USAWA

By Al Myers, Secretary

2021 MINUTES FROM ANNUAL MEETING OF THE USAWA

The annual meeting of the USAWA was called to order by President Denny Habecker at 6:00 PM on June 19th at the Dino Gym in Holland, Kansas. Roll call was taken with these USAWA members in attendance: Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Johnny Strangeway, Lance Foster, Phoebe Todd, Judy Habecker, Beth Skwarecki, Dave Glasgow, Eric Todd, Chris Todd, Chad Ullom, Thom Van Vleck, Randy Smith, Abe Smith, Dave DeForest, Dean Ross, Mike McBride, and LaVerne Myers.  The minutes from the 2019 Annual Meeting were read by secretary Al Myers.  Chad moved to accept the minutes, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  The financial report were read by treasurer Al Myers, in which a profit was shown of $248.15 for the past two years leaving $9048.98 in the bank account as of December 31st, 2020.  Al explained it’s been a solid 2 years considering the covid situation and the lack of income thru sanction fees and memberships. Al mentioned that close to $2000 have been added to the USAWA bank account since becoming Treasurer in 2009 and that the USAWA has had 12 years of financial stability.  Chad moved to accept the report, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  The website report was given next by Website Director Al Myers.   A long list of items and information were mentioned that the website provides  to the membership.  Al also expressed thanks to those that have contributed to the website. Chad moved to accept the report, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  The report from the Awards Director Al Myers was next on the agenda, in which Al explained that the awards program provides awards to recognize outstanding performances and contributions to the USAWA along with any special awards. Judy moved to accept the report, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  The report from the acting Records Director Johnny Strangeway was given next.  Johnny expressed concerns that due to it’s length the list may need to be separated into 2 lists – one for men and one for women.   He also asked the membership if there would be interest  to add a feature that would keep track of a lifters record count which from the discussion most seemed in favor of.  Eric moved to accept the report, with a second by LaVerne, and it passed unanimously. Report from the Drug Enforcement Director Chad Ullom was given next in which he said, “no drug tests have been done in the last year”.  There was a slight pause in the meeting as this was the shortest directors report in history and the membership thought he might continue.  Eventually, Judy moved to accept the report, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  The report from the Officials Director Joe Garcia was next on the agenda.  Joe was not in attendance and had not given a report to anyone to give on his behalf, so no report was given for the second year in a row.  The Postal Meet Director Denny Habecker gave his report next.  Denny expressed thanks to everyone who has participated in the postal series and stated this has been the most participation ever in the USAWA postal meets. Chad moved to accept the report, with a second by Judy, and it passed unanimously. The report from IAWA Technical Committee Chairman Dennis Mitchell was next.  Dennis was unable to be present at the meeting due to a recent hip replacement but had forwarded his report to Al.   In giving Dennis’s report Al commented that Dennis wanted to send his apologies for missing the meeting, and that since COVID there has been  no activity within the IAWA technical committee.  Chad moved to accept the report, with a second by Eric, and it passed unanimously.  The next meeting agenda item was a vote and discussion on the policy going forth on meet sanctions and meet restrictions due to COVID.   In the discussion Chad stated that most all people have had the opportunity  to receive the vaccine if they wanted it. All discussion was in favor of returning to normal activity within the USAWA without any restrictions.  Chad made that motion, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously. Discussion and membership approval for the new proposed lift, The Rim Lift, was next.  The Rim Lift had been prior proposed to the USAWA Executive Board by LaVerne Myers and  Executive Board approval was given for membership vote for new lift status.  LaVerne described the rules for the Rim Lift, which are identical to the rules for the Rim Lift in IAWA-UK  Rulebook.  He stated that the Rim Lift had been done in the 2020 Grip Championships as an exhibition lift and tried by several lifters, all of which liked the lift. During the discussion Randy commented if it was possible within the written rules to “game the lift”,which would create future problems.  Al responded that he was confidant that the rules were well written with specific regulations in place to keep that from happening, and the same rules are in place for the Rim Lift in the IAWA-UK for quite some time and that has not happened.  Al then moved to accept the Rim Lift as a new USAWA official lift along with the provision that all lifts done in the Rim Lift at the 2020 Grip Championships count as records retroactively. Chad gave a second and the motion passed unanimously. The President then asked if there was any New Business brought forth from the membership.  There was none. Being it an odd numbered year, elections were next up. Elections were for President first.  Denny stated that he intended to run again and there were no other nominations. All voted in favor.  For Vice President, Chad stated that he would run again. There were no other nominations and all voted in favor. Secretary/Treasurer were next, in which Al stated that he would not run again and said that he has enjoyed his 12 years as Secretary but that was enough time in the position and it was time for someone to else to be Secretary/Treasurer.  Al then nominated Eric Todd and told the membership that Eric is a very qualified nominee and would be an excellent secretary.   There were no other nominations and all were in favor. The next position up for election was an at large Executive Board position held by Dennis Mitchell.  Dennis was not in attendance but had relayed to the board that he would like to run again.  Chad nominated Dave Glasgow.  There were no other nominations and a vote was taken by written ballot, in which Dave was elected. The next At Large Executive Board position was up next, which has been held by Rocky Morrison who was not in attendance.  Rocky had relayed to the Executive Board that he did not want to run again.  Frank Ciavattone, who was not in attendance, previously had relayed to the Executive Board that he would like to run and his nomination was made by Al.  Chad nominated Thom, who refused the nomination.  Judy nominated Randy who accepted the nomination.  Dave nominated Beth who accepted the nomination.  There were no other nominations. The election was done by written ballot and Beth was elected. To summarize the newly elected officers:  President – Denny Habecker, Vice President Chad Ullom, Secretary/Treasurer Eric Todd, At Large EB Member Dave Glasgow, At Large EB Member Beth Skwarecki.  At this time Chad made an award presentation to outgoing Secretary Al Myers for his years of service.  It was a touching moment for Al, who received a hand crafted award made by Thom Van Vleck.  After Al’s tears had subsided the meeting resumed with 2 new director appointments.  Johnny Strangeway had been acting as Records Director for the past  2 years under Records Director Al Myers.  Al gave his resignation and recommended Johnny for the position officially.  There were no other nominations and the vote was all in favor.   Al then gave his resignation as Website Director and recommended Eric for the position, stating that the Secretary should be the one who runs the website to be able to easily communicate with the membership.  There were no other nominations and all were in favor.  The last agenda item was accepting bids for the 2022 USAWA National Championships. One prior bid had been made, by Frank Ciavattone, to host in Boston.  When asking if there were any other bids from the floor, Judy made a bid for her and Denny to host in Lebanon, PA.  There were no other bids.  The vote was done by written ballot with Denny and Judy winning the bid.  Dean then moved to adjourn the meeting, with a second by Judy, and it passed unanimously.  The meeting ended at 7:00 PM.

By Al Myers, IAWA President

MINUTES FROM THE 2019 IAWA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 2019 IAWA Annual General Meeting was called to order at the Abilene Civic Center, in Abilene Kansas, at 5:30 PM on Saturday, October 5th by President Al Myers. Roll call was taken and these members were in attendance: Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Chris Bass, Lance Foster, Steve Sherwood, Thom Van Vleck, Steve Andrews, John Strangeway, Chad Ullom, Stevie Shanks, Paul Barette, Dennis Mitchell, Denny Habecker, Judy Habecker, Frank Ciavattone, Karen Gardner, Steve Gardner, Eric Todd, Peter Phillips, Christopher Lestan, and Charlotte Hughes. Roll call of the IAWA VP’s was done and these VP’s were in attendance: Denny Habecker (USA), Chad Ullom (USA), Steve Gardner (IAWAUK), and Peter Phillips (Australia).  Steve Gardner read the 2018 IAWA minutes on behalf of the IAWA General Secretary Frank Allen. Chad moved to accept the minutes, with a second by Karen, and it passed unanimously. Reports from the IAWA Vice Presidents were given next.  Steve  reported an increase in membership in the IAWAUK.  Peter reported the growth of independent clubs in Australia, as well as complying with the new regulations of organizing the new association. John Mahon has assumed the responsibilities of the IAWA Vice President, previously held by Robin Lukosis.  Judy moved to accept the reports, with a second by Chad, and it passed unanimously. Al gave a report on the success of the 2019 World Postal Championships, with plans to continue it next year.  He emphasized that this World Postal will also continue to be known as the Andy Goddard Memorial Championships.   Chad moved to accept the report, with a second by Denny, and it passed unanimously. Peter gave a report on the upcoming IAWA Gold Cup held in Perth, Australia next month and how the plans are coming along. Paul moved to accept the report, with a second by LaVerne, and it passed unanimously.  The report from the Chairman of the Technical Committee was given next.  Dennis reported that there was nothing to report this year.  The report on next years World Championship was given by meet promoter Denny Habecker.  Denny had proposed these lifts for the 2020 World Championships, which have been already approved by the Technical Committee: DAY 1 – clean and press, one hand snatch, power row, one hand deadlift DAY 2 – cheat curl, pullover and push, 2×2″ vertical bar deadlift.  The meet was proposed for the first of October.  Frank moved to accept the report with the proposed lifts, with a second by Paul, and it passed unanimously. A report on next years Gold Cup was given by joint meet promoters Stevie Shanks and Steve Gardner.  Entry forms and entry information have already been made and plans are fully underway.  Frank moved to accept the report, with a second by Chad, and it passed unanimously.  The first item on New Business was discussion and voting on the new proposed lift, the Shanks Lift.  This lift was brought up at the 2018 meeting and then discussed this past year among the technical committee which supported it fully. Steve G read the rule.  There was no discussion.  Chad moved to accept the Shanks Lift, with a second by Steve A, and it passed unanimously.  At this point Stevie Shanks expressed his appreciation for the acceptance of this lift, and how it meant for his family.  Next, Al asked if there was any new business regarding the Ad Hoc committee formed at last years general meeting led by Cliff Dunlop.  After a few moments of silence, it was assumed that the committee has not moved forward.  Steve G then proposed that the technical committee review a new proposed lift, the two man one hand deadlift.  This lift has been a popular lift in the USAWA, and has been performed before in IAWA as a challenge event at a previous Gold Cup with much success. Paul moved to send this lift to the technical committee for review, with a second by Frank, and it passed unanimously.  Bids for the 2021 IAWA Gold Cup were taken, and the only bid came from Paul Barette to be held in Eastbourne, England.  Peter moved to accept the bid, with a second by LaVerne, and it passed unanimously.  Bids for the 2021 IAWA World Championships were taken, with the only bid coming from Peter Phillips to be held in Perth, Australia.  Peter stated that John Mahon would be joint promoter with him.  Denny moved to accept the bid, with a second by LaVerne, and it passed unanimously.  Al, as promoter of this years Worlds, gave a few words about the weekend championships.  The highlight of his report was when he stated that beer and pizza was going to be available after the meeting free of charge. Judy then moved to adjourn the meeting, with a second by Chad, and it passed unanimously.  The meeting ended promptly at 6:10 PM.

By Al Myers, IAWA President

MINUTES FROM THE 2018 IAWA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 2018 IAWA Annual General Meeting was called to order at the Eastbourne Sports Park at 7:00 PM, Friday by Al Myers, IAWA President on October 5^th.  Roll call was taken and these IAWA members were in attendance: Al Myers, Steve Gardner, Steve Andrews, Denny Habecker, LaVerne Myers, Graham Saxton, Judy Habecker, Karen Gardner, Frank Allen, Paul Barette, Steve Moss, and Matt Jones.  A roll call of the IAWA Vice Presidents was done and these VP’s were in attendance: Denny Habecker (USAWA), Steve Gardner (IAWAUK).  These VP’s were not in attendance: Chad Ullum (USAWA), Peter Phillips (Australia), Robin Lukosius (Australia), Cliff Harvey (New Zealand), Jose Jara (Spain).   A moment of silence was held for the late Art Montini. The reading of the 2017 IAWA minutes was done by IAWA General Secretary Frank Allen. Steve Moss moved to accept the minutes, with a second by LaVerne Myers, and the minutes were passed with unanimous vote. Reports from the IAWA Vice Presidents were given. Denny Habecker, from the USAWA, reported that there was no news from the USAWA.  Steve Gardner, from the IAWAUK, reported that competitions were now being held in Ireland.  Peter Phillips, from the ARWLWA, had forwarded a report stating that lots of competitions were being held in Australia.  Graham Saxton moved to accept the reports, with a second by Karen Gardner, and the reports passed with unanimous vote. The report on the World Postal Championships was given by Al Myers, in which it was stated that 42 lifters participated and the postal was a great success.  Paul Barette moved to accept the report, with a second by Denny Habecker, and it passed unanimously. The report of the 2018 Gold Cup was given by promoter Paul Barette.  Paul stated that 24 lifters have entered, and all arrangements were in order. Judy Habecker moved to accept the report, with a second by Karen Gardner, and it passed unanimously. The report from the IAWA Technical committee was next on the agenda, and a report from Dennis Mitchell, the IAWA Tech committee chairman, was read on his behalf which stated no activity has occurred in the technical committee this past year.  LaVerne Myers moved to accept the report, with a second by Matt Jones, and it passed unanimously. A report on the 2019 IAWA World Championships was given by Al Myers.  A full entry form was presented with the dates selected as October 5^th and 6^th, 2019 to be held in Abilene, Kansas, USA.  The lifts presented are: Day 1 – Reverse Curl, 2H Snatch from Hang, 1H Clean and Jerk, and the 2H Thumbless Deadlft, Day 2 – Pullover and Push, Continental onto Belt, and the Straddle Deadlift with 2” Bar. Matt Jones moved to accept the report, with a second by Steve Moss, and it passed unanimously. A report on the 2019 IAWA Gold Cup was read by Al Myers, on the behalf of Peter Phillips.  Peter stated that plans are underway for the Gold Cup to be held the last weekend of October or the first weekend of November.  Judy Habecker moved to accept the report, with a second by Karen Gardner, and it passed unanimously.  In New Business, Steve Gardner gave a presentation on a new lift he would like proposed to the technical committee, called the Shanks Lift.  Steve described the proposed lift, which is a lift using pin loaders and attached rings to honor Jack Shanks and his lifting of the Dinnie Stones.  Paul Barette moved to have the technical committee evaluate the lift, with a second by Steve Moss.  It passed unanimously.  After review of the tech committee, it will be proposed to the membership at the next meeting.  Cliff Dunlop brought up the situation of how to handle lifts if you are disabled.  Questions were asked on various lifts, and it was concluded that our current lifts are for able-bodied lifters and if a disabled lifter could perform certain lifts with their disability then that is allowed.  Cliff requested that this be looked at further, and thus an Ad Hoc committee was formed, with Cliff being appointed chairman by President Al Myers.  Reports from this committee will be forwarded to the technical committee for evaluation. Steve Gardner moved to form this committee, with a second by Steve Andrews, and it passed with unanimous vote. The next agenda item was submitting bids for the 2020 Championships.  Only one bid was put forth for the 2020 IAWA Worlds, with that coming from Denny Habecker. LaVerne moved to accept the bid, with a second by Steve Andrews, and it passed unanimously.  Only one bid was put forth for the 2020 Gold Cup as well, by Stevie Shanks in Ireland.  Matt Jones moved to accept the bid, with a second by LaVerne Myers, and it passed unanimously.  Words from the 2019 World Championships promoter Paul Barette was given next, in which Paul gave a few reminders for the weekend competition.  Steve Gardner then moved to adjourn the meeting, with a second by Paul Barette. It passed unanimously.  The meeting ended at 7:45 PM.

By Al Myers, USAWA Secretary

2018 Annual General Meeting Minutes

The Annual General Meeting of the USAWA was called to order by President Denny Habecker on June 23rd following the competition at 3:15 PM, at the site of the meet.  Roll call was taken and these USAWA members were in attendance: Al Myers, Denny Habecker, Cody Lokken, Brandon Rein, Cale Dunlap, Joe Ciavattone Sr., Joe Ciavattone Jr., LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Eric Todd, Judy Habecker, and Dennis Mitchell. The reading of the previous minutes were read by Secretary Al Myers.  Judy moved to accept the minutes, with a second by Dean, and they passed unanimously. The Financial report was given by Treasurer Al Myers, which showed a yearly profit of $1994. No drug tests or online store purchases were made in 2017 which explained the profit.  Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously. A website report was given by Al Myers, website director. Details of all things the USAWA website provides was given.   Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously.  The report from Awards Director Al Myers was next.  Details of the awards given by the USAWA was outlined.   Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously. Next, the report from Records Director Al Myers was given.   Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously. The report from the  Drug Enforcement Director Chad Ullom had been forwarded and given on his behalf by Al Myers, since Chad was not in attendance.  The USAWA conducted nearly 20 tests this past year with no positive tests. Judy moved to accept the report, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously. Next the report of the Official’s Director Joe Garcia was given.  Joe was not in attendance but had prepared his report to be given by Al Myers.  In his report Joe encouraged more Level 1 officials to become Level 2 officials. Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously. Postal Meet Director Denny Habecker gave his report next.  19 men and 3 women competed in the postal series in 2017, with 6 doing all of them. Denny outlined another scoring system of ranking the postal lifters for the year.   Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously. The report of IAWA Technical Committee Chairman Dennis Mitchell was given next.  Dennis informed us about the two new proposed USAWA lifts that we will need to vote on. Joe Sr. moved to approve the report, with a second by Dean, and the report passed unanimously.  The discussion and vote on the two new lifts were the next agenda item, which were both approved prior by the USAWA Executive Board.  The first lift, the Lurich Lift proposed by Lance Foster, involves an OTSM lift that is a Hack Lift from a height of 18 inches. Dean moved to accept the Lurich Lift, with a second by Joe Sr., and it passed unanimously.  The second lift, the Habecker Lift proposed by Al Myers, involves an OTSM lift that is a Zercher Lift from a height of 1/3rd the lifter’s height.  Joe Sr. moved to accept the lift, with a second by Dean, and the lift passed unanimously. Discussion and vote on a rule change for the Thor’s Hammer was next, with this addition, “Plates must be loaded using the largest plates and in the sequence of heavier discs innermost with the smaller discs in descending weight arranged, with a maximum of 10 pound plates used if possible.” Joe Sr. moved to accept the rule change, with a second by Dean, and it passed unanimously.  In New Business, Judy discussed attending Art’s funeral and that she and Denny sent flowers on the USAWA’s behalf. Judy moved that she and Denny would like to host an annual Art’s Birthday Bash Memorial Meet  in Art’s memory. Joe Sr. gave a second and it passed unanimously. Al Myers mentioned that a $500 anonymous donation had been given to the USAWA to do something in honor of the late Mike “Murdo” Murdoch. After prior discussing options with the donater, Al moved to have a Hall of Fame Plaque made which would list all USAWA Hall of Fame Members.  LaVerne gave a second and the motion passed unanimously. Bids for the 2019 USAWA National Championships included only one bid, from Denny and Judy Habecker for Nationals to be held the 3rd or 4th weekend of June in Lebanon.  Dean moved to accept the bid, with a second by Joe Sr., and it passed unanimously.  Cody then gave details of the evening banquet, which was held at Fish Lips by the beach.  Dean moved to adjourne the meeting, with a second by Joe Sr. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting ended promptly at 3:55 PM.