Thom Van Vleck: NEW Level 2 Official
by Al Myers
Thom Van Vleck (right) is joined by fellow USAWA officials LaVerne Myers (left) and Denny Habecker (middle) at the USAWA Heavy Lift Championships in York in 2011. As you can see, these three took their judging duties very serious as they are getting "down and dirty" to get a good view of the lifting!
Thom Van Vleck has just been promoted to the highest level of officiating status in the USAWA. He is now a Level 2 Official, and joins a very short list of the most qualified officials within the USAWA. Since the development of the USAWA Officials Program in 2009, officials must NOW be certified to judge any USAWA competition/event. I would like to review a bit of this as it pertains to USAWA Rulebook:
VII. Officials
10. There will be two levels of classification for Certified USAWA officials.
- Level 1 Test Qualified – The official has passed the USAWA Rules Test and completed the practical training sessions.
- Level 1 Experience Qualified – The official has the experience of officiating in 25 or more competitions or events.
- Level 2 – The official has passed the USAWA Rules Test and has completed the practical training sessions, and has the experience of officiating in 25 or more competitions or events.
Thom has been officiating in the USAWA for close to 10 years and has officiated at some “BIG” meets. He has officiated numerous championships events, including the 2006, 2009, and 2011 National Championships. He also officiated at the 2012 IAWA World Championships. He earned the Level 2 classification for officiating in over 25 events (as well as passing the USAWA Rules Test). He is now awarded a LIFETIME OFFICIALS CARD in the USAWA and will have the ability to approve new officials that undergo the Practical Training Sessions. Congrats Thom!!!