Tag Archives: Club of the Year

Dino Gym Club of the Year

by Al Myers

Every year the USAWA gives out yearly awards honoring special achievements amongst the membership for the prior year.  This Awards Program began in 2009.  The award recipients are voted on and chosen by the membership with the exception of the Club of the Year.  This award is earned on merit -with points being accrued by participation in the USAWA by each registered club.  I just calculated the club points for all registered clubs in 2013 – and I’m excited to announce the Club of the Year for 2013 is the DINO GYM!  This is a team effort with each club member earning points.  For this I want to congratulate the Dino Gym members: Darren Barnhart, Rudy Bletscher, Scott Campbell, Chuck Cookson, Ben Edwards, Tasha Ullum, Alan English, Mark Mitchell, LaVerne Myers, Molly Myers, Dean Ross, Scott Tully, Brianna Ullum, and Chad Ullom.  Extra points were generated by club participation in the “big meets” by Molly, Bri, LaVerne, Dean, Chad and myself.

Club Awards are determined by adding up club points using this 4-Step System:

1. One point awarded to the club for EACH USAWA registered member that lists the club as their affiliated club on their membership application. This designation is also listed beside the members name on the membership roster.
2. Two points awarded to the club for EACH club member that participates in the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup. Points are awarded for each competition, so if one club athlete competes in all three of these big meets it would generate 6 points for the club.
3. Three points awarded to the club for EACH USAWA sanctioned event or competition the club promotes.
4. Four bonus points awarded to the club for promotion of the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup.

Habecker’s Gym won the Runner Up spot in the Club of the Year Award.  Despite only having 3 registered gym members (Denny Habecker, Judy Habecker, and Barry Bryan), thru big meet participation and promotion of the 2013 Nationals and 2013 Gold Cup by club leader Denny, they secured a solid second place finish.

Club of the Year Final Standings (Top Five Listed)

1.  Dino Gym – 46 points
2.  Habeckers’s Gym – 28 points
3.  Frank’s Barbell Club – 20 points
4.  Ambridge BBC – 10 points
5. (tie) Clark’s Gym – 7 points
5. (tie) – Jobe’s Steel Jungle

Frank’s Barbell Club came in fourth by being “well rounded” in their point generation, and getting points in all areas. The club had 5 registered members (Frank Ciavattone, Jeff Ciavattone, Colleen Lane, Jessica Hopps, and James Delaney), had participation in the Nationals and Gold Cup by Frank and Colleen, and promoted three meets (including the Heavy Lift Championships).

Ambridge BBC came in fourth – all due to one man! Art Montini was the only one from the Ambridge Club to register membership in the USAWA for 2013, but thru Art’s devotion to the USAWA by participation in Nationals, Worlds, and the Gold Cup, plus promotion of his annual birth day bash he generated all the points himself!

You may notice that the 2012 Club of the Year Ledaig HA is not listed on the above list.  There’s a reason for that – the defending Champ is not eligible the following year.  This was put in place originally as to not allow the same club to win the club of the year award year after year.  The Ledaig HA Club will have the honors of presenting the Club of the Year awards this year at the National Championships during the awards ceremony.

All together there were 13 registered clubs in the USAWA for 2013.  All of these clubs need mentioned as they are the “backbone” of our memberships.  Over 75% of our yearly membership comes with lifters affiliated with a registered club.  The USAWA Clubs for 2013 were: Al’s Dino Gym, Ambridge VFW BBC, Clark’s Championship Gym, Frank’s Barbell Club, Habecker’s Gym, Jackson Weightlifting Club, Joe’s Gym, Jobe’s Steel Jungle, KC Strongman, Ledaig Heavy Athletics, Salvation Army Gym, Schmidt Barbell Club, and M&D Triceratops (owned and operated by the late Dale Friesz).   Making the “TOP FIVE” is a great achievement for any club, and one each USAWA club should strive for!

Club Award to the Salvation Army Gym

by Al Myers

The Salvation Army Gym - Runner Up CLUB OF THE YEAR in the USAWA.

I was glad to be able to personally award the Salvation Army Gym their Runner Club Award from the USAWA at their USAWA meet last weekend.  These awards, presented on behalf of the USAWA, were given out at the National Championships.  However, since no representatives from the Salvation Army Gym were able to be present at Nationals, this meet of theirs was the perfect opportunity for me to be able to give them the recognition they deserve.

Tim Piper (left) receiving the Club Award from USAWA Awards Director Al Myers (right).

The Club Awards are the only special USAWA awards that are not selected by membership nomination/vote.  Points are accrued throughout the year for various things like USAWA memberships that represent the club, club promotions, and participation of club members in USAWA competitions.  The points are simply “added up”, and the clubs that earn the most points are the winners.  So you can see that this award is actually EARNED! 

Congratulations to the Salvation Army Gym for an outstanding past year in the USAWA!  The next year will be a BIG ONE for them as well as they will be the host of the 2014 USAWA National Championships.

LEDAIG – CLUB OF THE YEAR

by Al Myers

The Ledaig Heavy Athletics club receiving the USAWA Club of the Year Award.

I was glad to be able to personally present Dave Glasgow and the rest of the Ledaig  “gang”  their USAWA Award for 2012 Club of the Year at the Club Championships last weekend! Congrats to the Ledaig HA!!

Club of the Year: LEDAIG HA

by Al Myers

Ledaig HA won the team title for the Overall best team at the 2012 IAWA World Championships. Pictured (left to right): Jera Kressly, Dave Glasgow, Doug Kressly

Congratulations to LEDAIG HEAVY ATHLETICS for being the named the USAWA Club of the Year for 2012!!!!

Ledaig has been very active in the USAWA these past few years.  Their “rise to prominence” in the USAWA started in 2010.  The club’s founder and leader, Dave Glasgow, has been a solid force in the organization. Ledaig HA is located in Rainbow Bend, Kansas – outside of Winfield, or if you are less knowledgeable about Kansas, south of Wichita a ways.  Dave refers to Rainbow Bend as “a community ” instead of a town.  I’ve been there and you better not blink when you drive thru it or you will miss it!  It’s even smaller than the town of Holland where the Dino Gym resides!

Unlike the other USAWA awards where the winners are selected by nomination and vote of the membership, the Club of the Year is earned.  It is based on a point system where each club earns points for various involvements in the USAWA throughout the year.  I think this system is very fair – and it makes it easy for me to calculate all clubs point totals. This is the guidelines for which a club earns points:

Club Awards are determined by adding up club points using this 4-Step System:

1. One point awarded to the club for EACH USAWA registered member that lists the club as their affiliated club on their membership application. This designation is also listed beside the members name on the membership roster.
2. Two points awarded to the club for EACH club member that participates in the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup. Points are awarded for each competition, so if one club athlete competes in all three of these big meets it would generate 6 points for the club.
3. Three points awarded to the club for EACH USAWA sanctioned event or competition the club promotes.
4. Four bonus points awarded to the club for promotion of the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup.

As you can see – having lots of club members who are heavily involved in our “big meets” really help with the yearly score.  Ledaig had 9 club members for the year 2012: Dave Glasgow, Kenny Glasgow, Amber Glasgow, Tim Harbison, Doug Kressly, Jera Kressly, Mike Murdock, Kristen Traub, and Larry Traub. The Ledaig HA won the team title at the 2012 IAWA World Championships, and was runner up at the 2012 USAWA National Championships. At both of these big meets, the Ledaig Club had members place very high overall in addition to winning Age/BWT championships.  At Nationals, Larry was 2nd overall and Dave 4th, and at Worlds Dave was 3rd overall, Doug 9th overall, and Jera was third overall in the women’s division.  That’s quite a list of accomplishments!!!

The year 2012 had a record number of 16 registered member clubs in the USAWA!  I’m only going to give the TOP FIVE placings, and just making this top 5  listing is a great accomplishment for any club!

TOP SCORING USAWA CLUBS FOR 2012

1st.  Ledaig Heavy Athletics – 25 points
2nd.  Salvation Army Gym – 20 points
3rd.  Ambridge Barbell Club – 19 points
4th  (tie).   Clarks Gym – 13 points
4th  (tie).  Jobes Steel Jungle – 13 points
5th .  Habeckers Gym – 12 points

The Salvation Army Gym had an outstanding year in the USAWA. The clubs leader Tim Piper was very involved in the USAWA throughout the year. Tim competed in the Nationals in Vegas (6th Overall) and at the Worlds in Salina (7th Overall).  I was very impressed with them earning the RUNNER UP Club of the Year in the USAWA. These two club awards (to the Ledaig Heavy Athletics and the Salvation Army Gym) will be presented at the Awards Ceremony in conjunction with the National Championships next month. Last year’s winner of the Club of the Year, the Dino Gym, will have the HONOR of presenting these two clubs their Club Awards.

Club of the Year Award

by Al Myers

Group picture of the Dino Gym members accepting the USAWA Club of the Year Award.

The Dino Gym won the USAWA Club of the Year for the second time since the USAWA Award Program started.  It was a great honor for the Dino Gym to win this award again, especially since the increased club activity within the USAWA these last couple of years makes it harder to win an award like this one now.  Denny Habecker of Habecker’s Gym presented us the award, as is the custom of the past Club of the Year Award winner.  One of the stipulations in winning this award is that you are not eligible the following year for it, but instead have the duty of presenting the next year’s winner, or “passing the crown” in a sense.

WINNER – DINO GYM

RUNNERUP – LEDAIG HEAVY ATHLETICS

I also was very glad that the Dino Gym was well represented at this year’s Nationals. I want to thank the guys who made this trip on behalf of the Dino Gym: Chad Ullom, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Scott Tully, and Darren Barnhart.

The Ledaig Heavy Athletic Club accepting the Runnerup Club of the Year Award.

Runner up for the Club of the Year is the Ledaig Heavy Athletics.   The Ledaig Club has become a major force amongst USAWA Clubs the past couple of years.   Last year the Ledaig HA won the team title at the USAWA Nationals in Kirksville.  Team members Dave Glasgow and Larry Traub competed this year in Vegas as well.  Congrats to the Ledaig Heavy Athletics!

1 2 3 4