Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

Records From Nationals

by Al Myers

It was great to see Bob Geib back in action at the USAWA Nationals. In this picture Bob is setting a new USAWA Record with his 320# 12 inch base deadlift.

It is always exciting to see new USAWA Records set or broken.  As our Record List gets longer and longer, getting new records becomes more difficult. The USAWA has been accumulating records for close to 25 years, and the USAWA  Record’s Director Joe Garcia has been the “man in charge” of this for nearly this entire period. That’s a lot of entering numbers!!  In fact at the Annual National Meeting, Joe announced that the USAWA Record List is approaching 10,000 records in length!  The lifters at this year’s Nationals “did their job” of adding to this list.  89 new USAWA Records were established.  I looked back at the list and believe it or not, but this year’s National Championships made the TOP TEN of ALL-TIME amongst the number of records in the Record List from National Championships! That is quite an accomplishment considering that we have now had 24 USAWA National Championships, and several Championships with more lifters and more lifts contested than this one.  That goes to show the quality of lifting that we had at this years Championship.  Of the lifts contested at this Championship, the One Arm Dumbbell Snatch provided the most records with 24 Records.  The Zercher Lift provided the fewest new records with 9.   Susan Sees and Helen Kahn tied with the most new records set in the Women’s Division with 9 records each. In the Men’s Division, Bob Geib and John O’Brien tied with 8 new records each.  I always notice when old records (those set years ago) get broken.  Dean Ross had this distinction of breaking the OLDEST RECORD with his 240# Zercher Lift in the 65+, 125+kg Class.  The previous record was held be Buck Harris at 220 pounds set at the 89 Nationals on June 25th, 1989.  Now lets take a look at the TOP TEN Nationals considering number of USAWA records:

RANK RECORDS EVENT MEET DIRECTOR LOCATION
1 119 2003 Nationals  Hartzell & LaRosa  Youngstown, OH
2 117 2004 Nationals  John Vernacchio  Lansdale, PA
3 116 2005 Nationals  Hartzell & LaRosa  Youngstown, OH
4 108 1990 Nationals  Attilio Alacchi  Akron, OH
5 107 1999 Nationals  Montini & McKean  Ambridge, PA
6 97 1997 Nationals  Clark & Garcia  Columbia, MO
7 95 1998 Nationals  Frank Ciavattone  Mansfield, MA
8 94 1989 Nationals  John Vernacchio  Plymouth Meeting, PA
9 90 1995 Nationals  Clark & Garcia  Columbia, MO
10 (tie) 89 2000 Nationals  Denny Habecker  Lebanon, PA
10 (tie) 89 2000 Nationals  Thom Van Vleck  Kirksville, MO

I would like to make the comment that this year (2011 National Championships) is the ONLY EVENT on this list where the meet contained less than 20 lifters.  That is something the lifters at this meet should be proud of! 

New USAWA records established at the 2011 USAWA National Championship – NationalsRecords

Coming tomorrow – The TOP TEN INDIVIDUALS who have records in the USAWA Record List that were set at a National Championship.

2011 Nationals: Meet the Loaders

by Thom Van Vleck

Mitch Ridout and Tedd Van Vleck were the loaders for the entire meet and didn't make a SINGLE MISLOAD!

Every meet I’ve been to the loaders have been thanked and rightfully so.  I’ve been a loader before and one time at a meet with about 70 lifters!  It’s hard, thankless work.  The only time anyone notices the loaders is if there’s a miss load!  And at Nationals there were none!  So these guys were barely noticed.

Often, when you look for volunteers for loading the room will empty quicker than a request for a suicide mission during Armageddon!  But I had two guys step up to save the day.  My brother, Tedd Van Vleck, and my “brother from another mother” Mitch Ridout.  Actually, Mitch rented a room from my Mom at one time and she jokingly calls him her “favorite” son (at least I think she’s joking).  Mitch has been my friend for over 20 years and anybody that can put up with me for that long deserves a trophy……especially after the work I get out of him!

Tedd and Mitch both were signed up to lift.  But I was short loaders and I asked them to step in and they took a bullet for JWC team (or maybe Team Ledaig wouldn’t have had a cake walk for the team title!…..Ok, so maybe they would have still won since they had the best lifter in both men and women’s catagories).  But that thinned the JWC ranks out considerably.  I do know that my brother said at the end of the day he wished he’d lifted instead….he thought he’d be less sore!  I also noticed that Dean Ross, who lifted in the morning session, was helping Mitch and Tedd in the afternoon.  That’s the kind of stuff that makes these meets work!

So a special thanks to Mitch and Tedd for being our loaders and allowing the lifters to focus on lifting!  We appreciate you!

2011 Nationals: Behind the Scenes!

by Thom Van Vleck

If it wasn't for my wife Kelly, we would have missed out on the cake!

If you’ve ever run a meet before you know the work that is involved in it and how “Murphy’s Law” can and will apply.  I thought I would share a few of the “behind the scenes” stories.

The Venue Change

Some time ago I had secured the Rieger Armory for our meet.  This is the home of our local Army National Guard.  It is a great venue and I was pleased to get it.  Plus, it had air conditioning!   Two weeks out I called up to “confirm” the date and the time I could start moving things in.  It was at this time I found out they were on their annual two weeks of active duty.  I left a message to call me back.  The Tuesday before the meet I got the call and I found out they were being put on “standby” due to flooding and they were “commandeering” the armory!  At that point, the scramble was on.  I had several back ups, but the big issue you run into with more of the better locations is insurance.  I used to hold things on city owned property and they would sponsor the event and we would fall under their umbrella coverage….but no more (I suppose a special thanks goes to frivolous lawsuits).  As I made calls and found most were already booked, I narrowed it down to two places.  One with air conditioning that would basically be like lifting in a warehouse (it was an auction house) or the Willard School Gym where we ended up which had no air conditioning.  I checked the long range forecast and saw a high of 77 with a low of 59 the night before.  I borrowed a huge fan and rolled the dice.  The next weekend the forecast was for mid 90’s and that gym would have been miserable!  That worked out great in the end.  It was not the first time I lost my venue last minute….probably not the last….always have a back up plan!!!

The Shirts

I love Sunbrite laundry.  The Hettinger family that runs it have been really good to me, it’s one of the few family owned, locally owned business in Kirksville and I try to keep as many of my $$$ locally as I can.  But Josh Hettinger always seems to run up until the last minute with the shirts I order from him.  I have to say this, he ALWAYS comes thru…..but he has to admit….he did bring the shirts in Saturday morning and that gives the meet director high blood pressure.  The first event I EVER ran my shirt guy (not Sunbrite….this guy later went our of business and for good reason) showed up at NOON with my shirts and they were screwed up.  This was after me going by repeatedly trying to proof them and get him to get them done.  “Checks in the Mail” comes to mind!

The Awards

For the last several years I have bought 2lb anvils from Grizzly tools.  They were unique awards and symbolic of Grandpa Jackson’s anvil that led to my grandfather starting his weightlifting career in the first place.  I went to order more and found out they were no longer selling them!  So I scrambled on the internet to find a replacement and finally did.  However, when I ordered them they were placed on back order!  The sales rep assured me I’d have them on time for the meet (again “Checks in the mail” comes to mind) and sure enough a few days before the meet they came in!  This did not help my blood pressure!

The Cake

This was pretty minor compared to the other things, but my wife suggested we make a “USAWA” cake for the banquet.  I liked the idea and had Al send me the USAWA logo digital file.  He had no idea what I was going to do with it, I thought it would be a nice surprise.  Well, I forgot to order it!  After all, I was already worried about the venue, shirts, and awards!   So, my wife jumped in and took charge and literally ordered the cake on Saturday morning!  She picked it up that afternoon!  Clutch play on her part.

Last minute equipment issues

I had in my mind using some 1″ bars I had for the DB Snatch.  Al called me and said he assumed I had some Oly style handles.  I did not so he stopped at a sporting goods store in Topeka to pick a couple up.  The thick bar was one Al had made and was too heavy for some to open with.  So I sent John O’Brien on a quick run home to get a lighter one that I had meant to bring, but forgot.  I think I sent him a “list” of things to get, but you always seem to forget something!

The Weather

Those that were there will recall that right before the meet started that a storm blew in.  It was not a bad storm but it had plenty of lightning and was dumping ran like crazy.  I had a couple people who were not from the midwest kind of concerned about tornadoes and rightfully so.  But then the roof started to leak!!!!  I had visions of the roof starting to leak all over and ruining the meet!  The funny part is that I run a lot of outdoor strongman and Highland Games….I was thinking before hand that the weather would be no concern since we were inside!  Boy, was I wrong.  Luckily, the ran stopped and so did the leaky roof!

Other than that…haha….the meet ran fine!  I considered it a success and I hope those attended had a great experience!  Again, you never pull these things off alone and if I didn’t have an understanding wife first and foremost, this would never have happened.

Minutes from the 2011 ANM

by Al Myers, USAWA Secretary

Minutes from the 2011 Annual National Meeting

The 2011 USAWA Annual National Meeting was called to order by USAWA President Denny Habecker.  The meeting started promptly at 6:30 PM on June 24th in the Jackson Weightlifting Club’s Training Hall.  Roll call was taken and these 12 USAWA members were in attendance: Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Thom Van Vleck, John O’Brien, Rudy Bletscher, Randy Smith, Helen Kahn, Judy Habecker, Dennis Mitchell, Larry Traub, Chad Ullom, and Joe Garcia.  The first agenda item was the reading of the previous meeting’s minutes by USAWA Secretary Al Myers.  Although they were quite long and boring, Randy Smith still moved that they be accepted.  Chad Ullom provided the second and they were passed unanimously. The next item was the financial report by USAWA Treasurer Al Myers.  A net loss for the year of $1242.60 was reported.  A budget for 2011 was presented that had been prior approved by the Executive Board.  Chad Ullom moved to accept the report, with a second by Thom Van Vleck, and it was passed unanimously.  The next report given was by the Officials Director Joe Garcia.  Joe detailed the number of current officials, along with a suggestion that it was time to update the Officials Test. The next report given was by the Website Director Al Myers.  Several of the website statistics, along with some general comments regarding soliciting sponsorship for the USAWA by using the website as the means of giving our sponsors advertising exposure was reported.  The next agenda item was the report from the Records Director Joe Garcia.  Joe reported that the USAWA Record List is approaching 10,000 records.  He also gave some interesting statistics regarding the records.  The report from the Awards Director Al Myers was next.  The report explained the purpose of the award programs and what awards were given this past year on behalf of the USAWA.  Chad Ullom, the Drug Enforcement Director, gave his report next.  He explained our current drug testing program, and how it has been improved by testing more competitions and more competitors. 

The next agenda item was the discussion and vote on 6 new proposed USAWA lifts.  These six lifts were: the Appollons Lift, the Cyr Press, the Saxon Snatch, the Dinnie Lift, the Goerner Stroll, and the Jackson Press.  After a little discussion, Larry Traub moved these lifts be accepted, which was seconded by Judy Habecker.  An amendment to the motion was made by Al Myers to accept as USAWA records in these lifts any records that have been done during this past year under the proposed rules.  The amendment was seconded by Judy Habecker and the motion passed unanimously.  At this point a vote was called on accepting the proposed lifts and it passed unanimously.  At this point as required by our USAWA rules, a call from the floor was made to ask if anyone had an official USAWA  lift they wanted proposed to IAWA for acceptance.  Only one lift was proposed, and that lift was the Bent Over Row as proposed by Al Myers on behalf of John McKean.  Chad Ullom provided the second and it was passed unanimously.  The next item was several proposed USAWA Rulebook changes that was presented by Al Myers on behalf of the Executive Board.  Most of the proposed Rulebook changes were to bring the USAWA rules into compliance with the IAWA rules.  After reading all of the proposed changes, only one item caused the membership to be in disagreement, and that was the rule involving the Bench Press – Feet in Air.  The proposed change was to allow a bench to rest the lower legs on during the lift, as allowed by the IAWA.  Judy Habecker moved  to strike this proposed change from the list, with Chad Ullom providing the second.  A vote was taken and the motion was upheld with a vote of 8 in favor, 1 opposed, and 3 abstaining.  After some more discussion, Chad Ullom moved to accept the remaining Rulebook changes. Judy Habecker provided a second. Al Myers moved to amend the motion by adding that the new proposed rules take effect August 1st, to allow time for the updated Rule Book to be put on the website.   Judy Habecker provided a second, and the amendment passed unanimously.  A vote on the amended motion was then called for, and it passed unanimously.  The next agenda item was the development of an online store on the USAWA website.  Website Director Al Myers explained how this could benefit the membership by allowing purchase of USAWA promotional items, rulebooks, and other items off the website.  Also explained was the upfront expense of around $500-$1000 that would be required to make this happen to allow for the saleable items to be bought before they would be sold.  The membership seemed to be in agreement on this, and Chad Ullom moved that up to $1000 be used to develop an online store under the direction of Al Myers.  Judy Habecker provided the second and the motion passed unanimously.   The next agenda item was any other new business brought forth by the membership.  The discussion of lifetime membership was the only item brought up.  Several members were in disagreement on whether this would be beneficial for the USAWA.  After much discussion, Chad Ullom moved that this item be looked into further by forming a committee that would report back to the membership at the next meeting.  Rudy Bletscher provided a second and the motion passed unanimously.  The ad hoc committee that was formed consisted of Al Myers, Judy Habecker, and Randy Smith. 

At this point, USAWA President asked if there were any bids for the 2012 National Championships.  There were none.  Judy Habecker moved that the Executive Board be responsible for finding a venue for the next year.  Chad Ullom gave the second, and it passed unanimously.  The last item was the election of officers.  Judy Habecker moved that the current officers and Executive Board members be retained for another term. These officers include: President – Denny Habecker, Vice President – Chad Ullom, Secretary/Treasurer – Al Myers, at large Executive Board Members – Dennis Mitchell and Scott Schmidt.   Larry Traub provided the second, and the motion passed unanimously.  At this point Thom Van Vleck announced that the steaks were done and it was time to eat.  The meeting was in session for 1.5 hours.  Judy Habecker moved to adjourn, Chad Ullom provided a second, the motion  passed unanimously, and everyone quickly exited for the supper table.

National Championships

by Thom Van Vleck AND Al Myers

USAWA Nationals: 2011 Official Meet Report

Group picture from the 2011 USAWA National Championships.

The 2011 USAWA Nationals held in Kirksville, Missouri and hosted by the Jackson Weightlifting Club on June 25th is now in the record books. The event was held in the old Willard School Gym. This building is around 75 years old and for many of the older lifters, it was the type of gym they grew up in! It had old, hardwood floors and a stage on one side with baskets at each end. There was a partitioned warm up area at one end with the main platform at center court. The platforms were well constructed with the main one being 12’x12′. We had a nice light system for the judges and a top notch PA system for the announcer (Al Myers). Wayne Smith, honored guest and original JWC member, made the comment that Al was the best announcer he had ever heard and since Wayne has attended many Olympic lifting Nationals, a World Championships (in Columbus, Ohio when Alexeev broke the 500lb C&J barrier) and even a Pan Am Games I thought that said a lot!!!!

The morning session included the Women and the older master lifters. Amber Glasgow won the women’s overall with Susan Sees getting second in her first ever trip to the USAWA Nationals! Helen Kahn was a close second to Susan.

Three guys that must be mentioned in this early morning group includes Mike Murdock, Dean Ross, and Rudy Bletscher.  These guys have had some epic battles going head to head in the past but what sets them apart is the great respect they have for one another and the wonderful encouragement they give each other. Denny Habecker and Dennis Mitchell both traveled a long way to compete and did some fantastic lifting. I know my mother guessed Denny was 20 years younger than his actual age (see….weight training keeps you young!) and Wayne Smith was so inspired by Dennis Mitchell (they are the same age) that he told me he felt like training and competing again.

Now, let’s take a look a the overall top ten men’s lifters as adjusted by age and weight coefficients.

10. Joe Garcia. Joe was handicapped in this meet by the fact that we did not have a “heavy lift”. Joe is one of the greatest “heavy” lifters of all time but that did not stop him from cracking the top ten.

9. Denny Habecker. Denny came a long way to compete and did not disappoint. He also pulled double duty judging and his wife Judy was the scorekeeper all day long.

8. Dave Glasgow. Dave is looking at elbow surgery soon but that did not stop him from having a great day. All while coaching Team Ledaig to the team championships.

7. John O’Brien. John came in at a heavy 290lbs and he had power to spare. He seemed to be strongest on his third attempts. John was the JWC’s top finisher. John made an easy 240lb Cheat Curl that showed his explosiveness.

6. Randy Smith. Randy has been a top finisher for years in the USAWA and did not disappoint. His Continental of 225lbs on the thick bar really impressed several of us.

5. Sammy Ibrahim was the top junior lifter and showed his potential with this top 5 finish in the men’s overall. Sammy broke several records in the process and his explosiveness in the Dumbbell Snatch was a sight to see.

4. Sam Cox, the winner of the first ever USAWA Old time Strongman contest was barely edged out by Chad Ullom who was 3rd. Sam is only 22 years old and will undoubtedly improve and be a force in the future.

3. Chad Ullom. To give you an idea of the caliber of the lifting in this contest, Chad is the CURRENT IAWA World Champion. No, he did not have an off day, it was just that great of a contest. Chad really impressed me with his  Zercher lift of 445 pounds.

2. Eric Todd. Eric usually competes in strongman competitions as a professional. He has been an All American Wrestler in College and is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met. He dumped a Continental to the Chest attempt right across his leg and simply shrugged it off and on the the next lift.

Larry Traub of the Ledaig Heavy Athletics Club won the Overall Best Mens Lifter in his very first USAWA Nationals appearance.

1. Larry Traub. Larry is a 9 time Master’s National Champ in powerlifting as well has numerous other titles. He lived up to his pedigree by edging out the slimmest victory we’ve seen in some time. Eric missed his last Zercher attempt and had he made it he would have beaten Larry for the overall. Just 5lbs either way! Larry pulled a nice 560lbs Deadlift that in the end won the contest for him.

No meet report would be complete without those who work behind the scenes. I would especially like to thank my wife, Kelly, who helped me with lots of details on this meet. She was solely responsible for the Friday night meal, the lunch on meet day, the beautiful cake at the awards banquet, and making sure the banquet ran smoothly until I got there.

The loaders were JWC members Mitch Ridout and Tedd Van Vleck. I know they really wanted to compete, but took the bullet for the team and helped all day. Scorekeeping was done by Judy Habecker and the announcer was Al Myers. JWC Member Brett Kerby set up or spectacular sound system and made sure we were able to open our ceremony with the National Anthem.

Be sure and check back in the following days. We will have special reports on the USAWA Awards that took place at the awards banquet, the special display honoring past champions at the meet, and some of the “stories within the story” that really made this event special.

MEET RESULTS

RESULTS:

2011  USAWA National Championships
Kirksville, Missouri
June 25th, 2011

Meet Directer: Thom Van Vleck

Lifts:  Snatch – Dumbbell, One Arm, Curl – Cheat, Pullover and Push, Continental to Chest – Fulton Bar, Deadlift – 12″ Base, Zercher Lift

Officials (3 -0fficial system used on all lifts):  Session 1 – Steve Schmidt, Joe Garcia (head judge), Randy Smith; Session 2 – Steve Schmidt, Denny Habecker (head judge), Dennis Mitchell

Announcer:  Al Myers

Scorekeeper:  Judy Habecker

Loaders:  Mitch Ridout, Tedd Van Vleck

Photographer:  Flossy Mitchell

Sound System: Brett Kerby

WOMENS RESULTS

Lifter Age BWT Snat Crl P&P Con DL Zer Total Points
Amber Glasgow 32 142 45-R 75 110 85 240 155 710.0 784.8
Susan Sees 48 197 40-R 90 90 80 210 100 610.0 599.4
Helen Kahn 59 163 25-R 60 55 60 170 95 465.0 562.2

Extra attempts for records:

Amber Glasgow: Deadlift 12″ Base – 255#
Helen Kahn: Continental to chest – 75#
Helen Kahn: Deadlift 12″ Base – 185#
Susan Sees: Continental to Chest – 90#

MENS RESULTS

Lifter Age BWT Snat Crl P&P Con DL Zer Total Points
Larry Traub 57 203 90-R 190 235 195 560 325 1595 1668.7
Eric Todd 36 248 130-R 215 425 340 560 420 2090 1665.1
Chad Ullom 39 250 140-R 215 355 320 550 445 2025 1606.8
Sam Cox 22 215 130-R 185 325 315 505 405 1865 1601.7
Sammy Ibrahim 17 172 105-L 175 300 220 425 345 1570 1563.1
Randy Smith 56 196 90-R 170 225 225 405 300 1415 1495.5
John O’Brien 42 290 140-R 240 250 340 475 365 1810 1375.5
Dave Glasgow 57 248 90-R 175 245 195 440 300 1445 1356.7
Denny Habecker 68 194 70-R 120 235 150 325 231 1131 1327.2
Joe Garcia 57 209 90-R 150 225 200 315 225 1205 1239.9
Dean Ross 68 276 70-R 125 175 125 350 225 1070 1043.2
Mike Murdock 71 230 50-R 120 95 125 275 200 865 945.9
Rudy Bletscher 75 215 45-R 90 100 110 275 150 770 899.3
Dennis Mitchell 79 156 27.5-R 76 80 60 210 185 638.5 881.6
Bob Geib 68 268 50-R 115 115 85 300 225 890 880.2

Extra attempts for record:

Dennis Mitchell: Dumbbell Snatch -27.5# Left
Dennis Mitchell: Cheat Curl – 85#
Denny Habecker: Dumbbell Snatch – 75# Right
Denny Habecker: Pullover & Push – 245#
Bob Geib: Dumbbell Snatch – 60# Left
Bob Geib: Deadlift 12″ Base – 320#
Dean Ross: Zercher – 240#
Sammy Ibrahim: Dumbbell Snatch – 110# Left
Sammy Ibrahim: Deadlift 12″ Base – 440#
Chad Ullom: Dumbbell Snatch – 110# Left
John O’Brien: Dumbbell Snatch – 110# Left

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight recorded in pounds. All lifts recorded in pounds.  Total is total pounds lifted.  Points are adjusted points amended for age and bodyweight.

BEST LIFTER AWARDS

BEST OVERALL WOMENS LIFTER – Amber Glasgow
BEST OVERALL MENS LIFTER – Larry Traub
BEST MEN JUNIOR LIFTER – Sammy Ibrahim
BEST MEN SENIOR LIFTER – Eric Todd
BEST WOMEN SENIOR LIFTER – Amber Glasgow
BEST WOMEN MASTERS LIFTER – Susan Sees
BEST MEN MASTERS LIFTER – Larry Traub
BEST MEN 40-44 MASTERS LIFTER – John O’Brien
BEST MEN 55-59 MASTERS LIFTER – Larry Traub
BEST MEN 65-69 MASTERS LIFTER – Denny Habecker
BEST MEN 70-74 MASTERS LIFTER – Mike Murdock
BEST MEN 75-79 MASTERS LIFTER – Rudy Bletscher

TEAM AWARD – Ledaig Heavy Athletics Club

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