2026 Annual Meeting
The annual meeting is still over three months away, but I would love to see the agenda formalized in the next two months so that members can give motions due consideration in their clubs and upcoming competitions.
New Lifts
(6) New lifts have been proposed, but none received majority approval of the Executive Board (unanimously rejected) and will not be brought to the general membership for consideration.
- Bench Press, Repetition (1 min)
- Bench Press, One Dumbbell – Right
- Bench Press, One Dumbbell – Left
- Bench Press, Larson (Fulton HT)
- Deadlift, Heels Together Fulton
- Saxon Deadlift (2” x 5”)
New lifts proposals must be sent to usawasec@gmail.com by May 28th to be considered by the Executive Board. Historically the Executive Board has considered (1) is it a new lift, (2) does it represent an all-round movement, (3) can it be performed properly by the majority of members as described in this article by Al Myers.
Officer Reports
Officers and Special Assignment Directors should consider submitting their reports in writing to usawasec@gmail.com prior to the meeting. This is not a requirement and during the past few annual meetings, reports have been given ad hoc during the annual meeting.
Treasurer Report – Bill Clark
Website Director Report – [by acting Secretary – Sanjiv Gupta] The website continues to be produced in WordPress with content being published by a handful of trusted servants. The domain is registered with Network Solutions. Curtis Cooper continues as the consultant that maintains the website and resolves issues. The website was down earlier this year due to high volume access from overseas. The website is now only accessible from the United States, UK, Australia and New Zealand. No changes are planned for the upcoming year.
Award Director – Tony Lupo
Record Director – Tony Lupo
Drug Enforcement Director – Eric Todd
Officials Director – Joe Garcia
Postal Meet Director – Denny Habecker
Social Media Director – [vacant] – Facebook continues to be the primary social media platform. It is a private group with 497 members. Aside from USAWA business and announcement, some content is generated by non-USAWA members regarding historic all-round weightlifting and general odd lifting. Reddit is active with minimal content. The Instagram pages have been archived.
Override Executive Board Decisions
Sanjiv Gupta intends to motion to delete Rule “Meet directors reserve the right to remove any athlete due to disruptive behavior.” This rule was created on July 27, 2025 unanimously by the three-person board of Clint Poore, Tony Lupo and Kyle Frappier. I don’t think it is necessary and can be used to by meet directors to discriminate against athletes.
Sanjiv Gupta intends to motion to delete addendum to Section IX sub-section 4 “at the meet director’s discretion, including all USAWA national events.” This addendum was created July 27, 2025 unanimously by the three-person board of Clint Poore, Tony Lupo and Kyle Frappier. Official scoring is required per the National Championship guidelines Section X subsection 9 and this addendum creates a conflicting rule. The 33% gender allowance was unanimously passed at the 2024 Annual Meeting to align the USAWA with the IAWA and allow for women to be part of a larger competitive field and should not be overridden by three male board members.
New Business
No new business has been proposed for discussion at the annual meeting.
New business should be specific with references to the appropriate section of the Rulebook or By-Laws for which the change is being proposed.
Some members have expressed concerns with non-United States based athletes being full members and able to set and hold United States records, but no specific agenda item has been brought forward.
