High Country Vigour

For an introductory event, keep it simple, but exciting. Venue - This could be your garage, a CrossFit gym or a VFW Hall depending on the turnout expected. Pick some lifts - With 200+ lifts, you could get crazy, but I would recommend lifts from the floor that require minimum set up.  Cleans, snatches, and deadlifts are the easiest to set up and judge.  The press out rule is not nearly as strict as it is in Olympic Weightlifting.  Variations of Olympic Lifts, SBD, Strongman and Dumbbell variations may be more comfortable for athletes coming from other strength sports.  I would avoid contesting the Lano Lift or the Harness Lift for a first event in your area. Find an official - USAWA has (19) level 2 officials and (15) level 1 officials mostly concentrated in Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Boston, and Pennsylvania. Sanction the Event - Fill out the meet sanction form and submit payment to the treasurer. Drum up athletes and get them registered with USAWA. Have Fun! -- M...

I would typically avoid being a naysayer or cynical without offering another solution or constructive criticism, but a recent article on usawa.com struck a nerve with me. It was entitled "5 Ways to Grow the USAWA in 2025" and suggested Recruiting meet directors in geographic areas without a USAWA presence Making Nationals a can't miss event Modernize logo Encourage sponsorship with uniform changes (knee sleeves and leggings) Embrace change I was originally set back by the premise that USAWA wants to grow.  It has always been a 100ish athlete all volunteer organization with modest budget.  Income consists of membership fees, meet sanctioning fees and donations.  Expenses include drug testing, web hosting and awards.  The organization has stayed in the fringes since 1987 specifically by not getting too big for its britches. Recruiting meet directors is a great idea.  However, assuming athletes want odd lifting, they will need at least one official who would have t...

High Country Vigour (HCV) All Round Weightlifting requires quite a bit of equipment in order to contest 195 lifts.  The majority (150) can be done with basic equipment.  There are also (13) Fulton bar lifts.  The only class of lifts that stand alone are the Heavy Lifts and variations (8) which require a special heavy lift bar and accessories.  Finally, special equipment is needed for another (24) lifts. Barbell, plates, dumbbell handles, collars, rack Fulton Bar Fulton Dumbbell Finger Lift Ring Heavy Lift Bar 2" Vertical Bar 1" Vertical Bar Roman Chair Inch Dumbbell Weaver Stick Saxon Plank Foot Press Apparatus Back Lift Apparatus 3" Barbell Trap Bar Dinnie Handles 3.5" Dumbbell Handle Rim Lift Stubby Bar 3x4 Metal Saxon Hand & Thigh Bar Hip Belt Neck Harness Chest Harness Teeth Bit Travis Lift attachment Hand & Thigh Bar Hand Rails HCV can contest 179 of the 195 lifts in the 13th edition of the record book.  With a Heavy Lift Bar and Hand & Thigh Ba...

Against my better judgement, I picked up this Titan Round Grip String Bar with a 3" diameter for $125 (plus another $10 shipping protection and taxes).  It is only used for one USAWA lift and I will probably use it once and be done with it, but I have certainly spent considerably more money for equipment I use on a very limited basis.

It has been over seven years since Al Myers penned his piece on Championships in the USAWA ( https://www.usawa.com/championships-in-the-usawa/ ) .   I have absolutely no shame in stealing his article ideas and adding my own thoughts.   Eight Championship events have been proposed and contested in USAWA.   There is certainly something for everybody whether your niche is chain lifting, grip, OTSM or true All-Round.   The events listed are in the order that they were established. National Championships Established – 1988 Location- Rotates Much has already been written about the National Championships.   It has been held continuously since 1988 and had the most variety of host venues.   Past USAWA Nationals (https://www.usawa.com/history-of-iawa/best-lifters-by-year/) is a summary of overall winners, locations, promoters and lifts.   The past 10 years have seen an average of 15 athletes (Max 21 in 2017, Min 7 in 2022).   I attended in 2023 a...

We have stayed activity participating in the following events: 6/9 - Clark's Gym Record Day 6/29 - USAWA National Championships 7/27 - Buffville Road to the Century Club 5 8/3 - Clark's Gym Record Day The rest of the year is looking exciting as well with another the Two Fisted Challenge 8/10 and the World Championships in Eastbourne, UK in October. We also hosted our first grip competition.  The Feather Crush Summer Rush.  This was a GSI Sanctioned event sponsored by Nemesis Grips.

Nisha had a chance to compete and learned some new lifts: Press, From Rack, Behind Neck – 25 pounds (5/11/2024) Press, From Rack – 35 pounds (5/11/2024) Seated Press, From Rack – 35 pounds (5/11/2024) Curl, Cheat – 30 pounds (5/11/2024) I would have competed, but did not have an official