Art’s Birthday Bash

by John McKean

Art’s 88th birthday & BD Bash

The previous week on his 88th birthday Art Montini won another World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

The previous week on his 88th birthday Art Montini won another World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

Not a beautiful Autumn morning like usual, it was SNOWING out side my house! Seemed a bad sign, as I was, unbelievably for me, already in a bad mood, over worrying that attendance would be minimal, since the previous week’s IAWA World Meet had usurped Art’s long standing birthday meet date (next time ,meet directors, if your plans are on or just after Oct 12,suck it up! Art has had claim to this date for 88 years!!!). To bottom out my bad start this morning,our cat upchucked over my nice meet shirt, which was carefully laid out on the kitchen floor for packing!!

Glumly entering the VFW gym, my mood instantly changed and I was immediately inspired seeing the GREAT Dean Ross, all the way from Oklahoma, about to begin a series of finger lifts! Dean had left his home, stopped over in Missouri for a Highlands Games event, then drove without sleep to Ambridge and did his lifts. He then, after his usual hilarious jokes & stories (don’t ever accept a quarter from this guy!!), hit the road again, promising to find sleep in a motel  somewhere hours away, and then get home to OK! “Hey”,he quipped, “I do have to work tomorrow morning!” At 72 years of age and looking as strong as he displays, this is what I call a true IRON MAN !!

Then in bounced a spry Steve Santangelo and his lovely, personable wife, all the way from Kentucky! Steve lifted great and showed us a lift rarely performed in the USAWA meets – a NECK BRIDGE pullover and press! Not bad for  a 63 year old!

Travelers weren’t over, either, as Cleveland and Vermilion, Ohio were represented by the wonderful Schmidt family, Scott and wife Kathy, with Bob Geib and Tony Frasso driving in from V-town. They all promised if we hold an “in-the-works” record day in December (for MY 70th birthday!!) that they’ll brave Dec weather to make the trip again!

We hadn’t seen local boxing coach Andy Root for a few years, as he and wife Angela (of 240# bench press fame at a petite 120 some bw!) have a new baby to take care of (congrats mom&dad!). But Andy did some terrific deadlifting and took some wild stabs at heavy bent pressing (not as easy as it looked,huh Andy?!)

Of course, birthday boy Art, tho still sore from last weekend’s World win, looked fresh as a donut,err, I mean daisy! Not only did he perform his usual great finger lifts, but took a stab at a brand new event -the Dinnie Lift- and discovered he was MADE for this lift!! Yeah, he drove me crazy in making me compute the 75% for the smaller rod each time, but it was worth it to watch the ole boy delight in his own efforts!

We left the gym, and tho cold outside, the sun and brilliant tree colors were now out to make for a great Fall day, after all! Bob Geib was treating Art to a birthday dinner at the famous Ambridge roast beef restaurant, and I’d caught some nice rainbow trout on Friday, which Art will bake for a later bd snack! Yes, Art does the eating even better than he lifts!

MEET RESULTS

Art’s 2015 Birthday Bash Record Day
Ambridge, PA
October 18th, 2015

Judges (3 official system used) – Art Montini, Scott Schmidt, John McKean

Stephen Santangelo BW 162  Class 75 K (60+)  age 63
2″ vertical 2 bars deadlift  292#
2″ Dumbbell deadlift left    130#
2″ Dumbbell deadlift right  130#
Neck bridge pullover and press  80#
No thumb deadlift  280#
No thumb deadlift Ciavattone  265#

John McKean  BW 164.5 Class 75k(65+) age 69
Dinnie Lift  320.5#
Ciavattone2″ bar deadlift 175#
Right arm Ciavattone deadlift 145#
Left arm Ciavattone deadlift 135#
bench press fulton bar  104#
Heels together deadlift  224#
Rectangular fix  65#
Fulton bar rectangular fix 40#
deadlift 12″ heels  224#

Art Montini  BW 173 class 80k (85+) age 88
Left Ciavattone deadlift 2″ bar 60#
clean &press 2″ bar  60#
Index fingers deadlift with olympic bar 75#
Ring fingers deadlift with olympic bar 75#
Dinnie lift  283#

Kathy Schmidt BW 175  class 80k (f 55+) age 58
Left hand 1″ vertical bar deadlift 47.5K
Dumbbell deadlift (L)  47.5K
Ciavattone deadlift 60K

Scott Schmidt bw 234 Class 110K (60+) age 62
Right hand 2″vertical bar deadlift 75K
Left hand 2″vertical bar deadlift 75K
2 hands 2″ vertical bars deadlift 110K
left hand dumbbell press 25K
French Press 40K

Dean Ross bwt 253 class 115 k (70+)age 72
left little finger deadlift 57#
left ring finger lift 67#
left middle finger lift 72#
left index finger lift 72
right little finger lift 57#

Bob Geib bw 258 class 120K (70+) age 72
Dinnie Lift 309#
Fulton deadlift 270#
Straddle deadlift 305#
Stiff leg deadlift 209#

note : all Dinnie lifts were with lighter weight at 75% or slightly less of heavier rod thanks to Al for great rings!!

World Championships

by Steve Gardner

Lifters competing in the 2015 IAWA World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

Lifters competing in the 2015 IAWA World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

The 28th Annual IAWA World All Round Weightlifting Championships

With 34 lifters representing: England, Scotland, USA, Ireland, Wales and Finland, completing 7 disciplines over the two days, it certainly made for a very busy weekend. The lifting ran through very smooth, and it was great to see that all of the lifters were engaged in loading and spotting and refereeing when they weren’t lifting, many hands make light work and the enthusiasm produced in the room was just electric. We were treated to excellent lifting across the board, with bags full of records (and some great records too) being broken. It was great to see eight female competitors taking part, and a great mix of Open Division, Juniors and Masters as well. Once again several new lifters were on the platform, and all showed great promise for the future. Well done to David McFadzean and his support team at Castlemilk for promoting a great event. It was really nice that the youngest Competitor: Liam Keddy celebrated his 14th Birthday on the first day of competition, and the oldest: Art Montini celebrated his 88th Birthday on the second day too, thanks to Janet Dick, Judy Habecker and Karen Gardner for arranging the cake, it was a great surprise for Art. Well done to all lifters but especially to the Overall Champion: Mark Haydock who received the new IAWA Championship Belt that had been supplied by members of David’s family to be used as a perpetual Award at the World Championships. Fitting that Mark finished the day with a huge 300 kilos Straddle Deadlift! This was without a doubt another fantastic event in IAWA World Championships History….

Meet Results (PDF) – RESULTS Worlds FBOOK

World Council Meeting

by Steve Gardner

Information from the IAWA World Council Meeting
(held on Friday 9th October at 7pm on the eve of the Championships:

The Chairman: Al Myers opened the Meeting and went through the order of business…with reports on:
1 The minutes from the 2014 Council Meeting – all agreed by those who had been present that they were an accura…te account.
2 The World Postal Championships Steve Gardner was asked to run the event in August again, using three lifts from the 2016 World Championships, this year’s event had 67 lifters and 23 teams from 6 different Countries
3 All International Vice Presidents remaining in position
4 A report on international Development – It was reported that it is looking like a group will become active in Northern Ireland thanks to the work being undertaken currently by Steve Gardner and Stevie Shanks
5 The promoter for the 2016 Gold Cup: Al Myers spoke about his arrangements for the event which will take place in Kansas USA and
6 The 2016 World Championships: A letter had been received from New Zealand to say that they were very sorry but for a number of reasons they would no longer be able to run the 2016 World Championships. A promoter had been sourced however after discussion Denny Habecker had offered to run the event in Lebanon PA USA in October 2016. – All agreed that this be the venue for the 2016 Championships, and a list of 6 lifts were accepted as the official lifts for the event:
Day One: Continental Clean, Pullover and Push, 2 Hands Vertical Bars (both 2”)
Day Two: Alternate Grip Clean and Press, One Hand Clean and Jerk on Barbell, Two Hands Ciavattone Deadlift
7 There was nothing to report by the Technical Secretary Dennis Mitchell
8 There being no further business Al Myers Closed the Meeting….

Actual dates of the 2016 Worlds and Gold Cup will be published very soon!

Worlds this weekend!

by Al Myers

A year sure goes by fast!  The IAWA World Championships are this weekend in Glasgow, Scotland.  This is the HIGHLIGHT event in the IAWA every year. Here are some updates that everyone should be aware of:

The 2015 IAWA World Championships – Glasgow, Scotland
by Steve Gardner

This great event is almost upon us and the athletes officials organisers will all be making final preparations….

Some Reminders:…
The World Council Meeting is at 7pm on Friday 9th October at the Castlemilk Centre.

The lifting Venue is: Castlemilk Community Centre – 121 Castlemilk Drive, Glasgow, Scotland G45 9UG Tel: 0141 634 2233.

The Weigh in Both Days is at 9am – Lifting both days starts at 10am..

The Banquet is on Sunday 11th October following the lifting: 7.30pm Sit Down at: St Andrew’s in the Square, 1 St Andrews Square, Calton, Glasgow, G1 5PP.

Its going to be a great event, two Platforms running, two flights of lifters….when you weigh in check your flight and group, all lifters (almost to the man and woman) will be helping out in the group they are not lifting in as Referees or Loaders…this is the beauty of the organisation EVERYONE pitches in to help the event flourish… dont forget when you get there check the schedule for your designated duties and lifting groups… Have a good one everyone…ITS GOING TO BE GREAT!!!!

OTSM Championships

by Eric Todd

2015 USAWA OLD TIME STRONGMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2015 USAWA Old Time Strongman Championship (left to right): Denny Habecker, Eric Todd, Art Montini, Lance Foster

Group picture from the 2015 USAWA Old Time Strongman Championship (left to right): Denny Habecker, Eric Todd, Art Montini, Lance Foster

September 26, ET’s House of Iron and Stone played host to the fifth annual USAWA Old Time strongman Championship. Though turnout was rather small (mostly due to poor scheduling by the promoter), the lifting was fantastic and the camaraderie was even better. President Denny Habecker and his trusty sidekick Art Montini made the trip from Pennsylvania to lift. Lance Foster came all the way from from Platte City, MO, and I came all the way across the lawn from inside my house. We started off with Thor’s Hammer, which would have the smallest amount lifted of all the disciplines. Lance and I tied for top honors here, both lifting 35.5 pounds. Denny was not far behind with at record breaking lift of 25.5. In the Saxon snatch, Lance and I tied again with lifts of 80 pounds apiece. In the Apollon’s Axle, it was all Lance. At first, it appeared that he had shot himself in the foot, as he missed his first and second attempts. However, he came back on his third and nailed 165 pounds. Denny struggled with the continental, or he would have given Lance a run for his money. The final lift of the day was the People’s Deadlift. It was a battle. Art set the bar with a lift of 300, a record lift of 320, and he was still grumbling afterwards that we had let him start too light. Denny topped him with a 365, then ground out a record 375. At this point, Lance started lifting and topped out at an impressive 460. This lift ultimately allowed Lance to sneak by Art by one point for second place. Top honors, however, went to his majesty, the President, Denny Habecker. It was a beautiful day to catch up with friends and throw around some iron.

MEET RESULTS:

2015 USAWA OTSM Championships
ET’s House of Iron and Stone
Turney, MO
September 26th, 2015

Meet Director: Eric Todd

Scorekeeper: Eric Todd

Officials (3 official system used): Eric Todd, Lance Foster, Denny Habecker, Art Montini

Lifts: Thor’s Hammer, Saxon Snatch, Apollon’s Lift, People’s Deadlift

MEN’S DIVISION

 LIFTER AGE BWT Thor Sax Apoll People Total Points
Denny Habecker 72 87.3 25.5 50 120 365 560.5 680.8
Lance Foster 49 149.1 35.5 80 165 460 740.5 566.7
Art Montini 87 79.1 10 25 60 300 395 565.8
Eric Todd 40 117.3 35.5 80 110 135 360.5 284.1

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORD:

Denny Habecker: Saxon Snatch 60#
Denny Habecker: People’s Deadlift 375#
Art Montini: People’s Deadlift 320#

NOTES: Age in years. BWT is bodyweight in kilograms. All lifts recorded in pounds. Total is total pounds lifted. Points are adjusted points for age and bodyweight corrections.

1 … 255 256 257 258 259 … 537