USAWA

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Scott Tully had the "top lift" at the 2012 USAWA Grip Champioships with this 394# Vertical Bar Deadlift - 2 Bars, 2". This year the 2" Vertical Bar Deadlift will be contested again, but this time with only one Vertical Bar.

For the fourth year in a row now, the USAWA will feature the Grip Championships.  This event allows the showcasing of unique strength, that of grip strength, in crowning a yearly champion.  The USAWA has in its list of lifts numerous lifts that focus on gripping strength, and these are the lifts that are chosen for this Championship.  Each year there is a different selection of lifts in this meet, which allows lifters to demonstrate their specific grip strength from year to year.  This year the lifts in the Grip Champs are:

Pinch Grip (Two Hands)
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, One Hand
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

In addition to this being the USAWA Grip Championships, a postal challenge has been issued with the IAWA(UK).  Mark Haydock, of England, is  promoting  the British Grip Championships on February 2nd, the weekend before the USAWA Grip Championships. .  This year it has been organized that the IAWA(UK) Championships will offer the exact same events as the USAWA, thus setting up the “perfect situation” for a International Postal Grip Challenge between the USAWA and the IAWA(UK).  The IAWA(UK) President Steve Gardner and I have been in contact with each other in setting this up.

Steve  and I have agreed that the “WINNER” will be determined by averaging all the scores from each participant from each Nation to determine the winner of the challenge.  This means that EVERYONE who competes in the Championships will be part of this challenge, no one will be left out, and everyone’s performance matters. This is different than many of the postal challenges of the past, where only a set number of lifters are selected to participate in the final scoring of the event.  We were hoping to have both of our Championships scheduled for the same day, but due to scheduling conflicts we were not able to organize it this way.  Steve has promised to keep the IAWA(UK) scores “secret” till after our event is finished as to not give us the advantage of knowing what we need to beat.  This is looking to be a fun challenge and I hope lots of USAWA lifters show up to support this event!

ENTRY FORM  – 2013 USAWA Grip Championships Entry Form