Changes to Weaver Stick rules
Hey folks, the Executive Board is making a few small changes to the rules around the Weaver Stick lift, to resolve some discrepancies in how it’s written in the rulebook versus how the records have historically been kept. We are not changing the rules of how the lift is performed (you can read more about the rules and their history here), just the way attempts are made and records are kept.
Handedness
The Weaver Stick is a one-handed lift, but unlike most other one-handed lifts, records have not been kept for right and left hands separately. If we were to start keeping right and left handed records, we would need to do something about the current records that do not indicate which hand they were set with. In the end the Executive Board (EB) decided it would be best to keep the records as they are, and change the rulebook to grant the Weaver Stick an exception to the handedness rule. Weaver Stick records will continue to be kept without a left or right hand designation.
Increases between weights
Another discrepancy lies in the use of fractional weights for the Weaver Stick. As anyone who has done it will know, an increase of, say, half a pound from one attempt to another is quite substantial. Fractional pounds are generally not allowed in the record book, but requiring Weaver Stick records to be broken by a full pound in weight was deemed by the EB to be inappropriate. Fractional pounds will continue to be allowed for Weaver Stick attempts and records. The minimum weight by which to exceed a record shall be 1/4 of a pound.
Forward and reverse directions
Finally, the Reverse Weaver Stick lift has not had its own entry in the rulebook, but the rulebook does state that records shall be kept for this lift in the reverse direction as well as the forward direction. To the best of the board members’ knowledge, past records were all done in the forward direction, but we also know that several Weaver Stick lifts at 2024 Nationals were done in the reverse direction and noted as such. The Reverse Weaver Stick lift shall be added to the rulebook and record book.
In taking these actions, the board is doing our best to honor the tradition in which this lift has been done, while also maintaining consistency in the rules in our rulebook. We expect these changes to allow for the Weaver Stick lift to be officiated and recorded appropriately going forward, in a way that provides minimal disruption to the existing records. These changes will be made in a forthcoming edition of the Rulebook.
(A procedural note: Significant rule changes are normally done with a vote at the Annual Meeting, but according to the rules of the USAWA such a vote is only required for changes to the Bylaws and for approving new lifts. The EB has the authority to make all other appropriate and reasonable changes. That said, the membership may overrule EB decisions by majority vote. If anybody has questions or concerns about this rule change, please direct those to the Secretary at bethskw@gmail.com.)
