USAWA

by Al Myers

I was pleasantly surprised when I received my last issue of Dale Harder’s Strength and Speed Newsletter and the “front page feature” was none other than Frank Ciavattone.  Frank is one of the founders of the USAWA, and arguably the strongest lifter that has ever competed in the USAWA.  I was so glad to see Frank get this recognition in Dale’s newsletter – because he deserves it!   Frank has won numerous USAWA and IAWA titles.  I once saw the list of Frank’s Championships and it was so long it took two pages!  Frank is a true all-rounder, and there were not very many lifts he didn’t excel in.  He was a great bar lifter,  grip lifter, heavy lifter, and he even excelled at the one arm lifts.  His one arm deadlift of 562 pounds is an ALL-TIME record in the USAWA and the IAWA.  I consider this record of his the ALL-TIME record of ALL-TIME.  It is the highest of any one arm deadlifts that actually HAD officials judge it.  Sure, Herman Goerner may have the credit for the best ALL-TIME one arm deadlift, but outside of some witnesses, it was not actually judged. 

I have known Frank for several years, but in Dale’s story on him I even learned a few new things about Frank (including some pictures I had not seen before).  Dale has always been very supportive of  all-round weightlifting and the USAWA.  His newsletter  is a must read, and one of the few printed newsletters covering weightlifting nowadays.   I would like to tell more of this story on Frank, but I don’t want to give away all of Dale’s story.  You need a subscription to Strength and Speed for that! 

For subscribing to the Strength and Speed Newsletter and ordering any of Dale’s great books covering weightlifting,  check out his website –http://www.strengthospeedia.org/.   Dale’s email address is daleharderEP@gmail.com.