USAWA

Notes taken by Beth Skwarecki and Sanjiv Gupta

The annual meeting of the United States All-round Weightlifting Association was held on July 18, 2025 at 6:11 p.m at Angie’s Family Restaurant in Albany, KY. The President, Secretary, and Vice President were present.

Members present were:

• Nisha Gupta
• Diya Gupta
• Beth Skwarecki
• Jessica Hopps
• Allison Lupo
• Brian Guffey
• Michael Hanlein
• Tobias Ortega
• Wade Marchand
• Isaac Bankens
• David DeForest
• Dan Jones
• Denny Habecker
• Clint Poore
• Helen Kahn
• Lynn Homan
• Bentley Klein
• Randy Smith
• Larry Traub
• Ashley Stearns
• Kyle Frappier
• Chris Frappier
• Sanjiv Gupta
• Chris Henderson
• Chad Ullom
• Tony Lupo
• Randy Richey
• Dave Glasgow
• Nils Larson
• Frank Ciavattone
• Jeff Bankens
• Jarrod Gaddis

Chad Ullom motioned to waive the reading of the 2024 Annual Meeting’s minutes, since they have been on the website all year. The motion passed and the minutes were approved.

Reports

Reports were given by the treasurer (motion to approve by Randy Smith), website director (motion to approve by Sanjiv Gupta), awards director (motion to approve by Clint Poore), records director (motion to approve by Clint Poore), drug enforcement director (motion to approve by Nisha Gupta), officials director (motion to approve by Jessica Hopps) and IAWA representative (motion to approve by Beth Skwarecki). Minutes of the most recent IAWA world meeting are available on the website.

The awards director, Tony Lupo, reported that only 30% of the membership voted in the annual awards. Next year he would like to have a better system, perhaps something on the website that can connect voters with the names and accomplishments of the members they might vote for. He also suggested giving out awards for a male and female winner for each category, instead of for a winner and a runner-up.

The drug enforcement director, Chad Ullom, reported that we had four tests in the past year. Three were negative, and one was waived by a person who admitted to drug use and accepted a suspension. Chad recognized Eric Todd for his work in setting up our current drug testing program, and recommended Eric Todd as his replacement as the drug enforcement director.

A brief summary of the results of the member survey was given by Randy Smith. As to the purpose and core activities of the USAWA, 90% of respondents said that promoting historic odd lifts is important. 80% want USAWA to be drug free. 59% think setting records is important. As to the direction the USAWA seems to be going, about 25% thought the organization is going in the right direction, 25% in the wrong direction, and the middle 50% did not have a strong opinion. A large amount of people felt they didn’t have much say in how the organization is run, and would like more transparency and more opportunities to participate. Full results are here on the website.

Unfinished business – Weaver stick

As unfinished business, the Secretary asked members if any motions were desired to address the Weaver stick rule changes that the Executive Board made after the meeting last year. No motions were made.

New lift – Reflex bench press

A new lift was presented to the membership for approval, the Reflex bench press. A majority vote (31-1) approved it as a new type of bench press in section A of the rulebook. The rule is as follows:

Reflex bench press. Standard bench press rules apply, with the following modifications: The lifter self-unracks the weight. The bar must be lowered to touch the chest and pressed immediately (no pause). There is no press command—the only command is “Rack!” after lockout. This creates a touch-and-go bench press movement.

Other new business from the draft agenda

Beth Skwarecki motioned that the bylaws be changed to refer to U.S. residency rather than citizenship as the requirement for membership eligibility. This motion failed to receive the ⅔ majority needed to pass.  18 in favor 5 opposed.

Beth Skwarecki motioned that the drug test policy be amended to allow the testing lab’s Medical Resource Officer to correspond with athletes about their medical use of drugs, rather than requiring the Executive Board to do so. The Executive Board would still be responsible for making decisions based on the MRO’s report. The motion succeeded.  17+ in favor 0 opposed. The drug testing rule, part 6, shall now read:

An appeal may be made by a lifter for an exception for a specific agent or agents. The appeal must be for medical reasons. The lifter must provide documentation supporting the appeal. The executive board’s decision will be decided by majority vote.

Beth Skwarecki motioned that the Bavarian deadlift’s rules be changed to remove the portion that reads “The outside of the hands should be no further than 12 inches apart.” Clint Poore explained that some lifters’ hands are more than 6 inches wide and they cannot abide by this rule. The equipment used would still be the same, so the length of the bar will not change. The motion passed. 17+ in favor 0 opposed

Beth Skwarecki brought up a concern that had been voiced about the wrist wrap thickness rule being difficult for lifters to follow, given the types of wrist wraps currently on the market, and difficult for officials to enforce. TK PERSON motioned that the thickness requirement for wrist and knee wraps be removed from the rule. The motion passed. 17+ in favor 0 opposed. The Equipment section, part 1, shall now read:

No wrapping is allowed except wrist wraps and knee wraps. Knee wraps are ONLY allowed for the Anderson squat, front squat, and the 12” base squat. Wrist wraps must not exceed 1 meter in length and knee wraps must not exceed 2 meters in length. The maximum width of wrist wraps and knee wraps is 10 cm. If wrist wraps contain thumb loops, they must be removed from the thumbs prior to lifting.

Beth Skwarecki motioned to amend the uniform rule to allow form-fitting pants under or instead of shorts. The motion passed. 17+ in favor 0 opposed. The rule, to be added to the Equipment section, shall say:

Leg coverings such as leggings, tights, or long singlets that cover the knee shall be allowed as long as the position of the knee can be clearly seen by officials. These may be worn in addition to, or instead of, shorts.

The new business on the draft agenda being concluded, the floor was opened to members for additional business.

Canadian membership

Clint Poore motioned that Canadian members of USAWA shall become full members rather than provisional members, and be allowed to set U.S. records. There was discussion about whether this should apply to other countries as well. The records director said he had no problem with tracking records from Canadians. The motion to extend full membership to Canadians passed.  24 in favor 2 opposed. 

Beth Skwarecki motioned that the provisional category of membership be abolished, so that any person from any country can join the USAWA as a full member. This motion passed. 24 in favor 2 opposed. 

Sanjiv Gupta motioned that records already set by Canadian lifters be added to the USAWA record books retroactively, if the records director deems this feasible. This motion passed. 17+ in favor 0 opposed.

Changes to voting requirements

Chris Frappier motioned to remove the ⅔ majority requirement for making changes to the bylaws. Amending this rule would itself require a ⅔ majority. This motion failed. 3 in favor.

Quarterly all-member voting meetings

Chris Frappier motioned that the USAWA require the board to hold quarterly all-member voting meetings so members would not have to be present at the Annual Meeting to vote on important business. This motion failed. 6 in favor 14 opposed.

Weigh-in timing

Clint Poore motioned that the USAWA allow 24-hour weigh-ins for all record days and competitions at the discretion of the meet promoter. This motion failed. 11 in favor 12 opposed.

Elections

For the office of President, Clint Poore and Denny Habecker were both nominated. Voting was done by ballot, and Clint Poore won the office.

Beth Skwarecki nominated Sanjiv Gupta for Secretary, and he was approved on a vote of acclamation.

Beth Skwarecki nominated Eric Todd, who was not present, to continue in his role as Treasurer. This was approved on a vote of acclamation.

Unrecorded member nominated Tony Lupo as Vice President, and this was approved on a vote of acclamation.

For the at-large board member, Unrecorded member nominated Kyle Frappier and Diya Gupta nominated Nisha Gupta. A ballot was taken and Kyle Frappier won the position.

Beth Skwarecki nominated Sanjiv Gupta as the new Website Director and he was approved on a vote of acclamation.

Chad Ullom nominated Eric Todd as the new Drug Enforcement Director, and he was approved on a vote of acclamation.

Joe Garcia was approved to continue as Officials Director on a vote of acclamation.

Tony Lupo was approved to continue as Awards Director and as Records Director on votes of acclamation.

Kyle Frappier motioned to create a position of Social Media Director. This motion passed. Unrecorded member nominated Kyle Frappier as Social Media Director and he was approved on a vote of acclamation.

Championship bids

A bid by Sanjiv Gupta was the only bid made for the 2026 Nationals, and was accepted by majority vote.

Meeting Adjourned 8:16 PM.