Tag Archives: Frank Ciavattone

Anderson Winter RB

By Christopher Lestan

ANDERSON WINTER CLASSIC RECORD BREAKERS

Meet Recap:

What a meet that was filled with excitement, heavy lifts, and an excellent atmosphere. We had the competition held at the Athletic Republic which is where I used to work and my former boss gave us a great rate that allowed us to test the waters in holding a meet in the facility. We had 14 lifters. We originally had 15 lifters, unfortunately, I had to pull out of the meet due to tearing my bicep 2 weeks before.  However, it was still a great show! We had 10 men and 4 women participate in the lifting.

The first lift of the day was the Anderson Squat. This was a show stopper. In the women division newcomer, Ani Kaleshian squatted 500 pounds on her third attempt making it look like a second attempt. Then we had Sarah Gibbons put up a beautifully executed 400-pound squat! Then, of course, we had Frank nieces who both put up massive numbers for their age and as usual became the stars of the meet with everyone coming by to support them!

In the men’s division, we had a long battle of who could lift the most. In the lower weight class, we had Raj Dasrath at 135 pounds squatting 620 pounds! Everyone was shocked by the display of strength which was soon followed by applause. Then we had Zach, and Travis all lift 500 like nothing. Next Carter Fisher, the young bull in the competition, comes out of the left field and squats 700 pounds easy! After seeing this Shane Blass shouts “I want that weight” and then walks over to the barbell to lift it with tremendous power. Again applause was followed. Zach comes to the squat rack to squat 600 pounds to hold his own ground. Longtime USAWA member Mark Raymond also displayed massive strength with his 275 squat and Frank Ciavatonne with 225!

As usual Frank has been instrumental in helping me organize these meets!

As usual Frank has been instrumental in helping me organize these meets!

The second lift of the day was the Ciavatonne Deadlift. Multiple people displayed their grip strength as well as power here as well. In the women’s division, we had Ani come again and lift 285! Then we had the girls Natalie, and Olivia pick up the weight just like their uncle Frank… WITH EASE!! Sarah made 205 like nothing displaying her grip strength.

In the men’s division, everyone was showing their power with the deadlift! Mark Raymond was able to pull 300 with more in the tank. We had Zach with a massive 430-pound deadlift and two attempts at the national record in which both he had at the top but couldn’t hold it! He definitely has it at this year’s nationals! The young stallion Ryan Bingham pulled a 440-pound deadlift to end the event, and he still had more in him!

Fellow Umass Powerlifting teammates Ani, Raj, Carter, and Travis!

Fellow Umass Powerlifting teammates Ani, Raj, Carter, and Travis!

The last event of the day we had the Clean and Press. As usual Frank’s nieces displayed their ability to lift anything with a 40 and 45 pound clean and press! Rising star of the meet Ani showed her ability her upper body power with a 120 clean and press! Then we had Zach and his brother display their beautiful technique and press with Mahmud with an easy 165 and Zach with 185! Shane Blass was impressive moving 165 as it was nothing! Carter Fisher who refused to be not behind them attempted a 165 pound clean and press which was successful!

It was a great meet! Filled with a competitive atmosphere that couldn’t be rivaled. The best part about these local meets is the ability to display the beauty of what this sport brings! Between lifts, every lifter was being social, making new friends and acquaintances. Everyone was cheering on each other, and helping with loading the weights.

The audience was amazing. We had close to 20-25 spectators with all of them cheering and being entertained by the displays of strength. My former boss Jason even came by and started cheering.

Big congrats on Carter Fisher winning BEST OVERALL LIFTER in his first meet with USAWA. He was followed close behind by Raj Dasrath! One lift gone bad or good would have turned the whole placing of the top two. Big Congrats on Sarah being the Open winner, and Ani being the Junior Winner. I really hope to see these two in the future at another meet!

Anderson Classic Group

MEET RESULTS:

Anderson Winter Classic
December 28th, 2019
Norwood, Massachusetts

Meet Director: Christopher Lestan

Host: Athletic Republic

Meet Announcer/ Scorekeeper: Christopher Lestan

Officials(1 official system used): Frank Ciavatonne and Christopher Lestan

Lifts: Anderson Squat, Ciavatonne Deadlift (2H), Clean and Press

All lifts were recorded in pounds:

Female Division:

Name Age Weight Class Division
Ani Kaleshian 18 165 75kg Junior (18-19)
Sarah Gibbons 21 156 75kg Open
Natalie Collins 12 109 50kg Junior (10-13)
Olivia Collins 10 114 55Kg Junior (10-13)

Men Division:

Name Age Weight Class Division
Shane Blass 25 212 100kg Open
Raj Dasrath 22 135 65kg Open
Carter Fisher 19 186 85kg Junior (18-19)
Eric Lestan 14 160 75kg Junior (14-15)
Travis Szetela 23 180 85kg Open
Frank Ciavatonne 64 310 125kg+ Masters (60-64)
Mark Raymond 56 250 115kg Masters (55-59)
Ryan Bingham 19 315 125kg+ Junior (18-19)
Mahmud Marhamo 26 183 85kg Open
Name Age Weight Class Division
Zach Marhamo 22 230 105kg Open

Female Final Standing:

Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Ani Kaleshian 500 285 120 927.74
Sarah Gibbons 400 205 70 698.28
Natalie Collins 181 125 45 632.78
Olivia Collins 150 90 40 485.83

Mens Final Standing:

Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Carter Fisher 700 350 165 1154.03
Raj Dasrath 620 250 135 1147.50
Shane Blass 700 330 165 1032.59
Zach Marhamo 600 430 185 1006.62
Mahmud Marhamo 500 365 165 967.89
Travis Stzelela 500 335 155 939.01
Eric Lestan 315 260 115 845.13
Ryan Bingham 445 440 155 759.87
Mark Raymond 275 300 100 626.66
Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Frank Ciavatonne * 225 370 50 585.50

*Frank Opted to do the Thumbless Deadlift and use that as a National record for the 60-64 Age group and Open.

Overall Best Lifter: Carter Fisher

Overall Best Female Open: Sarah Gibbons

Overall Best Female Junior: Ani Kaleshian

Overall Best Male Open: Raj Dasrath

Overall Best Male Junior: Carter Fisher

Overall Best Male Masters: Mark Raymond

 

NATIONAL RECORDS:

Anderson Squat: 

Natalie Collins: 181 for the 50kg class.

Ani Kaleshian: 500 for the Junior class and Open in the 75kg.

Raj Dasrath: 620 for Open class in the 65kg class.

Shane Blass: 700 for the Open class in the 100kg class.

Frank Ciavattone: 225 for the Masters 60-64 group in the 125kg+ class.

Carter Fisher: 700 for the Junior 18-19 in the 85kg class.

Ryan Bingham: 455 for the Junior 18-19 in the 125+kg class.

Eric Lestan: 315 for the Junior 14-15 in the 75kg class.

Ciavatonne Deadlift (2H):

Ani Kaleshian: 285 for the Junior 18-19 and Open in the 75kg class.

Olivia Collins: 90 for the Junior 10-13 in the 55kg class.

Ryan Bingham: 440 for the Junior 18-19 in the 125kg+ class.

Carter Fisher: 350 for the Junior 18-19 in the 85kg class.

Clean and Press

Ani Kaleshian: 120 for the Junior 18-19 and Open in the 75kg class.

Carter Fisher: 165 for the Junior 18-19 and the Open in the 85kg class.

Zach Marhamo: 185 for the Open in the 105kg class.

Frank Ciavattone: 50 for the Masters 60-64 in the 125kg+.

What All-Around Lifting Is About

By Christopher Lestan

As I fly home from my very first Worlds I can’t help but think of what I just experienced from the competition. To start off, the event was wonderfully organized. The banquet was great, and the lifting was so much fun. However, there is more to express. The emotions are hard to describe. I feel happiness, confidence, joy, appreciation, and gratitude. Its as if I just saw the greatest movie of all time and left the theater with such a bag of emotions that I just need to put them down on a piece of paper. Tell the world what I am feeling.

If there is one thing I am completely convinced with its that I finally realized what the USAWA, IAWA, and just All-Around lifting is about.

My mentor Frank who introduced me to this sport!

My mentor Frank who introduced me to this sport!

When I first joined the USAWA I was probably like most in the federation when they first join, for I had a background in a sport or strength discipline. I was a powerlifter who only competed to win, and that’s it. I didn’t care about the people who I competed with because I didn’t know them, and they felt the same way about me. Powerlifting at the end of the day is an individual sport where competitors go in with one goal in mind and that is to win. Very similarly when I entered the USAWA that was my mindset too. I wanted to come in and win in my first meet. When my first All-Around meet I placed 2nd in the overall lifters score. However, I didn’t feel defeated. I felt something I never have felt before at a Powerlifting meet….. happiness. I didn’t get happiness from the personal bests that I got in the lifts, or the medal that I got after. It was the people. I basically lifted, competed, and socialized. The last word is where I knew this federation was different. I socialized… I laughed… I talked about lifting, life, family, goals with people I have just met.

That is where we segway into the next part of this blog. This weekend’s Championship! I have never experienced such openness at a lifting competition. When I walked into the venue for the first time on Friday I was greeted with such friendly faces. It was amazing. On Saturday what I experienced at my first USAWA meet was soon the same here. I was socializing with fellow lifters about life, their passions, how they got into All-Around lifting, making jokes, and laughing. During all this conversation I still managed to hit personal bests in most of my lifts. Then after I would be cheering on my fellow lifters to make their lifts and break world records! It’s insane. You will not find this in Powerlifting, for when I made it to the national level meets fellow lifters would become less and less friendly. They would see you as your enemy. They wouldn’t talk to you, or even look at you. To me this is strange.

Stevie Shanks! First time meeting him and what an great guy. Always supporting other lifters!

Stevie Shanks! First time meeting him and what a great guy. Always supporting other lifters!

As lifters, we all came from a very similar place of why we wanted to compete. TO IMPROVE OURSELVES. To gain confidence and in the process make relationships that will last forever. Am I still a competitive person. Yes, I will not deny that. However, I will never let that get in the way of never making a relationship with someone who has similar goals as me. I never felt the need to be aggressive with lifters, or be rude to them to gain the upper hand.

Lastly, All-Around lifting is about challenging yourself to do things you never thought possible. These lifts are very unorthodox, yet there is a beauty and humbleness about them. I am absolutely terrible at anything in which hook grip would allow more weight to be lifted. Therefore, I respect any lifter who can take the pain of the hook grip. It’s the ability to understand your weaknesses that make this sport amazing. Thus, the courage to enter a competition in which you have a very small idea of what you are able to lift is huge!

This weekend will be in my memories for the rest of my life. I will remember the laughs, jokes, the new friends I made, and the personal bests in lifts, and the courage to make risks in lifts I have very little experience. This is what makes All-Around lifting special. This is what makes this sport so great!

 

Ciavattone Award

By Al Myers

Al Myers receiving the Ciavattone Award from Frank Ciavattone at the 2019 IAWA Worlds.

Al Myers receiving the Ciavattone Award from Frank Ciavattone at the 2019 IAWA Worlds.

One of the highlights from the IAWA Awards Banquet was the presentation of the Ciavattone Award, presented by Frank Ciavattone.  I was extremely honored to have received this award, and it came as a total surprise to me.  It has been many years since the Ciavattone Award has been presented to anyone, but it is an award that I remembered from the “early days” of our organization.  Also,  Steve and Karen Gardner from England received the Ciavattone Award at the banquet – the first time it has been awarded to someone outside of the USAWA.  Steve and Karen are well deserving of this honor.  Both of them have had great influence on the USAWA even though they are IAWA-UK members.  Steve has announced at many, many IAWA events in the states through the years.  His leadership at these competitions are a big part why these meets were so successful.  Karen does so much work for IAWA “behind the scenes”.  I want to point out the reason we have so many pictures on Facebook of these past World Championships are because of her!  That’s a big job at meets to take photos while also competing.  I very much appreciate everything Karen does for us.

Steve and Karen Gardner receiving the Ciavattone Award from Frank Ciavattone at the 2019 IAWA Worlds.

Steve and Karen Gardner receiving the Ciavattone Award from Frank Ciavattone at the 2019 IAWA Worlds.

I would like to take today to explain the history of the Ciavattone Award.  This Award is very much dedicated to the memory of Frank’s parents and the influence they had on him, as well as the support they have given to IAWA/USAWA throughout the years. That’s what made receiving this Award so special to me.  My parents have also been tremendously supportive of me in my lifting pursuits thru the years, and I know I have not thanked them enough for this.  I could not have promoted this past Worlds to the success it had without their help.  This is a hard blog for me to write, finding the right words to truly express the significance of the Ciavattone Award.   I have asked Frank to help me  – and the following is part of an email he sent me.  It is a heartfelt message from him, and describes the Ciavattone Award much better than I ever could.

It’s about a lot of things! It started after my Dad passed after he had numerous operations in his 63 years on earth. When he passed this 300lb man went down to 80lbs. And yes NO ARMS OR NO LEGS!  Due to Burgess Disease which attacks the circulatory system. 

He was a true STRONGMAN who never never would let you feel sorry for him. Over the years many of the great men/lifters like Bill Clark, Art Montini, Steve Gardner, Steve Angell, Howard Prechtel, John Vernacchio, Denny Haybecker and the list goes on! All these heroes of mine all met my Dad! As each of them met him and walked away they all had a tear in their eye. It was at this time I knew our sport was no doubt the Greatest Sport! He spent 2+ Years in Korea! Do to his experience of operating a huge “Steam Shovel” Power Shovel he spent a good part of the war on the 38th Parallel and with 100,000 of thousands of casualties (deaths). You can figure out what his job was! I have all the pictures! 
 
On a brighter note we basically were poor but my parents always gave us a wonderful Christmas! But guess who was Santa Claus for the kids even less fortunate than us. You guessed it my Dad! Every Christmas that I can remember my Dad would leave the house for as long as it took and delivered toys to around 100 families! As I got of age I was part of it! A feeling I will never forget!
 
During the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1973 he organized the funeral for any Marine that got killed in action from our County. Also opened our house up for the 38 different Marines who needed a father son relationship before returning to their family. Some lived with us for months! My Mom was there as their mother at those tough times! My Mother came from the same mold! She had her own battles except not being in the war. She took care of my Dad from his first amputation to his passing and not once complained or put him in a Nursing Home! And it doesn’t take a smart person to realize how much she did for him! While fighting Cancer herself! She had Cancer in 6 different areas. Up until her passing July 4th this year she continued her strength, courage and leadership while coping losing a grandson and one of her daughters but also mothered my other 3 sisters and brother plus myself as we all battled Cancer! Through her strength we are survivors!
They both were the TRUE meaning of COURAGE! While all this they showed LEADERSHIP by opening their home to all, especially the USAWA & IAWA LIFTERS. They LOVED all the lifters from here USA or abroad! They made sure they had a place to sleep and plenty to eat! A truly mutual respect by all! NEVER one complaint and always total respect! At the meets my Dad would Referee even without limbs and my Mom would make sure all were fed even if she came from Radiation or other treatments! This kind of covers what the CIAVATTONE AWARD is about! I could write a book on all they have done Humanity! 
I think you will agree it covers:
1. Leadership 
2. Loyal to the sport of All-ROUND LIFTING WORLD WIDE
3. And the main theme! “COURAGE “ “365 DAYS A YEAR”
I want to thank Frank for sharing these personal thoughts of his with us.  It had to be a difficult thing to do, as he reflected on the true meaning of the Ciavattone Award. I know I speak for all of us when I say that Frank himself also exemplifies the qualities listed above. The past Ciavattone Award recipients are as follows:
USAWA:
Howard Prechtel
Noi Phumachiano
Bill Clark
John Vernachio
Denny Haybecker
Dennis Mitchell
Dale Friez
Rex Monahan
Al Myers
IAWA:
Steve Gardner
Karen Gardner
I plan to keep the Ciavattone Award recipients listed in our history archive on the website so this important award is always remembered. I hope Frank continues presenting the Ciavattone Award in the future to those he feels deserving.  I have received many awards during my days of lifting, but receiving this one means more to me than the others.  I only have two of my lifting awards hanging in my personal office – my USAWA Hall of Fame Award and the Ciavattone Award. That’s how important it is to me.

Frank Ciavattone – LIFTER OF THE MONTH

By Al Myers

Frank Ciavattone - USAWA Lifter of the Month for June

Frank Ciavattone – USAWA Lifter of the Month for June

The USAWA LIFTER OF THE MONTH for June is Frank Ciavattone.  Frank had a busy month in the USAWA in June, bringing lifters from his club to compete in the USAWA National Championships in Lebanon, PA.  Frank is an inspiration to everyone in the USAWA for his courage.  He has overcame many serious physical obstacles, and yet he maintains a competitive spirit. At Nationals Frank had just undergone a major surgery shortly before the meet but he still competed and performed in every single lift!

Congrats to Frank on being the June Lifter of the Month!

Frankie Ciavattone; Prodigy of Strength

By Peter Vuono

Frank Ciavattone lifting the Dinnie Stones on September 24th, 1996.

Frank Ciavattone lifting the Dinnie Stones on September 24th, 1996.

According to Greek Mythology, twenty-five hundred years ago, the evil goddess Hera looked to avenge herself for an indiscretion perpetrated by Zeus. The perfidious queen sent two vipers to do away with the son of Zeus. When the child’s mother, Alcmene, raced into the room, she viewed her infant son crushing with one hand, both of the vipers. It was the beginning of the legend of Hercules.

Super heroes like Hercules continued to inspire, teach and amaze down through the ages. Theogenes, Polydemos ,Samson, Peter Francisco and so many more showed their god-like might to the world. Here in southeastern MA., we have our legendary prodigy of strength in Frank Ciavattone.

At the age of 12, in 1967, Frankie was inspired by Olympian Paul Anderson and Frank’s beloved Godfather, Ralph. He was given a 75 lb. weight set and since the York Barbell Co. courses were the most accessible, Frank followed their instructions to the letter.

One summer while working for the town of Norwood, this East coast prodigy, at age 18 decided to push a fully loaded dump truck by himself! Tired of inanimate objects to move, he joined the wrestling team to garner a 32 and 2 career which would later, in 2015, put Frank in the MIAA Wrestling Hall of Fame. One particular training technique in his wrestling career that should be noted was his ability to do a reverse planche balancing on hands and feet with face up, with a full grown man sitting on his chest!!!

As one would imagine, Frank became bigger, faster and stronger with age. He dogged the Olympic lifts to give him 15 state Olympic lifting titles and 10 New England Championships!! It was here that a series of very important events occurred in Frank’s life that would lead him to becoming one of the greatest strongmen of all time.

Frank, in the summer of 1986 won the New England Strongest Man contest while suffering from strep throat and torn psoas muscles! It was at this contest that this author talked with noted CT lifter, Frank Gancarz. Frank had mentioned that he had never seen someone quite so strong as Ciavattone. Ironically, it was Gancarz who by promoting an odd-lift meet, would be the one to spark interest in Frankie of being a strong man. At about the same time, notable lifter Bill Clark let it be known to Frankie that there was an incredible organization called the United States All-round Weightlifting Association which sanctioned strong man type meets and lifts.

With Frankie’s new found success in Gancarz’ meet, he decided to shift gears and become a lifter who would be one of the most notable strong men of modern times! Frank went on a record rampage in the International All-round Weightlifting Association. Outside the Hotel of Potarch in Glasgow, were two enormous boulders made long ago to tether horses. One weighed 445lbs and the other 340 lbs. Each stone had embedded in it an iron ring of one half inch diameter; just narrow enough to get one’s hands around a ring. Strongman Donald Dinnie made the stones famous by lifting them both from the ground simultaneously! While competing in Scotland, Frankie became part of a rare fraternity by lifting the stones without straps!!!! As if this weren’t enough; back in the states, he proceeded to place himself in the pages of the coveted Guiness Book of World Records by lifting 808lbs strapped to his neck! !This record occurred   in 2005. It was obvious that Frank’s strength was incomparable and out of a liking for it he decided to specialize in one hand deadlifting which hadn’t been practiced to great degree   since the famous California strong man Art Walge.

Frank broke the world record in multiple weight classes and multiple age groups in the one handed deadlift making every lift official. He ended up with a prodigious one handed 562 in the one handed deadlift and 402 behind the back !!! It’s safe to say that he has been the most successful and greatest practitioner of this lift ever. So one would wonder just how this strong man trained on the lift.

Franks’s program is both basic and sound. He trained three times a week on the lift. One day he specialized in strengthening his grip. One day he would train on doing heavy singles with the lift and one day he would concentrate on a high set of   five repetitions. Like all strong men, he would accessorize his routine with assistance work of reverse curls, the thumbless   deadlift, and the Ciavattone deadlift.

This last exercise is a deadlift named for the great strongman in that it is done with knuckles forward in each hand and NO hook grip! It’s inconceivable that these records will be broken save for one thing; the strength of Frankie’s heart. It’s the only thing stronger than his amazing strength. His kindness, mentoring and inspiration deeply touches all those that meet him. So strong is this effect that just maybe one day, a young man or woman will be inspired enough to go beyond where Frankie left off.

“A man is not known by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart”- Zeus

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