2026 Annual Meeting
The annual meeting is now only two months away. The annual meeting is confirmed for Friday, June 26. It will be held at D. Rowe’s Restaurant and Bar at 1005 Club Village Drive. Doors open at 4 PM and the evening will start at 5 PM.
New Lifts
None have been proposed and approved by the Executive Board
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.
Awards Director – Tony Lupo
Record Director – Tony Lupo
Drug Enforcement Director – [vacant] – Two drug tests were performed at the 2025 National Championship. One was positive, one was negative. Once a new Director is appointed, they can establish an MRO account.
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 The Instagram pages have been archived.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
Sanjiv intends to motion to delete Rule VI. Equipment 27. “A certified scale is required for weigh-ins in competitions or events where records are set. It may weigh in either pounds or kilograms. A scale certificate must be present with the scales and must not be older than 1 year.” Rationale – Modern digital bathroom scales are very accurate and I have not seen a scale certification in any of the events I have competed in.
Sanjiv intends to motion to remove “Level 1 – Experienced Qualified Officials” VII.9 and VII.15. Experienced qualified officials gain Level 1 status by sitting in the chair next to a certified official for 25 competitions. This has not been utilized since I have been in the organization and is unlikely to be documented and tracked well. There is an argument for keeping it if an aspiring official does not have English language proficiency.
Sanjiv intends to motion to change the rules on the Habecker Lift. The new rule for height is consistent with the other OTSM lifts and removes the potential mobility challenge of taking the bar directly from the supports.
Current Rule: “The bar will be placed at a height of one third the lifters height, measured to the bottom of the bar. The lift begins at the lifters discretion. The lifter will take the bar in the inside of the elbows between the upper arms and lower arms as in the Zercher Lift. The bar is lifted to a position where the lifter is standing fully upright with legs straight and shoulders erect. The feet must not move position during the lift, but the heels and toes may rise. It is an infraction if the bar is supported by the lifters belt. Once upright and motionless, an official will give the down command. A one minute time limit is allowed for the lifter to make a legal lift, during which time a lifter may make multiple tries. No padding of any kind is allowed on the bar or on the lifters arms. The bar must be returned to the supports under control.”
New Rule: “The bar will be placed at a height no greater than one third the lifters height, measured to the bottom of the bar. The lift begins at the lifters discretion. The lifter will secure the bar in the inside of the elbows between the upper arms and lower arms as in the Zercher Lift either directly from the supports or after deadlifting and lowering the bar to the thighs. The bar is lifted to a position where the lifter is standing fully upright with legs straight and shoulders erect. The feet must not move position during the lift, but the heels and toes may rise. It is an infraction if the bar is supported by the lifters belt. Once upright and motionless, an official will give the down command. A one minute time limit is allowed for the lifter to make a legal lift, during which time a lifter may make multiple tries. No padding of any kind is allowed on the bar or on the lifters arms. The bar must be returned to the supports under control.”
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.
