USAWA

Note on time management: The time planned for the Annual Meeting is two hours, and the Annual Meeting must include elections. To facilitate this, members of the current Executive Board plan to call the following motions at the following times:

• Elections will be motioned to begin when about 90 minutes have elapsed since the call to order, or when new business is completed, whichever happens first.
• A motion to adjourn the meeting will be called at or around the two-hour mark, assuming elections have been completed. 

Any important business that cannot be completed during the Annual Meeting may be handled at a follow-up meeting, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 6 p.m. Central time, to be held virtually (on Zoom or similar). 

Robert’s Rules of Order will be in effect, which allow members to vote on adjournment, so the exact timing may turn out differently. Final scheduling/planning of the follow-up meeting will be up to the newly elected Executive Board.

Beginning

• Meeting call to order – President Denny Habecker
• Notetaker – Secretary Beth Skwarecki
• Roll call
• Approval of previous minutes – motion to waive reading since they have been posted on the website since last year

Reports

• Treasurer’s report (Eric Todd) – submitted
• Website director’s report (Beth Skwarecki)
• Awards director’s report (Tony Lupo)
• Records director’s report (Tony Lupo)
• Drug enforcement director’s report (Chad Ullom) – submitted
• Officials director’s report (Joe Garcia)
• Postal meet director’s report (Denny Habecker) – submitted
• IAWA representative’s report (Sanjiv Gupta) – submitted

Survey presentation

• Brief summary of member survey results (by a member of the advisory committee)

Unfinished business

• Weaver stick rule change – rules and record keeping were changed by the Executive Board since the last Annual Meeting. Time is given here for members to motion to amend or overrule, if desired.

New business

New lift approval – requires membership vote

• Reflex bench press (Clint Poore)

Proposed bylaw changes

• Change geographical membership requirement to US residency, not citizenship, to bring in line with how this is currently determined and enforced (by address of residence)

Proposed rule changes

• Amend drug test policy to remove requirement for Executive Board to vote on approving appeals before testing (to account for new testing setup with MRO)
• Bavarian deadlift rule change: remove requirement that hands must be within 12”.
• Wrist wrap rule requiring 1 mm maximum thickness: increase or remove the limit.
• Leggings rule: amend uniform rules to allow solid colored, form fitting pants (in addition to, or instead of, shorts) that allow the position of the knee to be clearly seen. 

New business brought up by members at the meeting

• Time is reserved for any needed discussions, motions, votes, etc. 

Elections 

Board elections must be in this order. One person may hold up to two positions. The board must have a total of five members.

• President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Vice-president
• At-large member(s)

Elections of special assignment directors, if needed

• Website director 
• (Others as needed)

Choose location/host of 2026 National Championships

• Bid #1: Sanjiv Gupta, Colorado
• (Other bids may be submitted before or during the meeting)

Choose location/host of all other 2026 Championships, if not previously announced

• Grip Championships (2025: Sanjiv Gupta, Colorado/remote)
• Club Championships (2025: Sanjiv Gupta, Colorado/remote)
• Heavy Lift Championship (2025: Eric Todd, multi-location)
• Team Championships (2025: to be held in December and decided then)

The agenda is also available as a printable PDF, below.

Please direct any bids or requests to the secretary at usawasec@gmail.com.