By Eric Todd, Secretary
2022 MINUTES FROM ANNUAL MEETING OF THE USAWA
The 2022 USAWA national meeting was called to order at 10:15 AM on June 25, 2022 by president Denny Habecker at the Habecker residence in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Denny conducted a roll call, and the following members were present: Barry Bryan, Beth Skwarecki, Barry Pensyl, Frank Ciavattone, Denny Habecker, and Eric Todd. The reading of the minutes from the 2021 national meeting was read by Eric Todd, secretary. Denny Habecker made a motion to accept the minutes as read, with a second from Barry Pensyl. The motion passed unanimously. Next, the financial report was given by treasurer, Eric Todd. It was reported that the USAWA currently has a balance of $9472.85 in the account, which is a increase of $423.36 from last year at this time. Eric stated that we have done well in meet sanctions, we have sold some merchandise, and membership applications and dues are steadily trickling in. Denny made a motion to accept the report, with a second from Frank Ciavattone. Motion passed unanimously. Eric Todd, website director, gave the report on the website next. It was stated that we are in need of contributors to the website. Anything from biographies to training cycles to competition experiences, to updates on lifters present and past. The forum has picked up in its usage. We have decent activity on Facebook. We also have an Instagram presence. Clarification was asked of Beth Skwarecki, who co-runs the Instagram account with Lance Foster. She explained that if a member wished to post something to the USAWA Instagram page, they would either email it to her or Lance, or post on their own page and then tag u.s.a.w.a. It was noted that our Instagram presence has attracted attention from other folks who enjoy the odd-lifts, but are not currently members. Next, the report from awards director, Al Myers was read on his behalf by Eric Todd. Al was not able to attend. It read as follows:
“The awards program provides awards to recognize outstanding performances and contributions within the USAWA. The big part of this award program is the annual awards presented every year at the National Championships. The awards given are the Athlete of the Year, the leadership award, the sportsmanship award, the courage award, the newcomer award, and the club of the year. These annual awards are chosen by the membership. It also includes any “special awards” given out on a selected basis. This year there were no special awards given out. Money used for this program is budgeted from the USAWA treasury. I apologize for missing the National Meeting this year due to my wife’s recent surgery. It’s my first absence in 20 years! I hope everyone’s having a great time and I’ll be thinking of you today!”
The report from records director, John Strangeway was read on his behalf by Eric Todd, as John was not able to attend. It read as follows: “Greetings all. I am glad the meets occurrences are finally back to normal. I don’t have much. Quick note for the members, try and use name consistency while filling in the meet/record sheet. If I know the person it is an easy decision but I am hesitant to alter people I am unfamiliar with incase they are family members, such as a jr etc. Anthony and Tony as an example. I want to thank the meet organizers for adding an asterisk to the records to add/update on the forum. This helps immensely. (note from Eric)-not all promoters are doing this. Please do, It just makes one more thing for me to do if you are not). Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself or through Eric if you notice something not correct on the sheet. I hope to rejoin you all as a full time lifting member next year, recovery has been slow this time around. Thank you all.”
Next, the report from Drug Enforcement Director was given on his behalf by Eric Todd. Chad was unable to attend. It read as follows: “2 tests were given both negative”
The report from the Officials Director, Joe Garcia, was read on his behalf by Eric Todd, as Joe was unable to attend. It reads as follows:
“Officials testing somewhat stagnant over the past couple of years. I believe only one person in the past year or so (Clint Poore). I know a lot of the older members are set as officials, but competition directors should attempt to get non official members to sit for both the practical and written exam. The process is fairly simple and easy to do. Pretty much everyone can benefit from the knowledge gained from going through the process” (note from Eric-Both Beth Skwarecki and Abe Smith have completed their written exam and are officials in training)
Denny Habecker gave the report as Postal Meet Director. He stated that the postal series is going stronger than ever. In 2021 we had 26 competitors in quarter 1, 25 in quarter 2, and 23 in both of the last two quarters. There were 35 participants in all. This year, quarter 1 postal saw 31 competitors. Denny said that he had already received a decent number of results for quarter 2, and there was still time remaining to get them in.
Next up was the report from IAWA Technical Committee Chairman Dennis Mitchell on upcoming IAWA events and other technical issues that are being discussed by the IAWA Technical Committee. It read as follows:
“I have not received any requests for approval of new lifts, or questions about rules. Therefore I have nothing to report to the Tech Committee. I have been Tech Chairman for many years now, and feel it is time for someone else to take over this position.”
Members in attendance then engaged in discussion on the prospect of a rule change for the bench press and its variations to allow for the usage of blocks under the feet. Eric Todd mentioned that the rules written as they are makes the bench press undoable for younger children. Beth Skwarecki mentioned that it often puts women lifters at a disadvantage when bench press lifts are contested. The proposed language was to add “or on blocks” to the sentence “The feet must be flat on the floor and not braced against the bench during the lift” to make it read “The feet must be flat on the floor or on blocks and not braced against the bench during the lift.” Barry Pensyl and Beth Skwarecki mentioned that it would be possible under that language for a lifter to distort the lift by using taller blocks than necessary. Eric Todd argued that he did not see how that would give the lifter an advantage. The consensus was that we should add language to make it clear what the lift should look like so that there was no possibility of distorting the lift. The sentence was changed to “The feet must be flat on the floor or on blocks with hamstrings remaining in contact with the bench and feet not braced against the bench during the lift.” Denny Habecker made a motion to accept the rule change to include the new language. Beth Skwarecki seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
We then moved into discussion over the adding the Jefferson lift for each of the individual fingers. Eric Todd stated that there was really no reason not to, as the IAWA has those lifts. Beth Skwarecki pulled up the IAWA rulebook on her phone, and confirmed that those are IAWA lifts. The language would read as follows:
Jefferson Lift – Fingers, Index
The rules of the Jefferson Lift apply except only the index
fingers of both hands may be used. The index
fingers of both hands may grip the bar in an
alternate manner. The thumb must not be in
contact with the lifting fingers.
Jefferson Lift – Fingers, Little
The rules of the Jefferson Lift apply except only the little
fingers of both hands may be used. The little fingers
of both hands may grip the bar in an alternate
manner. The thumb must not be in contact with the
lifting fingers.
Jefferson Lift – Fingers, Middle
The rules of the Jefferson Lift apply except only the
middle fingers of both hands may be used. The middle fingers of both hands may grip
the bar in an alternate manner. The thumb must
not be in contact with the lifting fingers.
Jefferson Lift – Fingers, Ring
The rules of the Jefferson Lift apply except only the
ring fingers of both hands may be used. The ring
fingers of both hands may grip the bar in an
alternate manner. The thumb must not be in
contact with the lifting fingers.
Denny Habecker made a motion to accept the new lifts as written. Barry Pensyl seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
We then discussed the prospect of doing voting electronically for the national meeting to allow for increased participation. Beth Skwarecki suggested sending out a zoom (or other virtual media platform) link prior to the national meeting to any member that wants to participate virtually. Eric Todd asked for clarification for venues where there may not be wifi, or phone service is at a minimum. Beth suggested adding the following language to the current rule: “Attendance may be done virtually (at the promoters discretion) where technology allows.” Beth made a notion to accept the additional language to the rule. Denny seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Next in the line of discussion was for a change to bylaw 17A. The suggestion was for elimination of the portion that reads “with the final postal meet being the National Postal Meet championship. It was the feeling of the membership that the four quarterly postal meets should have similar value toward the overall championship, with no one leg being worth double value. Denny Habecker made a motion to change the wording accordingly. Beth Skwarecki made the second. The motion passed unanimously.
The membership next delved into the discussion of increasing membership. Beth Skwarecki suggested we start inviting others to our meets, perhaps reaching out to local gyms. Eric Todd suggested that growth should happen at the club level and by expanding into new territories. We do have an influx of lifters from Canada, and growth in Colorado. Beth wondered about running a virtual competition to reach out to new lifters. It was decided at this time, we will look at doing so as an exhibition during this next competition year to get a feel for how such a thing could impact our membership. No records would be set.
New business was the next agenda item. Frank Ciavattone asked about adding a complete history to include each lifter, their individual lifts, and totals, etc. Eric Todd said he was not opposed to such a thing, but suggested it would be a tall order to transcribe all of the old typewritten “Strength Journal” results into digital format. Beth Skwarecki suggested one could take a digital picture of the results and post that to ease the transition a bit. Eric Todd said he would look into that. There was no other new business.
Last on the agenda was a bid for Nationals 2023. Bill Clark sent a bid to host nationals in Columbia, MO in mid to late June, 2023. No other bids were brought forth. Eric Todd made a motion to accept Bill’s bid. The second was made by Denny Habecker. The motion passed unanimously.
As, that was the completion of the items for discussion on the agenda, Frank Ciavattone made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Barry Pensyl made the second. The motion to adjourn passed unanimously. the meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon.
