Tag Archives: LaVerne Myers

Lifter of the Month – LaVerne Myers

By Al Myers

LaVerne Myers in action at the 2016 IAWA World Championships.

LaVerne Myers in action at the 2016 IAWA World Championships.

Congrats to LaVerne Myers for being selected as the USAWA Lifter of the Month for January!!!

I know I’m going back a few months for this recognition, but I intend this year to select a USAWA Lifter of the Month for each month of this year and not miss a month!

LaVerne earned this award because he made it to the Dino Gym Challenge during a blizzard.  The Dino Gym Challenge was the only USAWA competition held in January, and the only other competitor in the Challenge was myself.  I didn’t feel like I earned it because I can walk to the gym.  Pa had to drive a quarter of a mile!

Congrats LaVerne!!!

LaVerne Myers NEW LEVEL 2 OFFICIAL

By Al Myers

I want to officially welcome my father, LaVerne, into the ranks of the LEVEL 2 USAWA OFFICIALS.  I just received confirmation from the USAWA Officials Director Joe Garcia that his application to become a Level 2 official was granted.  Level 2 is the highest level you can achieve as an official in the USAWA.  Once you achieve Level 2 status you are certified for life.  Never again do you have to take the rules test or reapply!

LaVerne has been very involved over the past 10 years plus as an official.  He has officiated at many high level competitions – including National Championships, Gold Cups, and World Championships.  He also has the distinction of officiating at IAWA events overseas,  which is quite an honor.

Congrats LaVerne!!

Gold Cup

By Al Myers

Group picture from the 2016 IAWA Gold Cup in Abilene, KS.

Group picture from the 2016 IAWA Gold Cup in Abilene, KS.

I was honored to be able to promote the IAWA Gold Cup this year.  The Gold Cup has had a prestigious past, with many great meet promoters putting on top notch shows. These past promotors set the bar high for me!  I felt everything went very well.  There was lots of great lifting and many new IAWA World Records set.  Right now I feel a sense of relief that the meet is over and it was a success!

We had one Junior Lifter, my daughter Molly Myers.  Molly started the event with a tremendous back squat of 110 KGS.  She did this lift without knee wraps and a belt (she forgot her belt!). One thing that makes the Gold Cup very special is that it is a true World event every year.  Peter Phillips made the trip from Perth, Australia to do a 155KG Thumbless Grip Deadlift. Timo Lauttamus represented Finland and performed an amazing 100KG Little Finger Hacklift. Steve Gardner from England started the meet off with a 80KG Middle Fingers Straddle. Karen Gardner from England continues to show her many all round lifting skills by lifting 32.5KG in the Hands Together Bench Press.  George Dick from Scotland always keeps the crowd entertained, and in the process set a new World Record with a 45KG Dumbbell & Barbell Anyhow. A couple of other lifters that really stood out included Eric Todd with a 60KG Lying Lateral Raise and 89 year old Art Montini with a 80 KG Deadlift.

Timo Lauttamus and his outstanding Little Fingers Deadlift of 100 KG.

Timo Lauttamus and his outstanding Little Fingers Deadlift of 100 KG.

For the past several years an outstanding Best Lifter of the Gold Cup has been awarded. The award is named the Howard Prechtel Memorial Award, in honor of Howard Prechtel for starting the Gold Cup many years ago. This year’s winner was Timo Lauttamus with his outstanding Little Fingers Hack. Second Place went to LaVerne Myers, and third place went to Peter Phillips.

Winner of the Howard Prechtel Award was Timo Lauttamus (center). Peter Phillips from Australia was third (left) and LaVerne Myers was second (right).

Winner of the Howard Prechtel Award was Timo Lauttamus (center). Peter Phillips from Australia was third (left) and LaVerne Myers was second (right).

I have many people who I need to thank for helping me throughout the weekend.  First up is my dad LaVerne. He served as co-promoter for the Gold Cup and really helped coordinating the meet venue and hosting several lifters at his home. My wife Leslie catered the meal herself, and did an excellent job. I may be biased but I felt the banquet meal was one of the best ever!  I especially want to thank the crew that helped with loading and setup – Brad Wehling, Jason Lahr, and Kyle Jones. I couldn’t believe we did the meet set up in only an hour. Steve Gardner was brilliant on the microphone all day as well as doing all the scorekeeping. My buddies Chad and Thom helped so much as well.   Lastly, I can’t say enough about all the help I got from Peter Phillips. Peter was spending the week with me and I put him to work! Peter helped me get all the equipment ready and loaded the day before, helped with set up and tear down, officiated all day, and then helped me unload everything once I got it back home. He was my right-hand man! I especially want to thank all the lifters that took part in this event.

This day was a great day in the history of the IAWA.

Meet Results:

2016 IAWA Gold Cup
Abilene Civic Center
Abilene, KS, USA
October 22nd, 2016

Meet Promoters: Al Myers and LaVerne Myers

Announcer and Scorekeeper: Steve Gardner

Officials (3-official system used): George Dick, Peter Phillips, Denny Habecker, Dennis Mitchell, Chad Ullom, LaVerne Myers, Al Myers, Thom Van Vleck

Loaders: Chad Ullom, Al Myers, Jason Lahr, Dean Ross, Molly Myers

Results (PDF) – iawa-gold-cup

Lifter of the Month – LaVerne Myers

by Al Myers

The USAWA Lifter of the Month for February is LaVerne Myers.  LaVerne was the overall men’s champion of the USAWA Grip Championships, which was the only USAWA competition in February.  This is the second time LaVerne has been selected as lifter of the month.  The other time was February 2014.  He had several big lifts at the Grip Championships – including a 210# Wrist Curl and a 135# Inch DB DL.

Congrats LaVerne!!

Curl – Wrist

by Al Myers

LaVerne Myers trains the wrist curl in preparation for the USAWA Grip Championships.

LaVerne Myers trains the wrist curl in preparation for the USAWA Grip Championships.

At the USAWA Grip Championships, only official USAWA lifts are contested.  We have a wide range of grip lifts in our Rule Book – some very common performed lifts and some that are obscure. I would include the wrist curl as one of the obscure!  It has very rarely been contested – and only at record days.  There are just a handful of USAWA records in this lift.

The official USAWA Rule for the Wrist Curl:

D11. Curl – Wrist

This lift starts with the lifter placing the forearms and the back of the hands flat on a hard table with the palms of the hands facing upwards, holding a bar. The lifter must be standing. The feet must not be braced against the table. Once in this position, an official will give a command to curl. The lifter will curl the hands off the table using wrist flexion only, while keeping the forearms on the table at all times. Both hands must be held entirely off the table for two seconds. The knuckles and back of hands must be completely off the table before the official will begin the count. The lifter may use any grip, including a hook grip or a grip with no thumbs. If the bar rolls out of the hands with the fingers no longer touching the bar, it is a disqualification. The bar must rise evenly, with both hands leaving the table at the same time, or it will be a disqualification. If the forearms move or are lifted, it is a disqualification. The lift ends on command.

At the Grip Champs we will use a solid table with a rubber top to prevent arm slippage.  I will have plywood available to stand on so everyone can get a comfortable height. Spotters will assist the bar into the hands to start the lift.  This is one of the lifts that is “old school” and uses a 2 second hold at the finish before a down command is given. I will be looking at the part of the hand closest to the wrist to determine if the entire hand is off the table. Both hands must be entirely off the table to be a legal lift.

The top record in our Record List for the Wrist Curl belongs to Dan Wagman with a 300 pound lift.

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