USAWA

The close grip bench press IS NOT an official USAWA lift and SHOULD NOT be included in the USAWA Official Record List.

Jesse-
Dont piss Al off.
ET

[b]Quote from KCSTRONGMAN on March 13, 2012, 12:53[/b]
Jesse-
Dont piss Al off.
ET

What he said.

The USAWA site is just about the only web site i look at on a regular basis because i like to read the daily articles on the home page. I occasionally interact with you guy’s on the forum, but i can’t help but think there is a them and us out look on the relationship between USAWA and IAWA. The amount of lifts either recognised or not recognised by either to be quite honest baffles me some times.

I know when i first joined the all-rounds there was a feeling of them and us from some (or should i say one) guy’s from the USA, but i know for a fact that chaps like Howard Pretchtel, John Vernaccio, Frank Ciavattone And John McKean made it very clear they distanced them selves from the them and us. On my first trip to a World Champs. Frank Put me up without having ever met me. And Howard started coaching me on the day. There was only one guy from the USA who was negative and asked the British if i had been drug tested.

Frank Ciavattone even invited me to guest lift in the 1996 USAWA championships because he wanted me to out lift certain people who seemed to get a lot of limelight in America, but never put it on the line at a World Championships. And win i duly did, with Howard having a Commemorative USAWA Gold Medal engraved for me, And Frank Honouring me with an award in his Fathers memory.

Now Howard, John, John & Frank are either not with us anymore and taking a back seat, it seems that some times the them and us mentality has returned!

I don’t fully agree with you on this point Steve. I know there are alot of differences between the USAWA and the IAWA(UK) in rules and lifts, but our overall philosophies are the same towards all round lifting. These rule/lift differences have been there for years, it’s just now these things have received more publicity due to the website.

In lots of ways I would say the relationship between the USAWA and the IAWA(UK) is better now than EVER BEFORE. Most of this is due to the leadership of Denny Habecker and Steve Gardner. These two have done SO MUCH for IAWA – they both put the organization first, even above themselves.

One thing which makes things seem “them and us” is the poor turnout of foreign lifters at the World Championships each year (this applies to the USAWA, the IAWA(UK),and the Aussies). The World Championships is the place where you meet lifters from other countries and make new life long friends who share the passion for all round weightlifting as yourself. I have been fortunate to have attended several of the recent Worlds, and all of them have been great successes. All organizations seem to come together for the “greater good” of IAWA. Al

The dont piss Al off comment was a joke.
ET

ET….so you are saying Al is a Joke! haha

I think sometimes when we reply on message boards and we are in a hurry the inflection of the message can be easily lost. Al is just a big, ol’ cuddly teddy bear….just ask Chad.

I get a little frustrated with different things with the USAWA, but at the end of the day….UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.

There’s a big push in the states to focus on “diversity”. I think we need to focus a lot more on “unity”, the things we have in common and share. For example, A HUGE one is the drug issue. The IAWA and USAWA can wholeheartedly agree on that one!