by Eric Todd
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will have to move the time of our portion of the competition back to the afternoon on May 2nd. This affects the Turney location only. We will be conducting weigh ins at 1:00 and lifting will begin at 2:00. You will still need to get your entry into Jessica Hopps, but please let me know if you plan on attending for planning purposes. Hope to see you on the 2nd!
by Tony Lupo
It’s that time of the year again to nominate deserving lifters for the yearly awards! The USAWA award program was started to honor those individuals that display outstanding achievements throughout the year in different categories. Part of the USAWA budget goes to these awards, which means that part of your membership dues supports this program. These awards are to be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the USAWA, which happens at the same time as the National Championships. Usually the USAWA Awards are yearly – meaning they are for the previous year’s accomplishments. I would consider yearly as being the time since (and including) last year’s National Championships. Now for an overview of the rules for nominations:
These are the different awards for which you should choose your nominations for:
Athlete of the Year – This award is for the individual who has accomplished the most athletically within the last year in the USAWA. Top placings at the Nationals and World Championships should figure in highly. Also, participation in other Championship Competitions such as the Heavy Lift Championships, the Grip Championships, the Club Championships, the OTSM Championships, the Team Championships, or the National Postal Championships could factor in. Participation in elite IAWA events such as the Gold Cup should make an influence on earning this award as well.
Leadership Award – This is for an individual that has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the USAWA during the past year. Things that should be looked at are; going above the level expected of an Officer position, promoting sanctioned events with emphasis being on promoting National or World Competitions, promoting the USAWA by developing a strong club, writing articles for publications about the USAWA, or through other means.
Sportsmanship Award – This goes to an individual who possesses and shows great sportsmanship within the USAWA. The act of sportsmanship may be by conduct at all events, or by an specific example of exceptional sportsmanship.
Courage Award – This goes to an individual who shows the courage to overcome an obstacle in order to return to competition. This may be a comeback from an injury, or just having to deal with difficult personal issues but still shows the courage to compete in the USAWA.
Newcomer Award– This award goes to an individual who in new to the USAWA or has become involved again. It doesn’t have to go to someone in their first year of being involved in the USAWA.
As stated earlier in the rules, I would like you to submit your choice for the MALE and FEMALE WINNERS. I will score it this way; for each nomination per award,1 point will be awarded for the nominated winner. I will then add up all the points from all nominations with the person receiving the most points declared the winner. So, you can see that the Award Winners are chosen by YOU THE MEMBERSHIP! That’s the way it should be done.
If you are not aware of people outside your own gym, consider looking at the USAWA website and look for who participates in meets and who does well. Go to:
https://www.usawa.com/membership-roster/ to see who is who!!
Please email me at: lupoa0313@gmail.com with your nominations. The deadline for nominations is May 31st, 2026. That gives everyone a couple weeks to make their decisions. My experience with this is that if a person does not make their nominations shortly after reading this announcement, it never gets done. So, make it easy on yourself (and me!) and turn your nominations in today!!!!
By Jessica Hopps
This years Heavy Lift Championship is just a few weeks away! Make sure to get your entry form and payments in before April 18th to be eligible. Please make sure to select what venue you will be lifting at on your entry form, as we are privileged to offer 3 separate venues this year!
Meet name: Heavy Lift Championship
Date: May 2, 2026
Midwest Location: 10978 SW Pueblo Dr, Turney, MO (KCStrongMan)
Northeast Location: 204 East Street, Walpole, MA 02032 (Frank’s Barbell Club)
Western Location: Lakewood, CO 80235 (High Country Vigor)
Promoter: Jessica Hopps, Frank’s Barbell Club
Sanctioned by: USAWA-membership is required of all lifters
Lifts: Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh, Hip Lift
Cost: $35 payment can be made to Jessica Hopps (Venmo @Jessica-Hopps and Paypal preferred- jesshopps@hotmail.com) or check can be mailed to Jessica Hopps C/O Franks Barbell Club 204 East Street Walpole MA 02032
Awards: There will be awards for the lifters
This is a drug tested event. Please only enter if you know you can pass a drug test!
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:
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.
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.
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.
This year’s version of the Clark’s Gym Birthday Bash was meant to honor two lifters becoming “seasoned citizens”. However, it was youth that was served and it was good to see some younger and new lifters on the platform. The event attracted 12 lifters from two gyms. The Wenzel Family was on hand and the younger members enjoyed the cake that was served following the lifting. High Country Vigour (and the USAWA) welcomed Joshua Guerin to the platform.
This year the lifts chosen for the event in order of draw were the Jefferson Deadlift, the Clean and Jerk, Dumbbell, One Hand, the Vertical Bar 1″, One Hand, the Anderson Press, and the Peoples Deadlift.
In the Women’s Division, K VanWagner and Janet Thompson battled for the top spot, each setting three new age and weight records or all-weight records. While Janet lifted 16 pounds more, it was KVW coming out ahead by 26 Lynch points adding this event to her list of meet titles. KVW was impressive in the one hand dumbbell Clean and Jerk and Anderson Press. Janet Thompson was also impressive in the Anderson Press and in the Vertical Bar one hand deadlift as well. In spite of a third place finish, Allison Lupo lifted the most raw weight and was the only lifter, men or women, to set records in all five events. At 280 pounds on the People’s deadlift, she was nearly the 7th female to hit 300 lbs in this lift. Last, but not least, the youngest female lifter, Dylan Wenzel, did great with the Vertical Bar deadlifts (see records).
On the men’s side, it was a father – son duel, and young Riley Wenzel won his first meet title edging dad by just over six Lynch points. Riley was impressive across the board racking up more than 1300 pounds (third most), but his Anderson Press and People’s Deadlift were his best efforts becoming the first Wenzel to make a 500 pound People’s deadlift. But Jeff was not to be outdone and hit the same mark following Riley. Both then added 20 more on the next lift. Jeff set three records and was powerful across all five lifts falling just short of 1500 lbs total, best of the day by far. In third place, it was John Carter who also set two records, one of which was the largest vertical bar lift of the day at 232 pounds. John lifted nearly 1100 lbs which translated into more than 1250 Lynch points. Tony Lupo was good enough to finish fourth place with four new records in a new age group, totaling just over 1200 lbs. Sanjiv Gupta set three records including an impressive 82 pound left handed dumbbell Clean and Jerk, a lift good enough for an all-weight record. Newcomer Joshua Guerin posted two records and was number two in total raw weight lifted at close to 1350 pounds. Finally, Clark’s Gym stalwart David DeForest was on vacation and managed to get two of the five events in where he was staying. The math does not lie and with the pace he was on, David would have finished third or fourth had he been able to access the right equipment.