USAWA

by Al Myers

(The following is the meet report written by Bill Clark in the July, 1999 issue of the Strength Journal, Vol. X No. 4.    This National Championships was the second Championships promoted by the Ambridge BBC.)

HABECKER, NOI RULE USAWA MEET

Ambridge, PA., June 26 – Denny Habecker, the Lebanon, Pa. strongman who seems to get better and better with the passing years, was the overall grand champion among the men and Noi Phumchaona of Cleveland, Ohio, retained her women’s title at the USAWA’s annual championships at the Ambridge, Pa., VFW  Weightlifting Club.

Habecker lifts any and all.  He holds his own in both Olympic Lifting and in the power lifts and excels at the all-rounds.   At age 56, he’s still supple as most half his age and he retains strength and flexibility both above and below the waist.

Noi remains Noi – about all that happens with her is that she gets a year older each year and she gets stronger, not weaker, as time passes.  Time passes fast when you’re having fun.  Can you believe that Noi is now in the 55-59 age group?

Special thanks must go to Art Montini and John McKean for what proved to be a very good weekend.  To begin, the schedule of events was given to the lifters 11 months prior to the competition.  Things ran on time at the meet, dinner was free, and the Ambridge VFW lifters contributed $100 to the Strength Journal when the weekend was over and all the bills had been paid.  Not too damned shabby a deal, folks.

The meet was great fun because it was family.  The handful of spectators consisted of friends and family of lifters and wound up loading if they weren’t lifting.  The kitchen stayed open all weekend and good food was always on hand.  You’d appreciated hundreds of screaming fans, but a few appreciative folks made the weekend an enjoyable experience.  It is always fun to lift at Ambridge – the basement and the competition area have seen more than half a century of great lifting and the age of the strongman era permeates the place.  Thanks, Ambridge, for the weekend.

MEET RESULTS

1999 USAWA National Championships
June 26-27, 1999
Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Meet Directors: Art Montini and John McKean
Emcee: Bill Clark
Scorekeeper: Marilyn McKean
Loaders: Jason Zajec, Bill Spayd, Bob Geib, Chris Pennington, Joshua Monk, Mike Pinkoski, Izzy Mabrey, John Monk, Mike O’Brien
Officials: Art Montini, Dennis Mitchell, Denny Habecker, Rob McKean, Frank Ciavattone, Jim Goviannini, Bob Geib, Jeff Ciavattone, Joe Garcia, John Kurtz, John McKean, John Monk, Jim Malloy, Bob Karhan, Bob Hirsch, Pete Zaremba

Lifts: Clean and Push Press, One Arm Swing, Deadlift with Ciavattone Grip, Steinborn, Arthur Lift, One Arm Deadlift, Hip Lift

Men: Top Ten Placings
1. Denny Habecker, Pennsylvania
2. Jim Malloy, Ohio
3. Pete Zaremba, Ohio
4. Joe Garcia, Missouri
5. Frank Ciavattone, Massachusetts
6. Dale Friesz, Virginia
7. Scott Schmidt, Ohio
8. Chris Waterman, Ohio
9. John McKean, Pennsylvania
10. Jeff Ciavattone, Massachusetts

Women: Top Placing
1. Noi Phumchaona, Ohio

Best Lifters Awards:
Women Open – Noi Phumchaona
Women Master – Noi Phumchaona
Men Open – Denny Habecker
Men Master – Denny Habecker
Men Junior – Jeff Ciavattone
Men Junior 11-12 Age Group – John Blockston
Men Junior 14-15 Age Group – James Loewer
Men Junior 16-17 Age Group – Sean McKean
Men Junior 18-19 Age Group – Jeff Ciavattone
Men 20-39 Age Group – Pete Zaremba
Men 40-44 Age Group – Frank Ciavattone
Men 45-49 Age Group – Joe Garcia
Men 50-54 Age Group – John McKean
Men 55-59 Age Group – Denny Habecker
Men 65-69 Age Group – Dennis Mitchell
Men 70-74 Age Group – Art Montini

by Al Myers

(The following was written by Bill Clark in the Strength Journal.)

SOME NOTES FROM FRANK CIAVATTONE:

“High praise for the guys who loaded…best job I’ve ever had.  Four great guys – Mike Enright, Chris Sullivan, Nick Lacivita, and Jim Paluso had not one complaint.  The platform was built by Walt Lacivita and his crew… the banquet was a real Italian, all-you-can-eat feast.”

FRANK CIAVATTONE SR. AWARD

Each year, the Ciavattone Family presents the Ciavattone Award to a person in the USAWA who shows the strength and courage exhibited by Frank in his battle against many physical problems without ever losing his youthful enthusiam for life.

The 1998 award was presented to Denny Habecker of Lebanon, PA., a lifter who always has time for the sport, his family, and for his community.  The award was presented by Cara (Ciavattone) Collins, Frank Sr’s daughter.

MEET RESULTS

1998 USAWA National Championships
July 25-26, 1998
Mansfield, Massachusetts

Meet Director: Frank Ciavattone
Loaders: Mike Enright, Chris Sullivan, Nick Lacivita, Jim Paluso

Lifts: One-Hand Clean and Jerk, Pullover and Press, Deadlift with Ciavattone Grip, Cheat Curl, Clean and Press on Knees, Continental Snatch, Bench Press Feet in Air, Neck Lift

Men: Top Ten Placings
1. Joe Ciavattone, Massachusetts
2. John Monk, Pennsylvania
3. Frank Ciavattone, Massachusetts
4. Bill Spayd, Pennsylvania
5. Joe Garcia, Missouri
6. Jeff Ciavattone, Massachusetts
7. John McKean, Pennsylvania
8. Denny Habecker, Pennsylvania
9. Tim Kennedy, Massachusetts
10. Ralph Cirafesi, Pennsylvania

Women: Top Three Placings
1. Noi Phumchaona, Ohio
2. Cara Collins, Massachusetts
3. Domenique Ciavattone, Massachusetts

Best Lifters Awards:
Men Open – Joe Ciavattone
Men Master – Frank Ciavattone
Women Junior – Domenique Ciavattone
Women Open – Noi Phumchaona
Women Master – Noi Phumchaona
Men Junior – Jeff Ciavattone
Frank Ciavattone Sr. Award – Denny Habecker

by Al Myers

(The following meet report was written by Bill Clark in the Strength Journal, Vol. VIII No. 3)

10TH ANNUAL USAWA MEET

Columbia, MO – – Noi Phumchaona won the women’s title handily at the 10th Annual USAWA Championships here on June 14-15, but it was not an easy victory for Jim Malloy in winning the “Best Lifter” among the men.

Malloy, a 110 KG champ in the 55-59 age group, had the meet’s highest total of 3515 pounds and finished on top of the eight-lift event with 3285.94 points on the corrected age and bodyweight basis.  He edged fellow Cleveland lifter, Bob Hirsh, who had 3113.35 points.  Joe Garcia, who had the best neck and hand-and-thigh lifts in the meet, was close behind in third with 3018.62 points.  His total of 3485 pounds was second only to Malloy. 

The closest battle for an award ever in the USAWA Nationals came in the 50-54 age group here.  Joe Caron finished with 2790.37 points to edge Denny Habecker by less than a point. Denny had 2789.69 points….a mere .48 of a point difference.

A total of only 22 lifters made it to the platform – the lowest ever in a USAWA title meet, and five of the 22 were from the host club – Clark’s Gym.  Even with the small number, lifters came from Massachusetts (Dave Ellis and Frank Ciavattone) to California (Jack Lano).

A brief record session was held following the competition each day and the star of the day on Sunday was Kerry Clark.  Kerry had not entered the competition because a severe reaction to medication had sent her to the hospital and her bodyweight had dropped almost overnight.  She spent both days in the referee’s chair on one of the platforms and when the neck lift came up, the competitive juices began to flow.  With no training in almost a year, she made 505 pounds in the 70 KG class, a lift which was beaten only by Garcia’s 510.  She tried 600, but without success.

Clark’s Gym came up with a trio of youngsters who have a good chance to make headlines in the USAWA for years to come.  Emily Gordon, a 14-year-old junior high soccer player, was in her third major competition in  a little over a year and, at a bodyweight of 99.6 pounds, did a 350 hand-and- thigh and a 735 harness lift.  She set 10 USAWA records during the weekend.  Jonathan Anderson, Kerry’s 12-year-old nephew, made a 200-pound neck lift and set eight records in his first-ever competition.  Andy Bate, an 18-year-old who loaded on Saturday, decided to lift on Sunday as a record-seeker only, and came away with four records in his initial effort.  All the kids, plus a couple of others, are considering the IAWA International Meet in October in Pennsylvania. 

MEET RESULTS

1997 USAWA National Championships
June 14-15, 1997
Columbia, Missouri

Meet Director: Bill Clark and Joe Garcia
Emcee: Bill Clark
Equipment Hauler: John Carter
Sales: Dolores Clark
Loaders: John Carter, Andy Bate, Charles Wade, Dan Thompson, Tyler Lasley, Judy Habecker
Head Officials: Kerry Clark, Casey Clark

Lifts: Clean and Press Heels Together, Deadlift with Ciavattone Grip, Steinborn, Hand and Thigh, One-Hand Deadlift, Pullover and Push, Clean and Press on Knees, Neck Lift

Men: Top Ten Placings
1. Jim Malloy, Ohio
2. Bob Hirsh, Ohio
3. Joe Garcia, Missouri
4. Chris Waterman, Ohio
5. Joe Caron, Kansas
6. Denny Habecker, Pennsylvania
7. Dale Friesz, Virginia
8. John Vernacchio, Pennsylvania
9. John Carter, Missouri
10. Howard Prechtel, Ohio

Women: Top Three Placings
1. Noi Phumchaona, Ohio
2. Karen Devine, Pennsylvania
3. Emily Gordon, Missouri

Best Lifters Awards:
Men Overall – Jim Malloy
Women Master – Noi Phumchaona
Men Open – Bob Hirsh
Men Master – Jim Malloy
Men 20-39 Age Group – John Carter
Men 40-44 Age Group – Bob Hirsh
Men 50-54 Age Group – Joe Caron
Men 55-59 Age Group – Jim Malloy
Men 60-64 Age Group – John Vernacchio
Men 65-69 Age Group – Dennis Mitchell
Men 70-74 Age Group – Howard Prechtel
Men 75-79 Age Group – Jack Lano
Women Junior – Emily Gordon
Men Junior – Jonathon Anderson

by Al Myers

(The following meet report covering the 1996 USAWA National Championships  was written by Bill Clark in the August 1996 issue of the Strength Journal, Vol. VII No.5)

CIAVATTONE FAMILY LEADS USAWA

The crowd was the smallest in the history of the USAWA’s national championships which originated in 1988, but the lifting was excellent, the food great, the fun unmarred by the competition, and the weekend a tribute to the Ciavattone Family in general and the memory of Frank Ciavattone Sr., in particular.

A field of 23 lifters were on hand for the Ninth Annual USAWA Championships which were held in the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, Mass., a fine facility which seemed to perfectly fit the needs of the small crowd.

Five members of the Ciavattone Family lifted in the competition and, when the meet was done, three-year-old Joseph Ciavattone did an exhibition Ciavattone lift with 10 kilos which must have set a USAWA record for most lifters in one extended family in a single meet, beating out the many Montinis of Aliquippa, Pa.

Cleveland’s Bob Hirsh was an easy winner of the best lifter award for Americans, but waged a huge battle with England’s Steve Angell for the bragging rights, regardless of nationality.  Bob finished with 1162.5 points on the Lynch Formula.  Steve wound up with 1172.5 points.  Hirsh received one per cent age correction — 11.6 points – which gave him an edge of 1.6 points on teh age-corrected total… a tremendous battle between two great lifters.  Bob is only 41; Steve is 26.

Cara Ciavattone took the women’s overall title.  She shared gals’ honors with Noi Phumchaona the masters’ leader, and Holly Ciavattone, her niece, who won teenage honors.

Joe Ciavattone was the best open lifter (Angell was not eligible for USAWA awards) and his nephew, Jeff, was the best teenager.  Only one Ciavattone failed to win age group honors.  As is normally the case, the meet director has many thing to distract his concentration on lifting and this meet was no exception.  Frank Jr., failed to break a couple of records he had hoped to exceed, but had to be happy with the way the weekend progressed.  He took home the best meet director award…. and well-deserved.

The Ciavattone neck proved to be super strong – this time it belonged to younger brother Joe.  Frank had taken the neck record up to 322.5 kg (711 pounds) at the 1992 Nationals in his hometown of Walpole, Mass., and it still stands as the heavyweight record.  It was also a Ciavattone Family record. No longer!!!!!

Joe, only 27 and lifting in the 105 KG class at a bodyweight of only 223, made a 287.5 KG opener, jumped to 325 for a family record ad the best-ever neck lift.  He missed it the first time, but got a better lean and a more balanced drive to make the 325 – 716 1/2 pounds …. the best of all-time.

The Ciavattone Family neck battle is now under way.

CIAVATTONE AWARDS

The Sunday evening banquet, which left most everyone full of bar-b-q, was highlighted by the presentation of the Frank D. Ciavattone Sr. Courage Awards for both 1995 and 1996.  Frank Sr. was a long-time supporter of all varieties of lifting, who, in his final years, was a staunch supporter of the USAWA.   He served the USAWA as an official despite being battered by diabetes and cancer and the strength with which he fought his conditions is very much evident in this family.  In memory of her husband, Josephine Ciavattone presented the 1995 Courage Award to Howard Prechtel, the USAWA President who still sets records at 71 despite recurring problems stemming from World War II wounds.  The 1996 Courage Award went to Bill Clark, who has overcame three joint replacements to win two USAWA titles and set nearly 100 age group records at age 64.

MEET RESULTS

1996 USAWA National Championships
June 22-23, 1996
Mansfield, Massachusetts

Meet Director: Frank Ciavattone
Loaders: Mark Bridges, Ramon Lopez, Jim Collins

Lifts: Clean and Press Heels Together, Continental to Chest, Pullover and Press, Zercher Lift, Deadlift with Ciavattone Grip, One-Arm Clean and Jerk, One-Arm Deadlift, Neck Lift

Men: Top Ten Placings
1. Bob Hirsh, Ohio
2. Chris Waterman, Ohio
3. Barry Pensyl, Pennsylvania
4. Art Montini, Pennsylvania
5. Jim Malloy, Ohio
6. Joe Ciavattone, Massachusetts
7. Denny Habecker, Pennsylvania
8. Pete Zaremba, Ohio
9. Howard Prechtel, Ohio
10. Dale Friesz, Virginia

Women: Top Three Placings
1. Cara Ciavattone, Massachusetts
2. Noi Phumchaona, Ohio
3. Holly Ciavattone, Massachusetts

Best Lifter Awards:
Women Junior – Holly Ciavattone
Women Open – Cara Ciavattone
Women Master – Noi Phumchaona
Men Junior – Jeff Ciavattone
Men Open – Bob Hirsh
Men Master – Bob Hirsh
Men 40-44 Age Group – Bob Hirsh
Men 45-49 Age Group – Barry Pensyl
Men 50-54 Age Group – Jim Malloy
Men 55-59 Age Group – Dale Friesz
Men 60-64 Age Group – Dennis Mitchell
Men 65-69 Age Group – Art Montini
Men 70-74 Age Group – Howard Prechtel
Frank Ciavattone Sr. Award – Bill Clark

by Al Myers

(The following meet report was written by Bill Clark in the June 1995 issue of the Strength Journal, Vol.VI No. 5)

Kerry Clark, Art Montini …..USAWA’s Best

There were records galore and outstanding performances abounded at the USAWA National Championships on June 3-4 in Columbia, Mo.. but Kerry Clark came thru with the most outstanding performance of them all.  A small but talented field put an amazing total of 164 records in the book during the two-day, nine-event affair put on by Clark’s Gym…but the 555-pound neck lift by Kerry Clark had to be the outstanding lift of the weekend.

Kerry, a 31-year-old research analyst in the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, beat her own neck lift mark by 152 1/2 pounds and was 55 pounds better than any male lifter in the meet, regardless of age or size. In addition, Kerry moved atop the all-time women’s list in the hip lift with 1300 pounds and put a total of nine records in the book in the open 80 KG class.  She joined with teammate Dale Spry to do a 500-pound two-person deadlift – the first male-female lift to go on the USAWA record list.

The hand-and-thigh record was shattered by co-meet director Joe Garcia with a 1600-pound effort which jumped off the floor.  The mark is the best ever, regardless of bodyweight in the USAWA and stands seventh on the list of past efforts in Dave Willoughby’s “Strength Athletes”. Only one of those six lifts occurred in the past 85 years and none, in all probability, were done under the more strict rules which govern the USAWA…which puts Joe up there with the legends of our sport such as Louis Cyr, et al.

Kerry won the women’s “Best of the Best” title and the men’s “Best of the Best” went to 67-year-old Art Montini on an age-adjusted basis.  Montini set age group records in all nine lifts and added a left-hand deadlift mark of 275 pounds on record day.  Art edged out 40-year-old Bob Hirsh and 37-year-old John Carter fro the “Best” title.  Carter made an easy 2300-pound hip lift for openers, then jumped to 2600 on his second attempt. He failed twice.  Had he taken the 2525 needed to break his old mark, he would have added the “Best” title…but John wanted that 2600 more than an award.  “Next time!” he said.

The 25-lifter field was the smallest since the first year of the USAWA Championships, but had four first-timers in the field – two from Clark’s Gym. Thanks to a number of those who made cash contributions to the meet treasury, the meet broke even financially. Clark’s Gym sends the deepest appreciation to those who kept Garcia and Bill Clark from digging deep. 

MEET RESULTS

1995 USAWA National Championships
June 3-4, 1995
Columbia, Missouri

Meet Director: Bill Clark and Joe Garcia

Lifts: Continental to Chest and Jerk, Deadlift Heels Together, Pullover and Push, Zercher Lift, Neck Lift, Clean and Press Heels Together, Bench Press Feet in Air, One-Hand Deadlift, Hip Lift

Men: Top Ten Placings
1. Art Montini, Pennsylvania
2. Bob Hirsh, Ohio
3. John Carter, Missouri
4. Dale Friesz, Virginia
5. Jim Malloy, Ohio
6. Denny Habecker, Pennsylvania
7. Howard Prechtel, Ohio
8. Joe Garcia, Missouri
9. Chris Waterman, Ohio
10. Randy Joe Holden, Kansas

Women: Top Two Placings
1. Kerry Clark, Missouri
2. Noi Phumchaona, Ohio

Best Lifter Awards:
Women Open – Kerry Clark
Women Master – Noi Phumchaona
Men Open – Bob Hirsh
Men Master – Art Montini
Men Junior – Adam Geib