2022 Award Nominations

by Al Myers

It’s that time of the year again to nominate deserving lifters for the yearly awards!  The USAWA award program was started in 2009 to honor those individuals that displays outstanding achievements throughout the year in different categories.  I have been the USAWA Awards Director that entire time and was the one who started the USAWA Awards Program.  Part of the USAWA budget goes to these awards, which means that part of your membership dues support this program. These awards are awarded at the Annual General Meeting of the USAWA, which occurs at the same time as the National Championships.  Usually the USAWA Awards are “yearly” – meaning they are for the previous year’s accomplishments. I would consider “yearly” as being the time since (and including) last years National Championships.    Now for a little “overview” of the rules for nominations:

  • You  must be a USAWA member to make a nomination or cast a vote
  • Nominated individuals must be a USAWA members to be eligible
  • Only one individual may be nominated per person per award
  • Two nominations for each award may be submitted, one for your choice of the Winner and one for your choice of the runner-up.
  • The awards are for the accomplishments since last June
  • An individual may be nominated for more than one award

These are the different awards for which you should chose your nominations for:

 Athlete of the Year – This award is for the individual who has accomplished the most athletically within the last year in the USAWA. Top placings at the Nationals and World Championships should figure in high. Also, participation in other Championship  Competitions such as the Heavy Lift Championships, the Grip Championships, the Club Championships, the OTSM Championships, the Team Championships, or the National Postal Championships could factor in.  Participation in elite IAWA events such as the Gold Cup should make an influence on earning this award as well.

Leadership Award – This is for an individual that has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the USAWA during the past year. Things that should be looked at are: going above the level expected of an Officer position, promoting sanctioned events with emphasis being on promoting National or World Competitions, promoting the USAWA by developing a strong club, writing articles for publications about the USAWA, or through other means.

Sportsmanship Award – This goes to an individual who possesses and shows great sportsmanship within the USAWA. The act of sportsmanship may be by conduct at all events, or by an specific example of exceptional sportsmanship.

Courage Award – This goes to an individual who shows the courage to overcome an obstacle in order to return to competition. This may be a comeback from an injury, or just having to deal with difficult personal issues but still shows the courage to compete in the USAWA.

Newcomer Award– This award goes to an individual who in new to the USAWA or has become involved again. It doesn’t have to go to someone in their first year of being involved in the USAWA.

As stated earlier in the rules, I would like you to submit your choice for the WINNER and your choice for the RUNNER UP for each award.  I will score it this way:  for each nomination per award I will give 2 points for the nominated winner and 1 point for the nominated runner up.  I will then add up all the points from all nominations with the person receiving the most points declared the winner and the one with the second most points the runner up.  So you can see that the Award Winners are chosen by YOU THE MEMBERSHIP!   That’s the way it should be done.

Please email me at amyers@usawa.com with your nominations.  The deadline for nominations is May 10th.  That’s giving everyone a couple of weeks to make their decisions.  My experience with this is that if a person does not make their nominations shortly after reading this announcement, it never gets done.  So make it easy on yourself  (and me!) and turn your nominations in today!!!!

Neck lift (cont)

By Eric Todd

This was posted February 25, 2020.  The neck lifts listed are those from the record books.  I do not have access to all the heavier lifts done that no longer qualify for records.

 

With the Heavy Lift Championship only a few months away (it occurs on May 9 this year), I thought I would try to drum up some interest by writing a series of articles.  Last time I hosted this meet, I ran a series of articles that related to the performance of the lift.  The one for the neck lift can be found here: Neck Lift

From my understanding, the neck lift is only contested in All-round organizations such as IAWA. Otherwise, it seems like different variations of the neck lift have been used by old time strongman-esque performers.  Here is a video from a performance at Coney Island. It includes footage of a fellow named Steve Weiner performing a neck lift and hold with a fire hydrant: Coney Island

I have read a number of accounts, in particular one by Bill Pearl who is seemingly rather an expert in physical culture.  This particular account is of a strongman named John B. Gagnon.  Gagnon, at one point won the title of World’s Strongest man from Warren Lincoln Travis.  The title was unofficial, as the event was unsanctioned; however, he did, according to this account, best the champion in this particular competition.  All the lifts were done using a platform that could be lifted from above or below.  A number of lifts were contested in this challenge, including several of our heavy lifts.  This meet did include a neck lift, where the claim was that this strongman, Gagnon, hoisted a lift of 1317 pounds. (Pearl).

john b gagnon

Pearl, Bill. John B. Gagnon. 1 Oct. 2018.

I found an image of a strongman from the Bronx named Joe Ragusa who moved to Hollywood to perform in the pictures.  This image shows him doing something similar to our neck lifts with a weight of 655 pounds, though it does not appear that using this method would put nearly as much torque on the neck muscles as what Our USAWA/IAWA method does.

joeragusa-strongman

Wood, John. Joe Ragusa. 30 May 2017.

Then, there was a gentleman only known as “Kong” who claimed to have the world’s strongest neck.  HE has a claim of 502 pounds lifted with his neck.  As you can see from the photo, this method would put a great deal of torque on the neck; however, you can see that he has a hand holding the chain, so I am not completely sure what to think of this claim.

kong-neckstrength

Wood, John. Kong. 8 Nov. 2017.

Outside of Old time strongman acts and circus type performers, the neck lift has pretty much only been a movement used in our organization.  It appears that it has pretty much been contested in our organization since it’s inception, with the earliest record still in our record book being a 470 pound effort by  18 year old Randy Breitenfield on January 23 1988 at the Zercher (I can only assume that refers to the Zercher Classic in Columbia, MO). It also was contested in the USAWA National Championship in 1989.There have been a number of superb neck lifters over the years in the USAWA.  The Women have been dominated by a handful, with Kerry Clark being the cream of the crop with a few attempts over 500 pounds.  Here is a list of women lifters who have have met or exceeded 300 pounds in the neck lift:

Kerry Clark 550 1995 Nationals in Columbia, MO
Jacqueline Caron 400 1992 Gold Cup
Cassie Morrison 325 2016 Heavy Lift Championship
Angela McBride 300 1999 Zercher Challenge

Back in 2011, Al posted an article with the top male neck lifters of all time. neck lift list The numbers have jumped some since, and some new names added to the list of men who have gone 600 pounds or more.   The current list is as follows:

Eric Todd 1080 2014 Heavy Lift Championships
Chad Ullum 1020 2015 Heavy Lift Championship
Joe Ciavattone, Sr 805 2013 Heavy Lift Championship
Al Myers 780 2013 Heavy Lift Championship
Frank Ciavattone 750 2002 Heavy Lift Championship
Joe Ciavattone, Jr 700 2013 Heavy Lift Championship
Christopher Lestan 700 2019 Heavy Lift Championship
Jeff Ciavattone 650 2013 Heavy Lift Championship
Mike McBride 630 2005 National Championship
Joe Garcia 623 1998 Nationals, Mansfield
Dale Fries 605 1995 Goerner
Nile Larson 603 2004 Heavy Lift Championship
John Monk 600 2000 Heavy Lift Championship

In the USAWA Steve Scmidt was the first to hit both the 400 and 500 pound benchmarks in the neck lift.  Big Frank was the first to 600, with his brother Joe Sr being the first to hit 700 and 800 pounds.  Chad Ullum was the first to 900, and I was the first to 1000. Will we see a first to hit 1100 at this edition of the Heavy Lift Championship?  Time will tell…

Myers, Al. “CHAD’S 900 POUND NECK LIFT.” USAWA, 27 May 2011, usawa.com/chads-900-pound-neck-lift/.

“New Video: Coney Island Olde Time Strongman Spectacular!” Markets of New York City, 5 June 2012, marketsofnewyork.com/2012/06/new-video-coney-island-olde-time-strongman-spectacular/.

Pearl, Bill. “Bill Pearl.” John B. Gagnon, 1 Oct. 2018, www.facebook.com/116733248412758/posts/john-b-gagnon-born-in-1883-in-caribou-maine-was-a-strongman-performer-in-the-192/1881209421965123/.

Wood, John. “Neck Lift Archives.” Www.oldtimestrongman.com, 8 Nov. 2017, www.oldtimestrongman.com/blog/tag/neck-lift/.

Neck Lift

By Eric Todd

With the Heavy lift Championship coming up in just over a week, I am going to repost a few older articles about the lifts and their origins:

(from February 6, 2018)

With the Heavy Lift Championship on the Calendar for May 5, I was under the assumption that people were going to be wanting to start training.  So, I thought I would do a series on how to execute each of the heavy lifts.  They are like no other lifts out there, where the lifter is capable of lifting monstrous poundages.

This particular article will focus on the first lift to be contested that day, the neck lift.  When I first heard of the neck lift, I envisioned the lift I did in high school with a neck harness I bought at Champs Sports with a 45# weight looped through the chain.  I was concerned, as I knew there was no way I could lift hundreds of pounds like this, even though that is where the records stood.  As luck would have it, it was not that lift at all, and I was capable of more than I thought.

The rules of the neck lift are as follows:

A Heavy Lift Bar is used in this lift. A neck harness is also used, which fits over the head. Any style of neck harness is acceptable, provided that it is held in place entirely by the head during the lift. The neck harness must not contact the neck or trapezius muscles. A pad, such as a towel, may be placed between the head and the neck harness. An adjustable chain and hook is attached to the neck harness so it may be attached to the Heavy Lift Bar. The lifter assumes a position with the Heavy Lift Bar in front of the lifter or the lifter may straddle it. The feet must parallel and in line with the torso. Width of feet placement is optional. The feet must not move during the lift, but the heels and toes may rise. The lifter may adjust the chain length to his/her preference prior to the lift. The lifter must not touch the chain or straps of the neck harness with the hands during the lift, but the chain or straps may touch the lifter’s body. Hands may touch the body during the lift, but must be free of contact upon completion of the lift. The lift begins at the lifter’s discretion. The lifter is allowed one test lift to check the balance of the weight and to make adjustments to the chain length. The lifter will stand and lift the weights from the platform. The shoulders and torso do not have to be upright upon the finish of the lift. The legs must straighten, but the knees do not need to be locked. Once the weight is motionless, the hands free from the body, and the plates on both ends of the bar are off the platform at the same time, an official will give a command to end the lift.

Some people neck lift with a narrow stance, but I prefer a very wide one.  I point my toes outward right next to the plates.  With the harness on my head, and the hook in the loop on the bar,   I take the straps  and spread them out wide so they are more to the outside of my body rather than hanging down in front.  I also like to lift my arms up while executing this lift..  At this point, look up, lean back, and drive off your heels.  When both sides of the bar come off the ground at the same time, the official will give the down command for a good lift.  In the image below, you can see Chad Ullum and myself using very similar styles:

NeckChadET

As far as training for the neck lift, I imagine any kind of neck training could be beneficial, such as the neck harness I referenced above or a neck machine.  However, I am not sure there is any real substitute for actually neck lifting.  The technique takes some getting used to, and it is ideal to condition your neck for the feel of these poundages.  Check out the video of Chad’s record setting 900# attempt which was set at the Heavy Lift Championship that was held at York Barbell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1HK4CjSnh4

tagged with , , 

2022 1st Quarter Postal

By Denny Habecker

Bill Cookson completing a big 2 barbell deadlift all the way from Kuwait!

Bill Cookson completing a big 2 barbell deadlift all the way from Kuwait!

We had great participation in this years 1st postal. We had 31 lifters participate, 23 men & 8 women, which I believe is the most we have ever had.Dan Wagman was at the top of the men’s division and R.J. Jackson led the women this quarter. Thank you to all that participated.

January 1 thru March 31, 2022

The Lifts – Holdout – Raised,  Swing – Dumbbell- 1 Hand,  Deadlift- 2 bars

Records are marked with an *

Men’s Division :

Dan Wagman     – Open*  –  176  – 75* – 107*- L  –  502* –   684 –  657.94

* Dan doesn’t want the age percentage

Nicholas Frieders     – 21   – 153  – 55*  –  90- R   –  440*  –   585   – 614.83

Abe Smith              – 40   – 181  – 75*  – 120- L*  – 430*   –  615   – 599.43

Lucas Hardie          – 38   – 198  – 55   – 105 -R   – 470      –  630   – 566.18

John J. Carter        – 63   – 219  – 55*   – 75 – R   – 400*    –  530   – 558.81

David DeForest     –  62   – 193  – 50*  – 67-  R*  – 370      – 487    – 546.29

Randy Smith         – 67   – 195  – 50    – 90  -R    – 321.5   – 461.5 – 542.95

Travis Luther        – 29   – 167  – 55*   – 100 -R   – 370       – 525    – 521.95

Eric Todd             – 47   – 263  – 90*    – 120- R   – 407*     – 617    – 515.69

Anthony Hose     – 53    – 227  – 70*   – 100- L* – 370       – 540     – 513.41

Denny Habecker  – 79    – 189  – 38.5*  – 50 -R    – 269*  -357.5    – 507.44

Barry Pensyl       – 73    – 141  – 12*  – 48- R*    – 242.5 – 302.5    – 476.56

Chad Ullom        – 50    – 235  – 45     – 0          – 450      – 495     – 451.27

Bill Cookson       – 57    -230   -35      -90         -330       -455       -444.32

Dave Hahn         – 84    – 141  – 25    – 30- R     – 220      – 275     – 443.13

Aidan Habecker – 18    – 205  – 44*   – 77 -R*    – 353*     – 474     – 430.51

Anthony R. Lupo – 56   -230  – 33*    – 70 -L*    – 310*    – 413    –  400.53

Chris Todd         – 42  – 274  – 60*    -85- L*    – 322       – 467    –  364.84

LeRoy Todd      –  10  –  82   – 17.5* – 25-R     – 105*      – 147.5  –  353.21

Everett Todd    –  9    –  74   – 17.5* – 15- R    –  90*       – 122.5   – 331.35

Lance Foster    – 56   -313   –  45*   – 50 – R*  – 222       – 317      – 264.00

Bill Clark         – 89  – 207   – 22*     – 10- R     – 150       – 182     – 245.69

Jarrod Fobes  –  44  – 209   – 60     – 73- L      – 0           -128      – 117.19

Elijah Conley  – 15   – 149  – 25     – 28- L       – 0          – 53        – 65.24

Postal winner dan Wagman completing a holdout raised.

Postal winner dan Wagman completing a holdout raised.

Women’s Division:

R.J. Jackson           – 60   – 105   – 34 – 51 -R    – 202     – 287      – 485.37

Sylvia Stockall       – 64  – 150   – 45    – 55- R     – 218      – 318      – 398.83

Beth Skwarecki      – 41  – 139  – 40     – 60 -L    – 242       – 342      – 391.08

Phoebe Todd          – 11  – 121  – 20*   – 30 -R*   – 140*    – 190      – 314.56

Stacy Todd            – 39  – 185  – 45*  – 57.5-R* – 222*     – 324.5   – 303.24

Janet Thompson    – 64  – 160  – 22*  – 25- L*     – 150*     – 197      -251.57

Daphne Lansdown – 6    –  46   – 10*    – 5 -R      –  50*     – 65       – 245.95

Kim VanWagner    – 54   – 134  – 25   – 35- R     – 95        – 155      – 205.45

OFFICIALS :

Leroy, Everett, Phoebe & Stacy Todd   – Lance Foster, Chris Todd, Eric Todd

Eric Todd                                         – Lance Foster, Chris Todd

Chris Todd                                       – Lance Foster, Eric Todd

Lance Foster                                    – Chris Todd, Eric Todd

Aidan Habecker                              – Denny Habecker, Barry Pensyl

Denny Habecker                            – Barry Pensyl

Barry Pensyl                                 – Denny Habecker

Dan Wagman                                – R.J. Jackson

Nicholas Frieders, Abe Smith, John Carter, Dave DeForest, Travis Luther, Anthony Hose, Anthony Lupo, Janet Thompson    –  Bill Clark

Bill Clark                                    – Dave DeForest

Lifters with Non-certified Officials:

Lucas Hardie, Randy Smith, R.J. Jackson, Chad Ullom, Dave Hahn, Sylvia Stockall, Beth Skwarecki, Daphne Lansdown, Kim VanWagner, Jarrod Fobes, Elijah Conley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lifter of the Month-February 2022

By Eric Todd

LaVerne competing in the dumbbell walk at a previous Grip Championships.

LaVerne competing in the dumbbell walk at a previous Grip Championships.

The lifter of the Month of February is an easy choice.  This goes to LaVerne Myers for winning his FIFTH Grip Championship.  This makes him the most dominant grip champion since the inception of this meet.  He did so by defeating his son, Al Myers, and Chad Ullum, both former grip champions in their own right.  LaVerne broke or set records in each of the four disciplines en route to his victory.  He won by over 100 adjusted points over Al, who was the runner up.  He also set 5 records in a record-breaking portion of the day with 4 finger lifts and another grip event, the deadlift, Fulton bar, left arm.  LaVerne does not appear to be slowing down in grip disciplines any time soon, and this is a well-deserved honor.  CONGRATS LaVerne!

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