongman” and holds a unique and special place in the history of the Macomb Salvation Army. At the turn of the 20th century Joe the Turk was in Macomb for a short time helping clean up the town of crooked laymen and henchmen. He did so by being unafraid of their tactics and standing steadfast in his belief that good would prevail. While he only spent a short time in Macomb it seemed fitting to name the United States All-round Weightlifting Association (USAWA) sanctioned meet in his honor.

If the weather permits, the meet will be held outside. Being that the meet is slated for April in Illinois this may be a long shot but our outside meets are always fun. We have a fun list of OTSM lifts scheduled as well as an optional record setter slated for the meet. Our local lifters are excited about the meet and we hope to recruit as many as possible to become USAWA members. Since the Salvation Army gym is hosting the 2014 Nationals this should give us a good opportunity to get more of our local gym members involved in the USAWA.

The lifts include:
Cyr Press
Anderson Squat
Hackenschmidt Floor Press
Peoples Deadlift

We know we are quite a trip for many USAWA lifters but all are welcome. If anyone needs help with directions or hotel information feel free to contact me at the phone and address on the entry form.

ENTRY FORM:  Joe the Turk OTSM 2014

Dino Gym Challenge

by Al Myers

Group picture from the 2014 Dino Gym Challenge.

I was quite surprised by the turnout at this year’s Dino Gym Challenge.  On Saturday 8 brave lifters showed up to take on some of the favorite lifts of the famous old time strongman Warren Lincoln Travis.  I decided to have this meet in tribute to WLT – as he has always been one of my favorite old time strongmen.

The teeth lift was the first lift up – and as to the best of my knowledge has never been contested before in a USAWA competition (all USAWA records have been set at record days).  All of us had really no idea of what our capabilities were in this – but ET and myself ended up with the best lifts at 175 pounds.  I felt “maxed out” but ET has much more in him.  Doug Kressly took his third attempt at 95 pounds, and then a fourth record attempt at 155 pounds which he got! Dean Ross about lost a tooth. Larry Traub had the mouthpiece in backwards and cut up his chin with the connecting bolts.  Lance Foster was the smartest by saying “no can do”.

We then moved onto the finger lift with the middle finger using a ring.  It wasn’t really anyone’s favorite – but the lifting surprised me. Eric Todd had the best lift at 200 pounds, and Doug Kressly had a solid 180.   Several pulled skin off the favorite finger – with Dave Glasgow shedding the most blood. I thought I was going to have to get my hot iron to cauterize his wound for a while.

The Kennedy Lift was next on the agenda.  This is an exhibition lift (not an official USAWA lift) which follows the rules of the Peoples Deadlift except includes a straddle stance on the bar.  It was very well received.  I had the top lift at 750 pounds, followed by Larry’s 675. Young Logan Kressly was extremely impressive with his record attempt at 500 pounds. Everyone seemed to enjoy this lift, and by the positive response I got I’m going to propose it as a new OTSM lift.

Doug Kressly Harness lifting as Lance Foster waits his turn.

Now time for the BIG STUFF.  The Harness Lift and Back Lift were a couple of Travis’s favorites.  We started with the Harness.  It took a while to get everyone to figure out how to get the harness’s on, but once they did the lifting was outstanding!  I had the top harness at 2400.  Other impressive harness lifts were Doug’s at 1800, Larry at 1750, and Dave at 1200.  Lance gave an exceptional effort at 1605 to break a 20 year plus record held the one and only Tom Ryan who had held the record at 1600 from the 91 Zercher.  I told Lance I would make sure to tell Mr. Ryan that his harness lift record was no more.

The back lift very rarely gets the chance to be in meets (mainly because it requires a specialized machine!).  I had the top at 2200, followed by Doug at 2000.  However, the youngster Logan really impressed us the most with his 1600.  I told him he may be the best junior in the USAWA right now – and I expect him to be at Nationals to prove it! Dean Ross came into the day sporting a new pair of fire resistant lifting shoes  – and used them to good use to go over 1000 pounds in both the Harness and Back.  I don’t know of anyone else who has fire resistant lifting shoes, but then again, Ross the Boss tends to burn up the platform when he lifts!

I got to thank my dad LaVerne for “sitting in the chair” as head official all day.  He did a marvelous job and no one really gave him any crap.  He judged everyone very fairly, and didn’t give me any breaks either because I’m his sonny boy.  I was very impressed by the help the lifters provided in loading and putting stuff away afterwards.  We had a nice awards ceremony with each lifter getting a Dino Gym Tshirt and a hand made award by me featuring a metal cut-out of Warren Lincoln Travis.  It will be an award that will stand out in everyone’s trophy case (or should I say stand up?).  I know I had lots of fun at this meet – and like I commented on Facebook – “Days like today make me realize how much I like my USAWA family!”

MEET RESULTS:

Dino Gym Challenge
Dino Gym
Holland, Kansas
January 18th, 2014

Meet Director: Al Myers

Official (1-official system used): LaVerne Myers

Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Lifts: Teeth Lift, Finger Lift – Middle, Kennedy Lift, Harness Lift, Back Lift

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT Teeth Fing Kenn Harn Back TOT PTS
Al Myers 47 234 175 155 750 2400 2200 5680 5034.5
Larry Traub 60 206 95 170 675 1750 1300 3990 4242.3
Logan Kressly 15 166 95 95 450 1200 1500 3340 3831.4
Doug Kressly 34 286 95 180 550 1800 2000 4625 3433.6
Dave Glasgow 60 260 105 160 525 1200 950 2940 2763.7
Dean Ross 71 267 75 125 400 1010 1050 2660 2695.2
Lance Foster 48 330 0 155 500 1605 850 3110 2353.9
Eric Todd 39 260 175 200 500 1010 1050 2935 2282.8

EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORD:

Logan Kressly: Teeth Lift 115#
Logan Kressly: Middle Finger Lift 105#
Logan Kressly: Kennedy Lift 500#
Logan Kressly: Harness Lift 1300#
Logan Kressly: Back Lift 1600#
Doug Kressly: Teeth Lift 155#
Lance Foster: Middle Finger Lift 170#

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in pounds. BWT is bodyweight in pounds. All Middle Finger Lifts done with right hand. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall adjusted points for age and bodyweight correction.

Postal Championships

by Al Myers

The results of the 2013 USAWA Postal Championships are in!!!  It’s been another good year of postal meets within the USAWA, with 11 lifters taking part in our postal meet grand finale.  The big winners in the Postal Championships are WOMEN – RUTH JACKSON and MEN – DAN WAGMAN.  Congrats to both of these exceptionally lifters for their big victories.  On top of their lifting talents, both Ruth and Dan are great representatives of the USAWA.

I want to mention some of the top lifts and other “stats”.  The biggest weight lifted in the one arm clean and jerk was 140 pounds by Chad Ullom and myself.  Chad had the heaviest dumbbell cheat curl at 210 pounds, and my 550 pound heels together deadlift was the heaviest lifted. Denny Habecker was the oldest lifter entered at 71 years of age, and Eric Todd was the youngest at 38.  Ruth was the lightest lifter entered at 107 pounds, and Lance Foster the heaviest at 330 pounds.

I especially want to thank John Wilmot in his “send off” meet as the USAWA Postal Director.  This position will be taken over by Denny Habecker for 2014.  John wrote me a short letter when sending me the results.  In it he said, “With Denny Habecker as the new Postal Meet Director the postal meets are in very good hands!”  I agree – and I am looking forward to another great year of postal meets in the USAWA.

MEET RESULTS

2013 USAWA Postal Championships
December 31st, 2013

Meet Director: John Wilmot

Lifts: Clean and Jerk – One Arm, Cheat Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Deadlift – Heels Together

Lifters with Certified Officials:
Barry Bryan – Certified Official Denny Habecker
Denny Habecker – Certified Official Barry Bryan
Al Myers – Certified Official Chad Ullom
Chad Ullom – Certified Official Al Myers
Eric Todd – Certified Official Lance Foster
Lance Foster –  Certified Official Eric Todd

Lifters with non-official judges:
Ruth Jackson – Judge Dan Wagman
Dan Wagman – Judge Ruth Jackson
Samuel Rogers – Judge Orie Barnett
John Wilmot – Judge Emile LeMoigne
Orie Barnett – Judge Samuel Rogers

WOMENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT C&J CURL DL TOT PTS
Ruth Jackson 52 107 52-L 80 195 327 506.2

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT C&J CURL DL TOT PTS
Dan Wagman 50 183 115-L 180 505 800 833.3
Al Myers 47 236 140-R 170 550 860 758.9
Barry Bryan 55 196 121-R 150 402 673 706.1
Chad Ullom 42 257 140-R 210 500 850 685.1
Orie Barnett 52 236 85 160 425 670 618.6
Samuel Rogers 51 210 85 140 397 622 605.7
Eric Todd 38 256 131 180 400 711 557.6
John Wilmot 66 214 55-R 100 345 500 546.5
Denny Habecker 71 193 72-R 92 286 450 541.7
Lance Foster 48 330 75 150 350 575 445.6

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight in pounds. All lifts recorded in pounds. R & L stand for right and left. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall points adjusted for age and bodyweight.

OTSM Wrap Up for 2013

by Thom Van Vleck

Mike McIntyre, of the Jackson Weightlifting Club, lifts 315 pounds in the Anderson Press at the 2013 USAWA Old Time Strong Man Championships.

2013 was a great year for Old Time Strong Man (OTSM) in the USAWA.  We saw four meets and 38 total lifters.  Here are some highlights:

Eric Todd won two of the meets while Chad Ullom and Dan Wagman won one apiece.

Two of the meets included women lifters with Ruth Jackson and Whitney Piper being crowned as Champs.

As we look to grow in 2013 I hope that we can expand on the lifts we have.  It’s not as easy as you might think to come up with a lift for the OTSM.  First, it must be a lift or variation of a lift done by a great lifter of the past.  Second, it must not duplicate a lift already in the USAWA.  Finally, it must be a “loadable weight” event (you must be able to increase or decrease the weight so that attempts can be increased).  So, do some research and submit a lift to me or Al Myers and maybe you can lay claim to adding an event to OTSM someday.

Please consider hosting, competing in or attending an event.  If you like lifting, and like Strongman….then OTSM combines the best of both worlds.  The rules are flexible, making events easier to judge and easier for spectators to follow.  It is also easier for newcomers to catch on to the events and not find themselves losing a lift to a technicality.

1st Quarter Postal Meet

by Al Myers

There has been a big change this year in our USAWA Postal Meet Series.  John Wilmot has “stepped down” as the Postal Meet Director after many years of doing an excellent job in this capacity.  Our USAWA Postal Meets have become a BIG PART of the yearly USAWA schedule, with quarterly meets culminating in the final Postal Meet Championships in December.  Many USAWA lifters have taken part in some or all of these postal meets.  It has become a great tradition for the USAWA – with thanks going to John Wilmot for starting this tradition.

I was initially  concerned about the future of these events with John’s resignation.  But then – lo and behold – our USAWA President Denny Habecker agreed to taking the position of Postal Meet Director.  Denny has a long resume of being a very successful meet promoter, and this position is in no better hands than Denny’s.  I feel confidant that the future of the USAWA Postal Meets will be strong as long as Denny is in the position.

The first quarterly Postal Meet has been announced for the year.  The format will remain the same as before – with three lifts chosen per meet.  There are two single arm lifts in this meet – and you only need to do the lift the arm of your choosing.  Make sure to circle which arm you use on the entry form.

Also, the big difference is to remember to send your results to Denny from now on instead of John.

LIFTS:

Swing – Dumbbell, One Arm

Deadlift – No Thumbs, One Arm

Deadlift – 2 Bars

ENTRY FORM: 2014 1st Quarter Postal Entry Form

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