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!
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Meet directors need to be familiar with the rulebook. Weigh-in process needs to be adhered to, competition classes need to be understood, official scoring should be understood, rules briefings needs to be performed and with a large number of athletes order of call is important as well as the pace of the event. Typically, one should anticipate 10 minutes per athlete per lift. 3 athletes should plan to spend 90 minutes to complete 3 lifts in competition. This number goes up with heavy lifts and lifts with substantial set-up in terms of rack height, chain length, etc. Two platforms can cut this time in half if enough officials are present. An announcer and score keeper go a long way towards efficient use of meet time.
Most sanctioned events also include a record session. For new athletes this can seem intimidating as they do not know how to perform many of the lifts, nor is it intuitive to look up the current record. One suggestion would be training sessions before the sanctioned meet.
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