USAWA

The Heavy Lift Championships have the longest history aside from the National Championships.  The first event was promoted October 30, 1994, by Bill Clark and won by John Carter and Kerry Clark.  Eight records still stand from that event including Bill Clark’s 1200-pound Back Lift and Kerry Clark’s 1460-pound Back Lift.  The meet included at least the Harness Lift, Hip Lift and Neck Lift as well.

An article by Dale Friesz in 2010 lists all the Heavy Lift Competitions which have included Heavy Lift Championships, Schmidt’s Backbreaker Pentathlon (since 1987), and the Strongman Pentathlon (1986 & 1988).  In recent years, The New England Heavy Lift Classic (2024 & 2025) could be added to that list.

Historically, five lifts were contested as part of the Heavy Lift Championship.  The website has a great write up on the 2011 event which was cut down to three lifts due to venue time constraints at York Barbell.  I assume, the Back Lift was removed due to needing a dedicated apparatus for a Back Lift which is not always easy to fabricate or move around.  Similarly, the Harness Lift requires hand supports to achieve a true max effort.

HIP LIFT – Men’s records in the range of 2000-2500 pounds; women’s records in the range of 800-1200 pounds

NECK LIFT – Men’s records in the range of 500 to 800 pounds with some extreme outliers. Women’s records are lighter, but I do need to highlight Kerry Clark’s 555-pound Neck Lift in 1995. The next highest women’s record is 400-pounds by Jacqueline Caron in 1992. In the last decade, the heaviest women’s neck lift was 325 pounds by Cassie Morrison in 2016.

HAND & THIGH – Men’s records are around 1500 pounds. Women’s records are around 800 pounds.

In recent years, the top lifts at the heavy lift contests have been lower. The athletes are lifting amazing numbers, but they are a fraction of the weights lifted by athletes in the first decades of the organization.

The Grip Championship is considered one of USAWA’s signature events. It has been contested since 2011 (with the exception of 2021).

The earliest reference I found to grip events on the USAWA website was a 2009 article on the Middle Fingers Deadlift. That article refers to the 1994 Super Grip Challenge where Kevin Fulton had a 400-pound Middle Fingers Deadlift and the 1992 British grip Championship where Steve Sherwood had a 330-pound Middle Fingers Deadlift.

Perusing the records, the Super Grip Challenges were hosted through the 1990s and there are standing records from the 2003 edition.  Matt Graham had a 200-pound pinch grip, strict that has stood since that meet and will probably stand for another two decades.

The Dino Grip Showdown was promoted by Ben Edwards in February 2010 and was very well attended with eight athletes squaring off for the title that was won by Andrew Durniat.

The first installment of the Grip Championship as we know it was promoted by Al Myers and featured (5) lifts:

• Deadlift – Vertical Bar, 2” One Arm
• Pinch Grip
• Deadlift – Fingers, Middle
• Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip
• Deadlift – 3” Bar

Al Myers took the men’s title and Felecia Simms took the women’s title.

Through 2025, twenty-eight different lifts have been included in the grip championships.  The majority have been deadlift variations using a pinch grip, vertical bars, thick bars or only using specific fingers.  There are also a handful of miscellaneous lifts that are grip limited.

• Pinch Grip Deadlifts
• Vertical Bars
• Thick Bars/Thick Dumbbells
• Finger Lifts
• Finger Deadlifts
• Misc – Dumbbell Walk, Rim Lift, Reeves Deadlift, Wrist Curl, Bear Hug, Saxon Lift

In recent years, the New England Grip Classic has been contested in 2023 and 2024. I intended to host the Colorado Grip Classic in 2025, but it was elevated to the USAWA Grip Championship.

Similar to most contests, I assume feats of grip strength started out somewhere along the lines of “I bet I can…”

The Dinnie Stones were hoisted by Donald Dinnie in 1860.  The combined 733 pounds were carried over 17 feet across the width of the Potarch Bridge.  Jack Shanks put wind under the stones in 1972 and the Shanks family has been stewards of the stones ever since. They host the Dinnie Gathering annually.

Thomas Inch had his unliftable dumbbell commissioned in the early 1900s.  The 172-pound weight combined with the 2.47 inch diameter smooth handle was too much for even the strongest spectators.

Arthur Saxon’s 3″ plank dates to at least 1922. The planks were of various weights. One story features a 90 pound version being snatched overhead with one hand.

Goerner’s Challenge Barbell was 330.75 pounds and had a diameter of 2-3/8 inches.  There is a famous photo of him lifting it overhead in 1923.  Fat Bastard Barbell Company has a 2-3/8 inch barbell named after Andrew Durniat  and dubbed Andrew’s Axle.  Staniewicz Strength Equipment named their 2-3/8 inch barbells the Goerner Barbell.

The Bearhug seems like the closest approximation to stone lifting that All-Round has created.

This weekend’s upcoming contest will feature four lifts with the all time records in parenthesis.

• Pinch Grip Deadlift – One Hand (Jarrod Gaddis 204 pounds, Cindy Garcia and Jo Schuster – 90 pounds)
• Deadlift, Fulton DB, One Arm (Joe Ciavattone – 205 pounds, Beth Skwarecki – 99 pounds)
• Vertical Bar, 1 Bar, 1 inch (Ben Edwards – 315 pounds, Stacy Todd – 200 pounds)
• Deadlift, 3” Bar (Matt Graham – 600 pounds, Felecia Simms – 280 pounds)

Grip certainly embodies the mission of the USAWA to perform lifts based on state acts of challenge lifts of old time strongmen.

On a personal note, the 2024 Grip Championship was the second All-Round event that I attended in person. I had heard or read that Al Myers liked athletes to look professional so I made a point of purchasing a singlet. Like most rumors, this was false and most of the athletes were in shirts and shorts, but I liked looking the part and still wear a singlet for premier All-Round events.