Author Archives: Al Myers

Trivia Answers

By Al Myers

Hopefully everyone took the trivia contest the other day over the history of the National Championships.  Today I’m going to go over the answers, and since this is a self-graded trivia contest – check your own answers.  If you are brave enough please share your results on the USAWA Discussion Forum. The answers to all these questions can be found in the History Archive here on the website.

1.  What is the year of the first National Championships?

1988.   The first USAWA National Championships was held July 9-10th, 1988 at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.  It was promoted by John Vernacchio.

2.  Name one lift that has been contested in 10 or more National Championships?

7 lifts have been contested at Nationals 10 or more times. They are the Zercher Lift (16 times), The Deadlift – One Arm (15 times), the Pullover and Push (13 times), The Clean and Press – Heels Together (12 times), The Snatch – One Arm (11 times), The Hip Lift (10 times), and the Neck Lift (10 times).

3.  Only a handful of USAWA meet promoters have promoted 3 or more Championships, Name one.

Actually this list is quite long. Here are possible answers.

John Vernacchio – 1988, 1989, and 2004

Art Montini & John McKean – 1991, 1999, and 2002

Frank Ciavattone – 1996, 1998, and 2016

Denny Habecker – 2000, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2015

Al Myers – 2006, 2009, and 2012

Bill Clark & Joe Garcia – 1995, 1997, and 2001

4.  Name 5 states that have hosted Nationals.

The 7 states that have hosted Nationals are: Pennsylvania (12 times), Ohio (6 times), Massachusetts (4 times), Missouri (4 times), Kansas (2 times), Nevada (1 time), and Illinois (1 time).

5.  The 25th anniversary of the Nationals was held where?

The 25th USAWA Nationals was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 30th, 2012.  This year (2017) marked our 30th anniversary of the USAWA National Championships.

6.  Name 3 men lifters who have won Overall Best Lifter at Nationals.

These 16 men have won overall best lifter titles at Nationals: Al Myers (7), Art Montini (4), Bob Hirsh (3), Ed Schock (3), Steve Schmidt (2), Barry Bryan, Joe Ciavattone Sr., Joe Ciavattone Jr., Mike McBride, Bill DiCioccio Sr., John Monk, Denny Habecker, Jim Malloy, Larry Traub, Randy Smith, and Chad Ullom

7.  Name 3 women lifters who have won Overall Best Lifter at Nationals.

These 15 women have won overall best lifter titles at Nationals: Noi Phumchaona (4), Susan Sees (3), Jacqueline Caron/Simonsen (3), Jeanne Burchett (2), Amorkor Ollennuking (2), Amber Glasgow, Cindy Garcia, Cassie Morrison, Kerry Clark, Cara Ciavattone, Su.J. Mason, Rita Hall, Pam Maciolek, Elizabeth Month, and Molly Myers

8.  What month is the most common month Nationals has been held?

June – 21 of the 30 Nationals have been in this month.

9.  Out of our close to 200 official lifts in the USAWA, how many have been contested at prior Nationals.  Multiple choice here. A. Under 25, B. 26-75, C. 76-125, D. Over 126

ANSWER IS B. 55 of our official lifts have been contested at a past National Championships.

10. TRUE/FALSE  The USAWA National Championships has always been a two day meet.

ANSWER IS FALSE.  9 Nationals have been one day events.  However, the first one day Nationals wasn’t till 2006.

Welcome to the Club

By Al Myers

I just got done updating the USAWA Record List with the recent results from the USAWA National Championships. I usually let 2 or 3 meets go by before I update the online record list, but I wanted to get on this quick for one reason.  That’s because I knew Randy Smith was standing at 99 USAWA records for one year (since last years Nationals) and I knew he had to set at least one record at Nationals to make the CENTURY CLUB.

And that he did, so welcome to the CENTURY CLUB Randy Smith.  And then to my surprise Eric Todd has now made it as well.  Congrats ET as I know you have working at this for a long, long time.  Eric’s first USAWA competition was over 15 years ago in which he first set a USAWA record. With the addition of Randy and Eric to the CENTURY CLUB, the Men’s Club now stands at 23 members.  Not much changed in the Men’s overall ranking.  Denny still holds a commanding lead, over Art and myself.  John McKean stills solid at number 4, and Joe Garcia and Dean Ross are tied at the number 5 spot.  These 5 lifters are the only ones over the 300 record mark. Other changes include Scott Schmidt climbing a spot (past fellow Cleveland native the legendary Howard Prechtel) to number 12, and LaVerne Myers moving from number 16 to 14.  Chris Waterman’s return at Nationals allowed him to add several records to his count, thus moving him up to a tie for 17th.

In the Women’s Century Club, there was a BIG CHANGE.  RJ has finally overtaken Noi for the number one spot, with 271 records.  Many consider Noi as the most decorated women’s lifter in the history of the USAWA, so this is a major accomplishment for RJ.   Congrats RJ as I know you have worked very hard to achieve this. Mary Mac and Susan Sees round out the Women’s Century Club.

(The Trivia Answers blog will be ran tomorrow as I’m still getting responses from those who have taken the quiz)

National Meet Trivia

By Al Myers

I have just finished updating the history archives with the new “history” from our recent National Championships.  I don’t know if anyone really ever looks at this history archive except me, but it’s something I think is important to our organization – to preserve the history of the USAWA.  The late Dale Friesz was always a big help to me with this as he was a history buff, as I often referred to him as the unofficial historian of the USAWA.  I promised myself that I would keep our history archive going (even though at times it is time consuming) just because I know Dale would have wanted it that way.

So today I’m going to do a little history test, based on information from our history archives. Please take the test yourself and see how you do (without looking up the answers of course!!!) If you score over 75% that means you are a Dale qualified historian or just long in the tooth.  Scoring over 50% should be everyone’s goal, as that means you know a thing or two about the USAWA.  If you are under 25% you should spend some time studying our history archive!!!  Now let the trivia test begin!!!! (Answers will be the topic of tomorrow’s story)

1.  What is the year of the first National Championships?

2.  Name one lift that has been contested in 10 or more National Championships?

3.  Only a handful of USAWA meet promoters have promoted 3 or more Championships, Name one.

4.  Name 5 states that have hosted Nationals.

5.  The 25th anniversary of the Nationals was held where?

6.  Name 3 men lifters who have won Overall Best Lifter at Nationals.

7.  Name 3 women lifters who have won Overall Best Lifter at Nationals.

8.  What month is the most common month Nationals has been held?

9.  Out of our close to 200 official lifts in the USAWA, how many have been contested at prior Nationals.  Multiple choice here. A. Under 25, B. 26-75, C. 76-125, D. Over 126

10. TRUE/FALSE  The USAWA National Championships has always been a two day meet.

Minutes 2017 AGM

By Al Myers, USAWA Secretary

2017 Annual General Meeting Minutes

The 2017 Annual Meeting of the USAWA was called to order by USAWA President Denny Habecker at 4:30 PM on June 24th, 2017 at the West Park YMCA in Cleveland following the days lifting.  Roll call was taken with these members in attendance: Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Dennis Mitchell, Cale Dunlap, Cody Lokken, Brandon Rein, Frank Ciavattone, Kathy Schmidt, Scott Schmidt, Roger LaPointe, Jackson LaPointe, Bob Geib, Susan Sees, LaVerne Myers, Tim Moore, Judy Habecker, and Randy Smith. Previous years minutes were read by Al Myers, Secretary. Frank moved to accept the minutes with a second by Judy.  It passed unanimously. The treasurers report was given by Al Myers, Treasurer. A break even year was reported for the USAWA in 2017. Frank moved to accept the report, with a second by Bob, and it passed unanimously. Next a report from website director Al Myers was given. A long listing of things the website provides was given. Judy moved to accept, a second was made by Frank, and it passed with unanimous vote. The report from the Awards Director Al Myers was given next, which included the function of the awards program and the presentation of the annual awards. Frank moved to accept the report, a second was given by Randy, and it passed unanimously. The report from Records Director Al Myers was given next which included how the record list is now online, that a sort function by Rocky Morrison was added to help sort and identify records, and a call to the membership if errors are noticed please notify the director so errors can be fixed.  Frank moved to accept, a second was given by Bob, and it passed unanimously. The Drug Enforcement Director report was given next.  Chad Ullom was not in attendance but prepared a report for Al Myers to give on his behalf. Close to 20 drug tests in over 10 competitions were done during the past year, with all negative results.  Intentions are to do the same number of tests during the next year.  Frank moved to accept, with a second by Judy, and it passed with unanimous vote.  The next agenda item was the Officials Report.  The USAWA Officials Director is Joe Garcia, who was not in attendance and had not forwarded his report to anyone to give on his behalf, so no Officials Report was given.  Al Myers commented that giving a Directors Report is expected of a USAWA Director, and not giving one is not fulfilling the expectations of the position.  Denny Habecker, the Postal Meet Director, gave his report next. Denny explained how the postal meets function, with one every quarter.  He made a call to the membership for more participation.  Frank moved to accept the report, a second was made by Scott, and it passed with unanimous vote.  The report from the IAWA Technical Committee Chairman Dennis Mitchell was given next. Dennis commented that no complaints have been made to the committee and nothing new has been presented. Frank moved to accept the report, a second was made by Bob, and it passed unanimously. The presentation of three new proposed lifts were the next agenda item. The rule of the  first lift, the Clark Lift proposed by Bill Clark, was read to the membership by Al Myers. All new proposed lifts must first be reviewed and voted on by the Executive Board in order to be presented to the membership for vote. Discussion included Randy Smith asking about the height of the bar at the lifters 1/3rd height being used, and wondered if a set height like the Peoples Deadlift should be used instead.  Al Myers commented that a fraction of a person’s height has been used in other lifts like the Anderson Squat and Anderson Press.  Randy then asked if the Clark Lift has every been done in competiton as an exhibition lift to see how it went.  No one in attendance had a comment on this question. The general concensus of the members in attendance felt that it should be tried out first as an exhibition lift before being passed as a new official lift of the USAWA.  Bob moved to table the vote, a second was made by Randy, and it passed unanimously. The next proposed lifts were the Pinch Grip Deadlift and the Pinch Grip Strict, proposed and presented by Al Myers. I read the new proposed rules of each. I explained how the current rules for the Pinch Grip have been lacking in description, and that the lift has turned into a Pinch Grip Deadlift with the excessive front hang being used. The proposal was to rename the current Pinch Grip as the Pinch Grip Deadlift with some minor rule changes so current records would not be lost, and the introduction of a new Stict Pinch Grip which would not allow fronthang/backhang which was the original intent of the Pinch Grip Lift. There was no discussion amongst the membership. Frank moved to accept these two new lifts with a second by Bob, and it passed with unanimous vote.  Discussion and vote on some rule changes was next. The first rule change was the addition of the Thumb Lift to the rule book as it had been previously passed years ago as a official lift but never added to the Rulebook.  Frank moved to accept, with a second by Bob, and it passed unanimously. The second rule change was to add the word “strict” to the name of the Reverse Curl for clarification of the lift.  Bob moved to accept, a second was made by Scott, and it passed with unanimous vote.  New Business was the next agenda item. There was no new business.  Election of officers were next.  A call by the President to current officers if they wanted to remain in office was made.  Frank Ciavattone requested that he not run for re-election. All other officers agreed to run again for their current position. Frank nominated Rocky Morrison to the Executive Board to replace his position. No other nominations were made by any member in attendance. A vote was taken to retain the current officers and Rocky to the Executive Board as all officers/executive board members were running unopposed.  It passed with unanimous vote. The officers of the USAWA for the next two years are: President Denny Habecker, Vice President Chad Ullom, Secretary/Treasurer Al Myers, At Large Executive Board Members Dennis Mitchell and Rocky Morrison. Nationals meet director Bob Geib then gave a short report on the weekends events and the upcoming banquet.  Bob thanked Scott for his help in planning the Nationals.  Bob then moved to adjourn the meeting with a second by Frank, and it passed unanimously.  The meeting ended at 4:55 PM making it the shortest Annual Meeting of the USAWA in history, which was a good thing as we had to be out of the facility by 5:00PM.

My Nationals Weekend

By Al Myers

This is my monster Northern Pike I caught in Canada the week before the meet!

This is my monster Northern Pike I caught in Canada the week before the meet!

This is not intended to be a meet report, but rather “my take” on the Nationals Weekend. First of all, it was a busy week for me as I was on a fly-in fishing trip for trophy Northern Pike way up North in Canada before I even got to Cleveland.  I was worried that I was gonna wear myself out before the meet with all the big fish I caught up there.  Plus, the all you can eat delicious home-style meals served at night (along with the big breakfasts and shore lunches) that I was never going to make weight at the meet.  Well, reeling in those big Pike must have loosened up my shoulders a bit instead, and working hard all day on the lake must have burned more calories than I predicted as I did make my weight class at the meet and was able to do a token clean and push press with my bum shoulders to get a mark in it.

Upon arriving Friday evening from a flight from Saskatoon to Cleveland (luckily it was on schedule) I was greeted at the airport by 3 young Dino Gym lifters who were making their first National Meet appearance. These guys made the 15 hour drive to lift with only 2 stops (oh to be young with a large bladder).  I was greeted with a sign at the airport that said, “Welcome back from rehab, Big Al”. Thus the fun begins.

We all stayed at a lodge in Vermilion that my buddy John McKean had arranged.  John and his family were staying there, and it was right on Lake Erie.  Truly a beautiful place. I had made plans to fish with John after the meet, and believe it or not, John had promised me that he would show me his secret fishing spot. More on that later.

The boys relaxing at the lodge before the meet.

The boys relaxing at the lodge before the meet.

I can’t say enough about the work meet promoters Bob Geib and Scott Schmidt did for this meet.  They ran into problems two weeks before the meet with the venue location in Vermilion being cancelled on them.  Luckily they were able to secure a meet venue at the West Park YMCA in Cleveland at the last minute. And I’m glad they found this spot.  This YMCA was the location of many All Round meets in the past, including past Nationals, put on by Howard Prechtel.  To say it contained USAWA history puts it mildly.  I was honored to be able to lift there.

The weekend of lifting went super smooth.  Everything was on schedule and everyone seemed to have a super time.  Alot of the USAWA veterans were on hand with a fine mix of newcomers to Nationals.  Several registered clubs were represented – Dino Gym, Habeckers Gym, Schmidt Barbell Club, Ambridge Barbell Club, and Frank’s Barbell Club.  One thing that impresses me with our organization is how everyone “jumps in” and helps.  We had a great group of seasoned officials (Frank Ciavattone, Dennis Mitchell, Denny Habecker, Scott Schmidt, LaVerne Myers, and Randy Smith) who officiated both days.  These guys are the “best of the best” amongst USAWA officials which is what we want for our Nationals.  John McKean and myself did the announcing duties, and Judy did the scorekeeping.  Plus what a great group of loaders we had.  Young Aidan Habecker loaded all weekend as well as lifting and what a great job he did!!!  He took charge of the loads and seemed to know exactly what plates needed put on.  Also, got to mention Franklin and Ryan for all the hard work they did, as well as others.  Not a single misload all weekend!

The only injury we had (unfortunately there seems to always be one at Nationals) was newcomer Tim Moore from Cleveland. Tim is a power house and a great guy and I sure hope to see him again in a USAWA meet. He tore his bicep on the second day doing the One Arm Clean and Jerk.  I’ve since heard from Scott that he has had surgery to repair it and is now on the mend.  If it wasn’t for this injury he would have been in contention for a top spot overall.

I was SO GLAD to see Chris Waterman in the meet. I lifted with Chris over 10 years ago in the USAWA at Nationals.  Chris lifted exceptionally (placing 3rd Overall) and looks in fantastic shape. Obviously he hasn’t laid off the weights in his sabbatical from USAWA competition.  The women’s division had two very veteran lifters – Susan Sees and Kathy Schmidt.  In the end Susan pulled out the Overall Best Womens Lifter (her third, other two were 2015 and 2012).  It was great to see the perennial Nationals competitior Randy Smith there.  I always enjoy lifting with Randy (as well as having a few drinks afterwards with him!).  We had a great time catching up on things.  Randy never seems to change – he looks and lifts the same today as he did 15 years ago when we first met.

Art continues to amaze us with his lifting.  Art, along with Dennis Mitchell, both compete in the 85-89 age group. These two guys really impress me how they have been so consistent with their lifting year after year and never missing the National Championships.  Dennis has competed in more USAWA Nationals than anyone in history, a mark I don’t see being broke. That will be a topic for another story in the future.

My dad LaVerne rounded out the Dino Gym Team at Nationals.  After the first lift, the 1 hand VB lift, in which he had the top mark of the meet, he earned the nickname from “the boys” as Pa Vice Grips.

Hanging out with Scott at his home gym!

Hanging out with Scott at his home gym!

After the lifting on Saturday Scott Schmidt invited me over to his house and to see his home gym.  When me and “the boys” got there Kathy had a table full of delicious snacks to welcome us. Thank you Kathy!!!!  Scott then showed us his home gym, which is an unbelievable home training facility. I spent 30 minutes just looking at his gym decor.  I really like to see home gyms as they are very unique and often reflect the personality of the owner.  All Round home gyms are much different than any commercial gym, and Scott’s is one of the best I’ve seen.

The Dino Gym Team - Brandon Rein, Cody Lokken, Cale Dunlap, Al Myers, and LaVerne Myers

The Dino Gym Team – Brandon Rein, Cody Lokken, Cale Dunlap, Al Myers, and LaVerne Myers

I was very excited to see the new Dino Gym guys lift (Cale, Cody, and Brandon).  A funny remark John made at the meet announcing, after he was having a hard time keeping them recognized, was that they seem to “be from the same litter.”  That drew laughter from the crowd.   These young lifters have just started to lift at the Dino Gym and all show great promise.  I felt the pressure of being their coach, and just wanted them to lift well and enjoy the experience.  Friday night before the meet back at the lodge I was visiting with John and told him I better go visit with these young lifters and give them a talk to “settle their pre-meet nerves”.  Put it this way – when I got to the beach where they were hanging out they seemed pretty relaxed drinking bourbon and smoking cigars so the talk wasn’t needed.  Then I started to worry that they were following my example too much!

Bob and Scott planned an exceptional banquet following the meet. It was at a place called the West Park Station.  We got there really early, which was nice, as we were able to enjoy the live band and a few Yuenglings on tap outside on a back patio.  I spent a hour telling “the boys” Chad stories. He’s now a legend in their minds. The banquet food was outstanding and it was a buffet (the only way to go after a meet!). The Awards Ceremony was the highlight of the evening.  The meet awards were outstanding. Plus we gave out the USAWA Yearly Awards at that time.  They let us use the microphone that broadcasted over the entire restaurant – so everyone there heard what was going on!  I noticed people not even associated with our group clapping and cheering.  I was joined in the presentation with Scott and Bob, Frank, and an impromptu surprise speech by Brandon.  A very special moment for me that evening was Frank presenting me the Howard Prechtel Plaque.  Every year, in Howard’s memory we present an annual traveling plaque to someone who the previous years recipient feels is worthy of it for their contributions to the USAWA for the prior year. Frank was last years selection. I’ll be honored next year when I can pass this tribute plaque along to someone else.

Fishing with John McKean!

Fishing with John McKean!

The next day, as promised, John took me, my dad LaVerne, and “the boys” to his secret fishing spot.  I wish he would have told me to wear raingear.  John is a master fisherman and ties his own jigs.   These things look like the real thing and the fish can’t resist them! It wasn’t long before we had caught several fish, including a really nice catfish caught by Brandon. I was picking John’s brain on the art of jigging, and luckily John is one who likes to talk so I was getting some of his secrets out of him. It was a great time but the wind kept picking up till all of us were soaking wet, from head to toe.  As John put it, “it was battle conditions!”

The boys eyes were open wide when the feast was served!

The boys eyes were open wide when the feast was served!

The next day we made the long drive home, all in one day but with more stops than two. We made a sightseeing stop in Indianapolis at the Indy Speedway ( “the boys” are big Nascar fans) and at my favorite BBQ place in Columbia, Missouri for supper. I ordered up a large feast fit for Kings, and then as the last bit of coaching I did for the weekend, made the boys eat it all.  Great times!!!!!

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