Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

Anchor Press

by Al Myers

Chris Anderson pressing the two 100 pound Dino Gym Anchors after a hard day of Strongman Competition.

This past weekend Scott Tully and the Dino Gym promoted the NAS Winter Strongman Challenge at the Dino Gym.  It was a great day of competition!  Fourteen  very strong guys participated in 5 events – the log press, 18″ deadlift, incline log press, farmers hold, and a keg load  (more info and pictures will be on the Dino Gym Facebook Page).   After the competition I had a challenge waiting for Chris Anderson.  I can always get Chris to “give a go” at any challenge I have waiting on him at the gym!  Last year, he conquered shouldering the GIANT PILL, a 250 pound steel air compressor tank which is shaped like a pill.  Of course I have it painted with a slick black paint to make it a little more challenging.  He did it easily.  This time I had something even more challenging waiting for him.  I recently made two 100# anchors, of which I attached ring handles.  The “test” is to take both of them overhead at the same time, and then pose for a picture.  Chris easily took them to his shoulders, but had some difficulty taking them overhead.  The balance of pressing them is a real challenge as they want to wobble all over the place (and gouge you in the back!).  On Chris’s first try he missed, but then he came back to MASTER this challenge.  I was quite impressed!!

Membership Drive

by Al Myers

It’s now December and the  time to start sending me USAWA membership dues for the 2011 year.   I already have a couple – from Jim Malloy and John Wilmot.  I will start the 2011 Membership Roster soon – so if you want your “join date” to say January 1st beside your name – you have a month to get it done!   Membership dues are still the same at $25 per year, with USAWA  membership running from the first of January till the end of December.  No longer will there be any “rollover” memberships like there has been in the past.  I will be very firm with this.  Dues are our only means of financial income for our organization and I take that very serious.  Also – $25 per year is a bargain!

A couple of important things to consider when filling out your membership application:  make sure you list the club you are affiliated with because this is important in the calculation for club of the year, and make sure you include the
SIGNED drug waiver.  If not – you will be tested at EVERY EVENT you attend (just kiddin’).  The drug waiver is part of the application and your membership will not be active until I receive it.  If you forget, I will remind you and it will cost you another stamp.

For 2010, the Dino Gym had the most registered USAWA members with 13, followed by the JWC and Clark’s Gym with 6.  Habecker’s Gym was next in line with 5 members.  Overall to date, we have 61 members.  Next year I would like to see us over 100 members.

The Membership Application is located on the upper left column of the website under “USAWA Information – Forms and Applications”.   You might as well send it in now as it doesn’t get any cheaper if you wait!!

Run up the Flag

by Thom Van Vleck

The United States Flag flies with pride above the Dino Gym on top of a 40 foot Flag Pole.

I remember the first Highland Games/strongman contest I promoted. I remember putting a huge amount of work into it and wondering if anyone was going to show up and thinking, “Well, if nobody shows, then I won’t do it again”. The meet started at 9:00 and at 8:30 NOBODY was there! Then by 9:00 there were 27 throwers and about 50 spectators! I remember feeling relieved!

My point, many of us promote meets of different levels. I have never met a meet director that has not gotten fed up at some point. It’s a damn thankless job and everybody has a criticism and a gripe…..usually behind your back. You can charge an entry fee and give a shirt, award, maybe lunch, and let them destroy your equipment and they will act like they are doing you a favor showing up and they feel like you are going to retire on the immense wealth brought in by their entry fee.

However, the reality is that MOST guys appreciate the effort. MOST guys understand and get it. What some of us need to remember is that holding a meet year after year is like raising the flag every morning. Just because there’s nobody there to salute it doesn’t mean that nobody cares about whether it came up or not. Believe me, when I was in the Marine Corps, Marines always had flag duty and I was on it often. It was the one duty I volunteered for. Get up before dawn, put on your dress blues, get shined up, do the silent march down to the flag pole, go through all the rituals of doing it…..and most often there was not a soul around to see it. But it was a must that everyone know its up and there and waving in the wind to greet the day because if it’s not, then it becomes more and more likely it won’t be there the next day and then the day will come when it’s gone forever!

Recently, Bill Clark, who has “run the flag up the flagpole” more than anyone in the USAWA cancelled the Goerner meet. Quite frankly, the guy has done his share. Just like there’s a Marine running that flag up at the bases in Pensacola, Florida, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and San Diego, CA. I took my turn, now it’s somebody else’s. That flag gets run up because it has a deeper meaning, and it means a lot to those who believe in it. The USAWA is NOT the USA, but it means a lot to those involved in it and somebody ought to run that flag up, otherwise accept defeat.

I know someday I won’t be running the meets I run for lots of reasons (my demise being the most likely at this point)…..but maybe somebody will grab that flag and run with it. Like I grabbed the JWC flag from my Uncle’s and ran with it.

Dale Harder’s Latest Book

by Al Myers

Dale Harder's Latest Book

I just received the news from Dale Harder that he has a new book available – Strong  Stronger Strongest.  I have greatly enjoyed all of Dale’s books to date, and plan to buy this new one to add to my collection.  In this book he covers biographies of over 150 of the strongest men in history.  A couple of his previous books that are my favorites are: Strength,  and Strength and Speed.   Dale covers EVERYTHING strength related and doesn’t pick favorites. You get it all!!  In his books Dale has references to All-Round Weightlifting in several areas.  You may even see YOUR name in one of his books. Order instructions are listed in the promo above.

Goerner Cancelled!

by Al Myers

I just got confirmation that Bill Clark has CANCELLED the Herman Goerner Deadlift Dozen plus One that was scheduled for this coming weekend.  Word came to me about this news from Joe Garcia.  I had made plans to attend, along with Rudy Bletscher, and we had notified Bill ahead of time about our intentions, but apparently two competitors is not enough to open the gym for!  I don’t really blame Bill for cancelling this meet at the last minute, as I understand his frustration in not having (or having low numbers of) lifters show up for his gym meets.  After a while it makes you discouraged when you go to all the work of planning a competition only to have no one show their appreciation by attending.

The Goerner Deadlift is one of the longest established meets in the the USAWA.  Bill Clark first promoted it in 1995 in his gym, and the meet was won that first year by longtime USAWA member Dale Friesz.  Since then it has been won 3 times by Rex Monahan and myself, and twice by Mike McBride and Kevin Fulton.  It has been cancelled once before, in 2007, due to ice.

1 … 409 410 411 412 413 … 493