Ben Edwards – Meet Director of the Dino Grip Challenge
by Al Myers
Ben Edwards, of the Dino Gym, FINALLY closes the Dino Gym's OLD #3 COC Gripper. This was one of the very early COC grippers and noticeably much harder than other #3 Grippers. Ben was certified as closing the #3 COC gripper in May of 2005, and has been working on closing this #3 gripper since. He held the handles together for several seconds. He is only the third person to ever close this gripper - and many have tried. Congratulations Ben!!
When Ben Edwards asked me several months ago if he could sanction a USAWA Grip Meet at the gym, I didn’t hesitate in answering YES. It has been a few years since the USAWA has had a grip competition on the schedule – with the last one being the Supergrip Challenge hosted by Kevin Fulton 5 years ago. The USAWA is loaded with grip events, several of which never get contested in competition. I really feel the beauty of the USAWA is with the great diversity of lifts – and ANY lifter should be able to find a niche. Meets like this exposes new lifters to the USAWA who might not have otherwise.
Ben has picked a good lineup of lifts – from the Weaver Stick to the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift. From what I have heard, this meet may have a GREAT turnout. Ben is still taking entries so get your entry sent in to him! Over the next week I will be running stories on the lifts that will be contested at the Grip Challenge.