USAWA

By Eric Todd

I have had a few questions in regard to the record list of late and wanted to make you all aware of some features that give you, the lifter, a little more autonomy when perusing the record list.

1-While it used to be that we just had the record list where you had the lifts in alphabetical order.  While not difficult to navigate, it is a huge list and can be a little overwhelming at times.  We still have that option, but when Johnny took over as records director, he added a “record grid” option which is similar to how Chris Bass records the IAWA records.  Here are the steps one would take to access the record grid option:  First, download the file.  At the bottom left of the excel spreadsheet, there are two tabs.  The first is “record list”, the second is “record grid.”  Click on the “record grid” option to access it.  Once you are on the record grid, click “enable editing.”  That allows you to navigate the record grid as you please. At the top of the spreadsheet, you will see a cell that says “lift” with a cell directly to the right of it with the name of a lift.  Mine says “vertical bar-2 bars 2”.”Click on the lift itself, and you will see a list of all of the lifts in alphabetical order for you to choose from.  To the right of that, you will see a cell that says “sex” where you can choose from the male records for the lift or the female records for that lift.

2-You also have the capacity to sort the record list in any way you see fit once you have downloaded it.  Download the file.  Click “enable editing.”  At the top of the spreadsheet, you will see a label for each column with an arrow next to it.  I often want to see a list of my records or those of my kids.  So, I would click the arrow next to lifter.  I would then choose the option “sort A to Z.”  This then sorts the entire record list in alphabetical order by lifters last name.  So, at that point, I would scroll down to the T’s and find my name or the name of my children.  And I would be able to see every record we hold all together in one place.

Hopefully these directions make sense and allow you a couple more options when looking over the record list.  Please reach out if you have any questions about this.

By Eric Todd

Records and the record book are important aspects of the USAWA.  Some lifters are set on winning national and world championships, some are set on placing as highly as they can in meets, and some really like to go after records.  Some are interested in doing all of these.  As is evidence by record days and the “Century Club” records are an important part of our organization.    It has come to light to me recently what a challenging chore it can be to serve in the capacity of records director in our organization.  I am going to make some changes in order to make this role one that can be done by a volunteer servant without burning them out and quitting the role.

1-Effective January 1, 2022. any member who has a record that is recorded incorrectly, has up to 90 days from the date of the record update (which is recorded when it is updated) to notify me of the mistake so that I can relay that mistake to Scottish Johnny for review and possible correction.  Any mistake brought up past the 90 days will not be considered for correction.  So, if you are a person invested in your record count and such, please review each update in a timely fashion to be sure your records have been correctly recorded.

2-Though we are not currently requiring it, we are urging meet directors to place an asterisk next to any lifts done in competition that are new records.  Some promoters are already doing this.  You can employ the help of your lifters in this endeavor.  That way SJ will know what lifts to cross reference with the record list.

3-This is not a change, but a reminder.  Please list the results of your meets with the names of the lifts as they appear in the rule book/record list.  Failure to do so places additional work on myself and Scottish Johnny.

4- Though there is nothing currently in the rules against it, if every meet sanctioned has a huge number of lifts, it taxes our record director unnecessarily and makes it where our org seem like a records factory instead of a place for legit competition.  Please keep this in mind when attempting to sanction a meet with an inordinate number of lifts.  Keep in mind, powerlifting has 3, weightlifting has 2 (at this point in time), strongman tends to have around 5.  Nothing wrong with having a few more from time to time, but not every meet needs to be a marathon.

Remember, our records director (among the other positions) is a volunteer position.  In order for an org like ours to continue on, we have to keep these volunteers willing to keep working.  Please consider that when sanctioning meets, reporting meets, and navigating our records.