Monthly Archives: December 2010

Joe Ciavattone – Level 2 Official

by Al Myers

Joe Ciavattone is now a Level 2 USAWA Official.

Joe Ciavattone Sr., the owner of Joe’s Gym,  has just passed the USAWA Official’s Exam which upgrades him from a Level 1 USAWA Official to a Level 2 USAWA Official.  Level 2 is the highest level of official certification attainable in the USAWA .  This gives Joe LIFETIME CERTIFICATION as an official.  To be eligible as a Level 2 official, an official must have knowledge of the rules (by passing the Rules Exam) and experience officiating (by serving as an official in over 25 USAWA competitions).  There are currently only 11 Level 2 Officials in the USAWA, which makes Joe part of an elite group!

Congratulations Joe!!!

Cyr Press

by Al Myers

Sam Cox, of the Dino Gym, takes a 150 pound dumbbell overhead one handed. What makes this even more amazing is that Sam only weighs 200 pounds!

One of the very popular strength feats done by the Canadian Strongman Louie Cyr was pressing his famous dumbbell one handed.  We are going to honor Cyr and this strength feat by including it in the Old-Time Strongman Competition at the  Dino Gym Challenge.  As with the other strongman lifts in this competition, there are minimal rule restrictions.

The Rule for the Cyr Press:

Any dumbbell with a handle diameter between 1 inch and 1.5 inches is allowed.  The dumbbell may be brought to the shoulder in any manner, but must come to the shoulder before going overhead.  This includes using two hands. Once at the shoulder,  the dumbbell is taken overhead with only one hand anyhow.  The other arm/hand is not allowed to touch the lifting arm during the overhead portion. The feet are allowed to move. If the lifter misses with one arm, the dumbbell may be switched to the other arm during the attempt, but the arm used must be selected at the shoulder.  A time limit of 1 minute is allowed for the attempt.  The dumbbell may be set down or dropped during the attempt.  If the overhead portion of the lift is missed, it may be restarted at the shoulder. Once the dumbbell is overhead motionless with arm straight, the legs straight and feet in line with the torso, an official will give a command to end the lift.

The only role of the official is to be awake at the end of the lift to give the down command!!

Apollons Lift

by Al Myers

Thom Van Vleck, of the JWC, training on his 245# Apollon Wheel Replica.

It’s about time I start highlighting the rules of the events that I plan on having in the Dino Gym Challenge on January 15th, the VERY FIRST strongman competition sanctioned by the USAWA.   Again – this strongman comp will be quite different than modern traditional strongman comps as this one will be based on feats of strength performed by OLD TIME STRONGMEN.  The first event that I am going to profile is the APOLLON’S LIFT.  This event is based on the old-time strongman Louis Uni, aka Apollon.  He made famous the Apollon’s Wheels – a 2″ axle connecting two railway car wheels.  The entire apparatus weighed in at 366 pounds!  David Willoughby made this feat well-known when in his book, The Super Athletes,  he listed it as one of  the “Five famous weights and the men who lifted them.”   Well, I don’t expect anyone to lift a replica of the original 366# Apollon’s Wheels so we will use a lighter set-up.  I do expect this event to be held to the basic dimensions of the original Apollon Wheels so a 2″ axle will be used and a higher bar height will be allowed (since the diameter of the original AW was 26 inches).  The rules for this lift will be very liberal since the object of this strongman feat is to “get it overhead in any fashion”.

The Rules for the Apollon’s Lift:

A 2 inch diameter axle (or Fulton Bar)  will be used as the bar for this lift.  The maximum starting bar height is 12 inches measured from the platform to the bottom of the bar.  Any method may be used to take the bar to the shoulders or overhead.  The bar or plates are allowed to retouch the platform during the lift.  If the bar is placed down or dropped, the lifter may try again as many times as he/she wants within the time limit.  A time limit of 1 minute is allowed.  Once the weight is overhead, with arms’ locked, legs straight,  and the feet in line with the torso,  an official will give the command to end the lift.

All other general rules of the USAWA will apply.  Each competitor will get three attempts of their choosing with the best one counting towards their total.

Australian All-Round Website

by Al Myers

ARWLWA President Peter Phillips was the Overall Best Lifter at the 2007 IAWA World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Recently the All-Round Weightlifting of Western Australia has launched a new website.   It has their up to date schedule, meet results, photos and even some preliminary details of the 2011 World All-Round Weightlifting Championships, which they will be hosting on November 19th and 20th, 2011 in Perth.

Website for All-Round Weightlifting Western Australia Incorporated

The current officers of the ARWLWA are:

President:  Peter Phillips

Secretary:  Justine Martin

Vice President:  Samuel Trew

Treasurer:  Robin Lukosius

Registrar:  Samuel Trew

Goerner Deadlift

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

GOERNER DEADLIFT RESCHEDULED

The Goerner Deadlift has been rescheduled!!!  Bill Clark has sent me a letter giving me permission to reschedule the Goerner Deadlift Dozen plus One at the Dino Gym sometime this month.  The problem is that the month of December is getting away from us!!  I want to keep the annual tradition of the Goerner Deadlift alive, but we are out of weekends in December.  On the weekend of the 18th, Dave is having his record day and then after that we are into the holidays.  So after mulling it over trying to find a  date for it, I have come to the conclusion that only one day is workable  – December 14th. I plan to hold the Goerner Deadlift  in conjunction with the Tuesday Night workout at the Dino Gym!!

Goerner Deadlift Dozen plus One

Time:   Tuesday Night, December 14th, 5:00 PM

Location:  Dino Gym

Entry:  No entry fee or entry form,  but you MUST notify me ahead of time if you plan to attend

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