Tag Archives: Meeting Minutes

About the Secretary and Treasurer positions

Hey everyone! Beth Skwarecki here, the new Secretary of USAWA. At our 2024 national meeting, the membership voted in a new rule that splits the Secretary/Treasurer (formerly one position) into two, a Secretary and a Treasurer. I’d like to explain that change, and include some information on how members will interact with these two roles.

Why the change was needed

Briefly: because the Secretary/Treasurer did a ton of work. While the bylaws list five duties performed by the President, four performed by the Vice President, and three performed by At-large board members, there are a whopping fourteen duties assigned to the Secretary/Treasurer.

This may be a suitable workload for some people in some circumstances (honestly, I am impressed by everybody who held this position in the past!) but in 2024 we are a growing organization. Due to this growth, our Secretary/Treasurer has had to deal with increasing numbers of meet sanctions, concerns from membership, etc, while still doing the work of keeping our finances in order.

Eric spoke to me earlier this year to ask if I would be interested in the Secretary/Treasurer position if he were to step down. Upon discussion, we decided to make a proposal to split the roles. This proposal was presented at the national meeting and passed unanimously.

I’ll give an overview of the proposal here, but you can read the full thing in the 2024 national meeting minutes. Several items in the rulebook and bylaws had to be amended, but the most important ones were Article 5, defining the board, and Article 9, defining the duties of the Secretary/Treasurer.

The board still has five members (Article 5)

The Executive Board of the USAWA was, and still is, a group of five people. Under the old bylaws, the board contained these specific five positions:

  • President
  • Secretary/Treasurer
  • Vice President
  • At-large member #1
  • At-large member #2

With the change, passed during the 2024 national meeting, the board still contains five people, but the four officer roles are separated so that the Secretary and Treasurer are no longer required to be the same person. Any two roles may be combined, so that in the future we could go back to having a combined Secretary/Treasurer if the membership so desires. Or, for example, we could have a President/Secretary and a Treasurer/Vice President plus three at-large members. Any board positions not filled by officers shall be filled by At-large members. There must always be at least one At-large member.

After the membership passed this change to the rules, Eric Todd stepped down as Secretary, while retaining the role of Treasurer. He then nominated me (Beth Skwarecki) to become the new Secretary. (This vote also passed unanimously.) I was already an At-Large member of the board, so the five board seats still belong to the same five people. Next year will be an election year, so this could change. Currently the board seats are as follows (and the positions are elected in this order):

  • President (Denny Habecker)
  • Secretary (Beth Skwarecki)
  • Treasurer (Eric Todd)
  • Vice-President (Chad Ullom)
  • At-large member (Abe Smith)

Duties of the Secretary and Treasurer (Articles 9 and 10)

The section of the bylaws describing these duties has now been split, with financial duties going to the Treasurer and duties relating to forms, applications, and communication being the purview of the Secretary. Both positions still serve on the board and attend meetings as described in the bylaws.

These are pretty straightforward, but as a member, here are the major things you need to know:

  • Meet sanction applications should be sent to the Secretary; if approved, payment should be sent to the Treasurer. (We also removed the requirement for a physical signature on the meet sanction form, so applications can be submitted to the Secretary by email.)
  • The Treasurer shall maintain the bank account, negotiate contracts, and perform all other financial duties.
  • The Secretary shall maintain records, such as the membership roster and meeting minutes.
  • The Secretary shall receive complaints and grievances under Article 20, Part C. We also corrected a grammatical error in that rule, so that it now correctly states:

Any appeal, grievance or complaint by a member must be directed in writing to the USAWA Secretary, who will then present the issue to the Executive Board to be decided by majority vote. Failure to follow this protocol will result in appeals, grievances and complaints not being officially recognized.

The rulebook will be updated soon with these and other recent changes. I also plan to write a few more articles explaining other changes that were (or, in the case of knee sleeves, were not) passed by the membership. Please direct any questions or official communication to me at bethskw@gmail.com.

2023 National Meeting Minutes

By Eric Todd

The meeting was held at D. Rowes Restaurant in Columbia, MO on June 24th, 2023.  The Meeting was called to order by President, Denny Habecker, who then called roll.  The following members were in attendance:

Bill Clark, Joe Garcia, Randy Smith, Sanjiv Gupta, Nick Frieders, Travis Luther, Tony Lupo, Abe Smith, Calvin Heit, Chad Ullom, Wyatt Sawyers, Beth Skwarecki, Joe Caron, Dave DeForest, Denny Habecker, and Eric Todd

The minutes of the 2022 national meeting were read by Secretary, Eric Todd.  Bill Clark made a motion to accept the minutes as read, with a second by Randy Smith.  It passed unanimously.  The financial report was then given by treasurer, Eric Todd.  It was reported that the organization now has $11,799 in our bank account and still $160.07 in our paypal account.  This is an increase of $2486.35 in total from where we were at this point last year. Joe Garcia suggested that we may need to file a financial report with the state, and Eric Todd said that he would look into that.  Chad Ullom made a motion that we accept the report as given.  Bill Clark gave the second.  Motion passed unanimously. The website report was given by Website Director, Eric Todd.  It was reported that the website was in need of contributors.  The forum has not been used much of late, but we have decent activity on Facebook and Instagram.  Beth Skwarecki mentioned that we do have a page on Reddit, and Eric Todd said he would link it on the website.  Chad Ullom made a motion to accept the report as given; Joe Caron made the second.  Motion passed unanimously. Next up was the report from the Awards Director, Al Myers as read by Eric Todd, as Al was unable to attend.  The report discussed the way the awards program works and the concept behind it.  Motion to accept the report was made by Chad Ullom; the second was made by Calvin Heit. Motion passed unanimously. Next, the report from Records Director, John Strangeway was made on his behalf by Eric Todd, as John was unable to attend.  John has decided to stay on as Record’s Director. Motion was made by President Habecker to accept the report as read, and the Chad Ullom made the second.  Motion passed unanimously. Next on the agenda was the report from Drug Enforcement Director, Chad Ullom.  It was reported that we gave four tests this year, but the lab failed to test any of them, due to discontinuing the product.  We are looking into finding a different vendor to supply our drug tests, and have a good lead on an outfit that some other Drug Free organizations use.  Denny Habecker made a motion to accept the report; Beth Skwarecki made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.  The report from Official’s Director, Joe Garcia, was given next.  We have had a couple level one officials who have let their certification lapse, but have picked up a couple new officials.  Eric Todd said that he had been in contact with the officials whose certification has lapsed, and they are working on it.  Joe recommended that anyone who is not yet an official begin the steps toward becoming one so that we have enough to cover our meets.  Beth Skwarecki made a motion to accept the report; Sanjiv Gupta made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

There was a motion made by Bill Clark prior to the meeting to expand the executive board from five members to nine members. Bill explained that he thought it was needed to get a broader representation in order to move the organization forward.   Eric Todd expressed that he did not see the need, and explained what the day-to-day operation of the organization currently looks like.  There was much discussion.  Randy Smith made a motion to table the motion until the end of the meeting to see if the other business at hand would help clarify whether there was a need or not.  Chad Ullom made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

There was a motion by Bill Clark prior to allow for remote and/or hybrid competitions.  The motion included all competitions outside of nationals, and would be up to the discretion of the meet director.  He mentioned that he was hoping to increase participation in meets from people that might not travel, and suggested that if records are accepted that are set remotely via postal meets, then why not for any meet.  Eric Todd said that he was concerned for us to become an organization of postal meets only, and lose out on the allure of the in-person competition.  There was much discussion, but the consensus of the attendees was that there was no reason not to allow remote or hybrid competitions.  Chad Ullom asked if there might be any unforeseen downfalls with this proposal. Sanjiv said one possible downfall would be the aspect of knowing what you might need to do to beat a competitor, but conceded that with the formula, that is sometimes an issue anyhow. Chad Ullom suggested that if it passed and was a failure, we could overturn it at a future meeting.  Motion had already been made, and Randy smith made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

Next up was motion made by Bill Clark to replace the practical training session portion of the certification process to become an official with a video test.  Bill’s proposal was that we replace all three of the practical training sessions with a 50 question video test.  Eric Todd said that he had already been working on a video test, and proposed that we keep the 3 practical sessions, where any or all of the session can be replaced with a 10 question video test.  There was much discussion.  Bill proposed a compromise where we require one in person practical training session.  The prospective official can still complete two more practical sessions to complete their level one certification, or they can complete two fifteen question video tests, or it can be a combination of both.  That was a motion made by Bill Clark, and a second was made by Eric Todd.  Motion passed unanimously.

Next up was new business as brought up by the membership.  Randy Smith brought up the fact that our rulebook currently requires a platform no smaller than 12′ by 8′.  He mentioned that most meets use platforms that are 8′ by 8′ (2 pieces of plywood crossed by 2 pieces of plywood).  Motion was made to change the requirement to 8’x8′.  Joe Garcia made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

The next thing up was the election of officers. Bill Clark suggested a vote of acclamation that Eric Todd continue as Secretary/Treasurer that was unanimously accepted. Chad Ullom suggested a vote of acclamation that Denny Habecker remain as president that was unanimously accepted. Eric Todd suggested a vote of acclamation Chad Ullom continue as Vice President that was unanimously accepted. Bill Clark nominated Beth Skwarecki to continue her role on the executive board.  There were no other nominations.  It was unanimous.  Bill Clark nominated Abe Smith to take on the other Executive Board At-Large position.  Chad Ullom nominated Dave Glasgow to continue in that role.  A vote was taken, and Abe Smith won the position based on majority vote.

Last on the agenda was accepting bids for 2024 nationals.  Eric Todd reported that at this time there were no bids.  Bill Clark said that he and Clark’s Gym would bid 2024 nationals.  Eric Todd moved that the bid be accepted.  Denny Habecker made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

Because the motion to restructure the executive board was tabled until the end of the meeting, we readdressed it at this time. There was discussion as to whether it would be better to add members to the executive board, or come up with an advisory committee to focus on moving the organization forward.  Since there was already a motion to expand the executive board, we just needed a second.  Randy Smith gave the second.  That motion was defeated unanimously.  Bill Clark then made a motion to add an advisory committee that will report to the executive board and will consist of no more than five members.  Chad Ullom made the second.  This motion passed unanimously.

As there was no more business, Denny Habecker made the motion that the meeting be adjourned.  Randy Smith made the second.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

 

Minutes from 2017 IAWA AGM

Minutes from the 2017 IAWA General Meeting

By Al Myers, IAWA President

The 2017 Annual IAWA General Meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM, on September 29th at the Belmont Sports Club in Perth, Australia by IAWA President Al Myers. Roll call was taken and these members were in attendance: Al Myers, Peter Phillips, John Mahon, Denny Habecker, Anne Whitehead, Sam Trew, Justine Martin, and Sharni Clifford.  After the roll was taken, a few moments of silence were observed for the late George Dick.  Minutes were read by Al Myers from the 2016 meeting, since General Secretary Frank Allen was not in attendance.  John moved to accept the minutes, a second was made by Sharni, and it passed unanimously.  Reports from the IAWA Vice Presidents were next.  USAWA VP Denny Habecker said there was nothing new to report from the USAWA.  A report from the IAWA-UK VP Steve Gardner was given on his behalf by Al Myers.  In his report Steve stated he wanted to stay on as a IAWA-UK VP and that events in the UK are going strong. The ARWLWA Vice Presidents Robin Lukosius and Peter Phillips gave their reports next. They talked about the expansion of All Round Weightlifting in Australia, which included a new club from Melbourne and hosting of the Australian Championships in Bunbury. They also mentioned successfully getting sponsorship from the City of Belmont for the World Championships. Peter moved to accept the Vice Presidents reports, with a second by John, and it passed unanimously. A report on the 2017 IAWA World Postal Championships by promoter Al Myers was presented next. It was reported that 45 lifters participated in the World Postal, with lifters from the USAWA, IAWA-UK, and the ARWLWA participating. As been the tradition, the first day lifts of the World Championships were contested. Recognition was given to the overall club champion – the Western Australia Club. Peter moved to accept the report, with a second by Robin, and it passed unanimously.  A report on the upcoming 2017 Gold Cup was given by Al Myers since the promoters Matt Finkle and Andy Tomlin were not in attendance.  Andy had forwarded a report which stated that the plans for the 2017 Gold Cup were on track for November 4th  in Glasgow Scotland, and entries were coming in.  John moved to accept the report, with a second by Sam, and it passed unanimously. The IAWA Technical Committee report was next on the agenda, but Chairman Dennis Mitchell was not in attendance so no report was given. A discussion ensued with the technical committee members in attendance (Al Myers, Denny Habecker, and Peter Phillips) commenting that they had not heard of any new news from Dennis regarding any new technical issues to discuss.  Al stated the current members of the technical committee – Dennis Mitchell, Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Steve Gardner, Steve Sherwood, and Peter Phillips.  Peter suggested that we formulate a current email address list for all committee members so better communication may be done in the future. This was agreed upon by consensus. A report on the 2018 IAWA World Championships and 2018 Gold Cup was given next by Al Myers.  This report was sent by IAWA-UK Vice President Paul Barette.  The 2018 Worlds will be promoted by Mark Haydock on October 6-7th, 2018 in England, with a venue to be named at a later date.  The proposed lifts for day one include: Front Squat, Clean and Press behind Neck, One Hand Barbell Snatch, and the One Hand 2” Dumbbell Deadlift.  The proposed lifts for day 2 include: Power Row, Continental Clean and Jerk, and the Deadlift.  The 2018 Gold Cup will be promoted by Frank Allen in Leicester England on October 13th.  It was planned to be the following weekend after the World Championships to encourage overseas competitors to make both events. Discussion following the report centered on the lifts selected for Worlds.   Al Myers stated that these proposed lifts should be evaluated by the Technical Committee before they became official, as this should be a responsibility of the Tech Committee.  Denny moved to accept the report, with a second by John, and it passed unanimously.  There was no Old Business.  New Business was the next agenda item.  John Mahon brought up the interest in the Old Time Strongman in Australia, and how he would like to see a IAWA World Championships for it. Discussion ensued how this would be possible with the current IAWA competitions (Worlds and the Gold Cup), and how it could be done without taking anything away from those competitions. John moved that IAWA host a World Championships for the Old Time Strongman for 2018 in a postal format that would include all lifters from their organization performing the lifts on the same day at a set venue place for all countries involved.  Denny gave a second, and it passed with unanimous vote.  The ad hoc committee of John Mahon and Al Myers will make the plans for the 2018 IAWA Old Time Strongman World Championships.  More new business discussion included more discussion about the technical committee. Al Myers commented that he would like to see equal group representation on the Technical Committee and would like to see another person from Australia added to the Technical Committee.  Al explained that having a technical committee of 7 would be better than 6 for voting purposes, as matters are decided by majority vote. John Mahon agreed he would take the position, and a vote was taken and it passed unanimously.   There was no further New Business.   Next up on the agenda was accepting bids for the 2019 IAWA World Championships and the 2019 IAWA Gold Cup.  Al Myers submitted a bid for the World Championships to be held in Abilene, USA for the first weekend of October.   John Mahon submitted a bid for the 2019 Gold Cup to be held in Perth, Australia the first weekend of November.  There were no other bids.  Peter moved to accept the bids, with a second by Denny, and it passed with unanimous vote.  At this point a few words from the World Championships meet promoter John Mahon was given which included details of the weekend’s competition.  John then moved we adjourn the meeting. A second was given by Sam, and a unanimous vote was taken.   The meeting ended at 8:30 PM.

2016 Meeting Minutes

by Al Myers, USAWA Secretary

The 2016 USAWA Annual Meeting was called to order by President Denny Habecker at 7:00 PM  Friday night on June 24th, 2016 at the residence of Frank Ciavattone in Walpole, MA.  Before the meeting Frank hosted the membership was appetizers and pizza so the meeting started with everyone on a full stomach. Roll call was taken and these USAWA members were in attendance: Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Jeff Ciavattone, Rocky Morrison, Chad Ullom, Dean Ross, Art Montini, Frank Ciavattone, Aidan Habecker, Judy Habecker, Bob Geib, Susan Sees,  James Morrison, Cassie Morrison, and Lindsey Beary. The minutes of the 2015 Annual Meeting were read by myself.  Bob moved to accept the minutes with a second by Chad and the minutes passed unanimously. I then gave the Financial Report which showed a $1000 loss for the USAWA for 2015, but I attributed that to the costs of the website redesign and the purchase of drug tests.  The drug tests will be carried over into the next year and the website costs should be amortized over the next 5 years at which time the website will need another redesign.  I pointed out that the bank account balance is exactly the same now as when I started as Treasurer in 2009. I also discussed the details of the 2016 budget which I prepared and was prior approved by the Executive Board. Dean moved to accept with a second by Chad and it passed unanimously.  I then gave the Directors Report as Website Director.   I described the changes made to the website and how it will allow further expansion and improve access speed. I encouraged others to participate in the website by contributing blog stories. Frank moved to accept,  it was seconded by Bob, and it passed unanimously.  I then gave the Awards Director report. A big part of the Awards Program is to give out the USAWA annual awards which are presented every year at the National Championships to recognize outstanding lifters and their accomplishments. Frank moved to accept, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously. As Records Director I gave the Records Report. I stated that our record list is now online for free download, and I try to update the list every 1-2 months. I encouraged others to let me know if errors are ever noticed as it is easy for me to correct them.  Frank moved to accept the report. Chad made a second and it passed unanimously.  Next up was the Officials Report by Official’s Director Joe Garcia.  Joe was not in attendance but had forwarded his report to me which I gave on his behalf.  Joe encouraged others to join our Official’s ranks and take the rules test.  He also encouraged rulebook training for the current officials, that could take place as a clinic or training sessions before meets. Dean moved to accept, a second was made by Rocky, and it passed unanimously.  Chad Ullom gave the Drug Testing Report as Drug Enforcement Director.  He stated that we are continuing with an aggressive drug testing program that tests at many meets throughout the year.  No positive tests were found during the previous year. Judy moved to accept the report with a second by Dean.  It passed unanimously.  Postal Meet Director Denny Habecker gave the Postal Meet Report. Denny stated that 15 lifters competed in our Postal Series in 2015, with 6 lifters doing all of them. He encouraged more participation.  It was mentioned that we now allow lifters to do the postal lifts on any individual day during the 3 month quarter instead of just in the last month like it has been in the past. Chad moved to accept the report, a second was given by Dean, and it passed unanimously. The next agenda item was a report by the IAWA Technical Committee Chairman Dennis Mitchell regarding issues being discussed by the IAWA Technical Committee.  Dennis was not in attendance so no report was given. The next item was discussion and vote on a new proposed lift by Bill Clark, the Reg Park Bench Press (2 bar bench press).  The rules of the lift were preapproved by the USAWA Executive Board as required by our rules, and had passed the Executive Board’s approval prior to being presented.  The written rule was read to the membership.  The lift involves bench pressing two barbells according to the rules of the Bench Press.  There was minimal discussion on the proposed lift.  A vote was taken and it passed by majority vote with 10 yes votes and 3 no votes. As required by USAWA rules for a new USAWA approved lift a vote was taken to propose this new USAWA lift for IAWA approval.  This passed by majority vote with 11 for, and 2 against.  It will be forwarded to the IAWA Technical Committee Chairman to officially present it to the IAWA.  Next agenda item was the presentation of rule changes. I presented a listing of several items that were presented to me over the previous year for additions/changes to our rule book. Below is the list:

  • Add 2” vb and 2” plates to Bearhug rules
  • Change finger lifts rules in regards to ring and height to be in compliance with IAWA(UK) rules
  • Add to III Drug Testing: “The Lifter will be notified no more than 48 hours prior to the test, and must make arrangements for the test to be performed within 48 hours.”
  • Add to bar specs: Max diameter of bar 1.25”.
  • Add to VIII: “It is recommended not to publically announce an event before the sanction is officiated. Announcing an event prior to proper sanction may result in failure of meet sanction.”
  • Add to section on drawing of lots: “It is recommended that if lots are not drawn that the order of lifting be done by age, with order of lifting set from youngest lifter to oldest lifter.”
  • Add to calling to the platform: “The clock begins when the announcer declares that the bar is loaded”
  • Add to General Rules: “Regulation bars are to be used for all lifts unless stated otherwise in the individual rules of the lift.”
  •  Thors Hammer:  The Vertical bar used must by 18” in length with a 1/2″ tolerance (instead of max 18”)
  • Fulton Bar: Change minimum diameter to 1.9”  (instead of 1-15/16”).

Chad moved to accept these rulebook changes with a second by Art.  There was no discussion and the vote was unanimous in favor.  I then presented a couple of bylaw changes. These were the proposed changes:

Add to Article 7 Election

“In lieu of the elections a motion may be made to retain all current officers and executive board members in their current positions. This motion must pass by majority vote.”

“Each executive board position must be elected and voted on individually.”

Chad moved to accept the changes, with a second by Dean.  There was no discussion.  Amendments/changes to bylaws require a 2/3 vote. A vote was taken and the vote was unanimous in favor.  Next order of business was New Business.  Art brought up a discussion of limiting Record Day meets or individual lifts for records after meets to be limited to 5 records maximum.  He explained that he has always only allowed 5 lifts for record at his record day meet and that he feels that is enough.  Discussion afterwards was all in favor of this.  It seems most lifters are getting tired of lifters using record days to set large number of records with submaximal effort to just set and pad their record count.  Also included in this was discussion of how these lifters interfere with the lifting of others at record days because of the extra loading and judging they require beyond everyone else. Art then moved to make this a new rule and it was seconded by Dean, and passed unanimously. Frank brought up the 6 week advance meet sanction time that our rules now require and how he would like to see it decreased.  Frank stated that with his club of young lifters he often doesn’t know their schedule that far in advance and setting meet dates for everyone to be able to attend is difficult.  I explained to the membership why the 6 week sanction deadline was put into place to start with: 1. to allow anyone ample opportunity to be able to attend if they wanted, ie get an airline ticket if needed, 2. allow the Executive Board time to review the sanction request, 3. To make our event schedule and sanction process look legitimate by not allowing last minute meets to take place.  A compromise was reached and Frank moved to decrease the sanction deadline to 30 days. Jeff gave a second and it passed unanimously. Judy then brought up her concerns regarding entry deadlines on meet entry forms not being enforced.  She explained how this really causes issues for meet directors who need to be able to plan for the number of lifters that attend with t-shirt and awards purchases.  I explained how I feel this needs to be the meet directors responsibilty and a meet director should be able to refuse lifters that do not enter by the deadline if they want, with full support of the USAWA.  I proposed that we add a line to the rulebook stating,”If meet directors refuse entry because of a lifter not entering by the stated entry deadline on the entry form, the USAWA will support this decision and no appeal can be made.” Judy moved to include this statement in the rulebook, a second was made by Dean, and it passed with unanimous vote.  There was no other new business. The next agenda item was accepting bids for the 2017 USAWA National Championships. Bob Geib made a bid to host next years National Championships in Vermillion, Ohio on one of the last two weekends in June, the traditional time for Nationals.  There were no other bids.  A vote was taken to accept Bob’s bid and it passed unanimously. At this time the meeting agenda was completed, and Chad made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  It was seconded by Dean and it passed unanimously.  The meeting ended at 8:30 PM.