5 WAYS TO GROW THE USAWA IN 2025

by Clint Poore

Good morning, good day, good afternoon and good night to you!

      This article is about 5 ways to grow the USAWA in 2025.

      1. We can begin 2025 by actively recruiting meet directors in more states. The USAWA currently has active meet directors or clubs in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Louisiana, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Kentucky. One prominent goal should be to increase this to 20 states and meet directors in 2025. An easy way to encourage meet growth in other areas is by adding a link to the website saying “HOST a USAWA MEET in YOUR AREA!” Then we can follow it up by adding a meet director resource page to help new & existing USAWA  meet directors with any questions they might have.

      2. Make the USAWA NATIONALS the premier event of the year! The USAWA Nationals should be the can’t miss event of the year, not just another meet on the schedule. It needs to be special and an event the whole family would want to attend. You may be saying that “it already is”, I will disagree with that statement. The Nationals should take precedence over every other meet and should be the shining example of what the USAWA has to offer lifters. If you have recently lifted outside of the USAWA in a weightlifting or powerlifting nationals, then you will see we as an organization need to to step it up and make the USAWA Nationals the main event of 2025! 

      3. Modernize the USAWA logo. I have inquired about this in the past and was rebuffed by erroneous claims. I have been assured the logo has been changed at least twice before in the past & it’s high time for the USAWA to have a modern and professional looking logo. A logo speaks volumes to potential lifters and the current USAWA logo doesn’t look good at all in the modern world of strength sports. Let’s work together to have a logo that is professional and modern that encompasses everything the USAWA has to offer. Hopefully I will have one to present in the near future, but if someone has a better idea…..lets see it!

      4. Give sponsors a reason to support the USAWA! We are the only strength organization in America that doesn’t allow basic 7mm Knee Sleeves in competition and this needs to change. To further add to this, we need to consider allowing yoga pants/leggings, whichever you call them. This would be a great plus in attracting more women to the USAWA and meet directors can check to make sure they are of non-supportive material. Allowing Knee Sleeves and Leggings/Yoga pants is a step in the right direction and will help open the door to potential sponsors for our larger events. Plus, it would make sense, USA Weightlifting already allows non supportive leggings. 

      5. Finally, we must EMBRACE CHANGE! For the USAWA continue growing its membership, we as an organization must be open to doing things differently than we did in the past. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.  Let’s move the USAWA forward and embrace change to grow in 2025. 2024 was a record membership year for the USAWA with 135 members. Our 2025 goal should be no less than 200 members, if not more. 

            In closing, may we learn from President John F Kennedy’s words, “Change is the Law of Life….and to those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future!” Our 35th President was making a very wise statement that holds true for us today. May we as the USAWA, be open to change and never miss the opportunities of the future!

Be Strong!

Clint Poore

USAWA Championship Events

by Sanjiv Gupta

It has been over seven years since Al Myers penned his piece on Championships in the USAWA (https://www.usawa.com/championships-in-the-usawa/).  I have absolutely no shame in stealing his article ideas and adding my own thoughts.  Eight Championship events have been proposed and contested in USAWA.  There is certainly something for everybody whether your niche is chain lifting, grip, OTSM or true All-Round.  

The events listed are in the order that they were established.

National Championships

Established – 1988

Location- Rotates

Much has already been written about the National Championships.  It has been held continuously since 1988 and had the most variety of host venues.  Past USAWA Nationals (https://www.usawa.com/history-of-iawa/best-lifters-by-year/) is a summary of overall winners, locations, promoters and lifts.  The past 10 years have seen an average of 15 athletes (Max 21 in 2017, Min 7 in 2022).  I attended in 2023 and 2024.

Heavy Lift Championships

Established – 1994

Location – Rotates

Next to the National Championships, this is one of the longest running USAWA events.  The lifts are always the same contesting the Neck Lift, the Hip Lift and the Hand & Thigh Lift.  It has had a continuous run except for 2020.  Eric Todd has won the men’s event 6 times and Steve Schmidt and Frank Ciavattone have won the men’s event 5 times and John Carter has won the men’s event 4 times.  Cara Collins is the only multiple time winner on the women’s side with 3 titles to her name.  This event is more thinly attended with an average of 6 athletes the past 10 years (Max was 9 in 2015, Min was 4 in 2017).

Postal Championship

Established – 2007 (by John Wilmot)

Location – Postal

It has been confusing to get the history of this event.  It started off with 2 events and then 4 events with the fourth event being the Postal Championship.  Records are still kept for the 1st quarter, 2nd quarter and 3rd quarter, but the “Championship” is the 4th quarter event.  In some years the top performer over all 4 meets is reported and winning all 4 postal events would be considered a Grand Slam. It does have the honor of being the only meet contested every year since its inception without fail.  Al Myers and Dan Wagman are tied at 4 each with the most men’s titles.  RJ Jacson is in a class by herself with 7 women’s titles.  As expected, this has had the most participation with an average of 20 athletes (Max was 38 in 2023, Min was 10 in 2014).

Team Championships

Established – 2007

Location – Dino Gym in August or September

While established in 2007, this was last contested in 2021.  From 2007 to 2021 it had a continuous run except for 2020 for obvious reasons.  It has had an average of 3 team enter (Max 8 in 2015, Min 1 in 2021).  Among M/M pairs, Al Myers and Chad Ullom have a total of 12 wins.  RJ Jackson and Molly Myers were the only F/F pair to ever enter winning that division in 2013.  Finally, there have only been 3 mixed pairs with the Kressly Family winning in 2012, 2013 and 2015.  With the recent run on team records during record days, it may be time to bring this one back.

Club Championships

Established – 2010

Location – Ambridge (2010-2012), Ledaig (2013-2019)

The club championship has not been held since 2019.  It is a great format with each club receiving a cumulative score for 3 lifters.  In the 10 years that it has been contested Dino Gym has 6 championships and Ledaig has 4 championships.  Other clubs have competed, but often with incomplete rosters (less than 3 athletes in attendance).  With 10 official clubs in 2024 it may be time to see this established again.

Grip Championships

Established – 2011

Location – Dino Gym in February

I attended this event in 2024 and had a blast meeting some new lifters and challenging my grip.  It has been held continuously except for 2021.  It is generally well attended with an average of 11 lifters in attendance (Max was 17 in 2017, Min was 3 in 2022).  As it is usually held in February in Kansas, I am sure weather occasionally plays a role.  LaVerne Myers has been at the top of the men’s field 7 times and RJ Jackson has been at the top of the women’s field 3 times.

Old Time Strongman Championships

Established – 2011

Location – KC STRONGMAN 

This event has had a continuous run except for 2020.  Featuring the OTSM lifts, it is well attended with an average of 9 athletes (Max 12 in 2017, Min 4 in 2015).  Chad Ullom has the most men’s titles with 4 wins. Phoebe Todd has the most women’s titles with 4 wins.  The most frequently contested lift has been the Dinnie Lift appearing in 6 of the 13 contests.

Presidential Cup

Established – 2012

Location – Hosted by USAWA President (Denny Habecker since 2012) in August

This is an interesting event in that participants are performing record day lifts and the most impressive lift as determined by the president is given the Presidential Cup.  Beth Skwarecki is the only person to win the event twice.  It has had a low turnout with an average of 5 athletes (Max was 8 in 2017 and 2023, Min was 3 in 2014).

Clearance Sale on All USAWA Merch (Updated 11-15-24)

The USAWA is going to go a new direction when it comes to selling merchandise, so we are having a clearance sale on all merchandise in stock!

  • Shipping will remain at $8 per order.
  • Each order comes with either a USAWA Patch or a USAWA water bottle free of charge! Just let me know which you prefer.
  • You can pay via check or cash using USPS, or through our PayPal account.

How to order by mail

To order by mail, please use the official form found here (just substitute the sale price when calculating the total): Online-Store-Order-Form-word-1.pdf (usawa.com)

How to order online

To order online, add up the items and shipping and send the payment through PayPal. Then email me your order at SalGuimino@yahoo.com regarding what you want, that you paid via PayPal, and where you would like it shipped.

Supplies are limited! Act fast! Etc etc!

I will modify the list as orders come in. This is first come, first served. I will fill them as fast as I can. I will let you know if what you order is no longer in stock. Feel free to check in with me before placing your order. Photos of all items are here. The following is what gear we still have in stock:

USAWA-Merchandise-1Download

1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 501