ANOTHER GREAT SHOW RAN BY GUS AND THE WABDL BRASS

[BRENTSGTROCKHOWARD]

Please let me preface this entry with making it known that I have been involved in the WABDL more than most. When I first qualified for WABDL worlds the pre requisite was a top finish in a recognized fed as the WABDL was just starting! I have missed only ONE worlds since 1998 and that was due to being in between moving and other issues. A few weeks after each world GUS HAS REQUESTED I give him a call and we sift over the show and how we CAN MAKE IT BETTER. NO it is not a bitch session, there is no yelling, it is merely two veteran powerlifters trying to combine ideas that help the LIFTER. Last year my biggest issue was with scoring, particlarly how the scoring from a previous days or sessions lifting, carries over to another class, in particular the OPEN class. I was almost robbed of a world title in 2008. IN a nutshell I checked BOTH the results in the ballroom which is like reading braile with 700 lifters, and then comparing that to what is supposed to be the OFFICIAL scoring which can be found in the warmup room. After doing so, according to BOTH charts in 2008, I was securely in first place going into my third. WHen I was turning in my third, Brandt Bishop said....Hey Rock I bet this guy wasn't on the list, and he showed me a master that lifted 749 the day before, and his lifts WERE NOT posted anywhere. I then had to change my third from 733 to 755 to go for the win. I made the lift with room to spare but imagine if Brandt did NOT catch the error? I spoke with Gus about it and he stated that was top of his lift of things to change. So now its 2009, and in the warmup area I DID notice the scoring was made available to the lifter sooner, which DOES help a bunch. I compared that list with the lengthy ballroom list and my top competitor had 712lbs listed on BOTH charts. So I opened light, and as any seasoned lifter would do, took ONLY WHAT I NEEDED TO WIN with 716 on my second. My coach had watched the other lifters and no one was capable of beating that lift in his eyes, plus with a broken rib and the emotion of dedicating the win to my recently passed Mom, I decided to pass my third. You can imagine my reaction when I was announced as SECOND PLACE winner for the 242 class!! It appears there was a misprint, and the gent that did 712 actually did 716. I was told by a WABDL officer that the error was caught at One Am that morning, yet it was NOT changed on either of the charts. Yes I Know the staff is very overworked, they do a tremendous job, and personally I love all of them, but this happened not only to me, AGAIN, but also the 259 class as well. I do not know if it did or did not happen to any other liftters. We need to find a way to get BETTER scoring. My suggestion, as in my life if your gonna complain, have a suggestion, the Marine Corps way so to speak, would be to get a different colored SCORE CARD for all OPEN LIFTERS as a for instance, so even if they are doing say....Submasters and OPen, the scores can easily find the different colored cards, in this case, say RED, they can easily gather ALL of the red cards for the open division, and an official could go back with the red cards and then ensure they get carried over correctly. For all you computer gurus I am certain there must be a program that could do the same thing. I am not blaming the person that made the mistake, I am trying to FIX IT. Any seasoned lifter would have done just exactly what I did, as I make NO excuses. At the worlds you go for the WIN, in other meets hit your prs etc, but if your competing in an open world championship, you get the WIN first and foremost.

I dont want this post to be a total downer. GUS IMMEDIATELY fixed the issue and gave us both first place trophies which is all he could do. If he said we were going to have a lift off I was more than ready lol. I had more in the tank and was certainly capable of more than 716 so you can imagine I was a bit bitter. As a side note the same competitor was involved in BOTH cases. Next year I am going to just suggest he lift with me in the Open and let the better man win, HEAD TO HEAD, with no scoring to rely on, head to head lifting as it should be.

I had a great time coaching and lifting at the show. Anytime you can come out of WABDL worlds with an open world title you should be proud. All of you reading are members so you know that those are NEVER given away. It is the toughest single lift event in the WORLD. Gus is the main reason why, but he has such a great staff as well. I know 99 percent of the WABDL brass and can tell you, I like every single one of them. The judging appeared VERY CONSISTENT from my viewpoint, and I have yet to see any internet bashing although it is almost unavoidable. Congrats to all of those that won and please understand this post is meant to HELP and not point the finger.

Semper Fi

[Ryano]

Just a suggestion to solve the problem of not knowing what a competitor lifted on a lift from a previous day... Only let each lifter enter one division at the World meet. That way, every lifter is head-to-head on the platform with his/her competition. No scoring mistakes, you can see what your competitors lift. The way it is, your main competitor may have lifted days before you even got there. World meet-one division only and hit your best on those 3 lifts.

Sgt Rock, I respect your tenure with the WABDL and dedication to the sport, but I have never left anything on the platform. If you could have lifted more, you should have loaded the bar, not just do what it takes to win, IMO. I actually passed on my third lift on Saturday in the Open class after bombing on Thursday in the Masters 54-60. This is the first time I have ever passed on a lift in my life. I was just to beat up and I knew an injury was imminent. There was NO WAY I could have beaten the # I needed to win. If you had more in the tank, use it. "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead". Just a suggestion.

I also had a great time at Worlds in Reno, even though my preformace was subpar. It's always a great time, even if the lifting doesn't show it. Good luck to you in the future.

[jimnoblit]

I just want to say i enjoyed my time in Reno..No meet's judging is perfect or run perfectly, but i thought all in all it wasn't bad...I might be biased in i was lucky enough to come back with a trophy, and an extra 8 pounds to work off..I want to thank Gus and all the staff for a great time, except the judge that red lighted my first lift..lol Thanks again and see all you beasts next year and at the meets before...

[LHuillier]

Rock I am sorry this happened to you. I'd be a little pissed off myself. It sounds like an honest mistake, but I am sure knowing that does not help you at this point. I respect the way you aired the issue though, non-confontational. Hopefully this will continue to get worked out in years to come.

Just a suggestion to solve the problem of not knowing what a competitor lifted on a lift from a previous day... Only let each lifter enter one division at the World meet. That way, every lifter is head-to-head on the platform with his/her competition. No scoring mistakes, you can see what your competitors lift. The way it is, your main competitor may have lifted days before you even got there. World meet-one division only and hit your best on those 3 lifts.

Roger I like your suggestion a lot. Local meets enter as many divisions as you like... at Worlds one division. There are computer solutions to this issue as Rock eluded to, but they would not come cheap, AND computers are prone to errors as well, crashing etc.

[TracyLundin]

That's some tough luck... I don't think I would be interested in attending a meet if I could only lift in one category. Maybe a solution would be to have a possible top two lift - off if there is a discrepancy? I just don't want to spend a lot of money going to the meets and only being able to lift one rotation.

Tracy

[BRENTSGTROCKHOWARD]

Another suggestion would be, if your going to lift in the OPEN, then lift in the OPEN. In the IPF for instance, if you lift in the open, as the great Hiro Isagawa has been doing at 50 YEARS OLD! If he breaks a masters wr while lifing in the open divison, it counts, that is how it SHOULD be. I am NOT talking about trophies here folks, I am talking about RECORDS. It would be no different than someone breaking a WR in a meet OTHER than the Worlds, the lifter is probably not head to head with the previous record holder. There is NO HARM IN ALLOWING RECORDS FOR ANY DIVISION AS LONG AS THE JUDGES ARE WORLD CARD CARRYING, AS IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! Example, if I break the Law FIre record, which I currently hold two of them, I should be able to do it while lifting in the OPEN division, for the RECORD only, not PLACING. MOST FEDS do it this way, I have argued this one ad nauseum, and had to vent.......back on track...

Open lifters should compete in the OPEN division as it is the ONLY division ANY lifter can enter, and they should be able to set records in whatever categories they are also in. This would really make it easy as the majority of the scoring errors are happening in the OPEN class.

Semper Fi

[RWHarris]

Firstly I'd like to add my own appreciation to Gus and the whole WABDL family for another great event.
Secondly, as I was coaching Sgt. Rock during the deadlifts, I'd like to make one clarification with regards to attempt choices.
Roger, you said that the primary reason you passed your third attempt as that you felt injury was imminent. Well, in Rock's case, he was going out on the platform with a significant injury already. I was just trying to keep him where he needed to be without unduly aggrevating or worsening the damage.
Having trained with Brent for some time now, I can tell you that he's not prone to leaving anything on the platform. I feel confident in saying that had he not been injured coming in, he would have made a third attempt and possibly a WR 4th. Also, lets not forget there was a third
puller in this mix. I appologize for not recalling the young man's name right off, but he was out of Henderson, NV and had posted up a 705 and had called for a 744 third attempt. Rock was prepared to attempt 760 for his 3rd, broken rib and all. But as the young man from Henderson missed his 3rd, we believed that we had take 1st outright. That's why I advised him against taking the final attempt and potentially doing greater internal damage.

That said, again it was a great time and always fun to see all the folks that support WABDL. Roger.. I tend to share your "damn the torpedos" attitude myself. As a result, I'm in for shoulder and tricep surgery on Nov. 23. But I am going to try and make it through one more meet this week..LOL

Best to all,
Robert Harris
Las Vegas, NV

[jimnoblit]

Robert, was going to ask how your tri-cep was doing, here is hoping you have a full recovery...Quite the goofy picture of us on the platform...

[RWHarris]

Thanks for the good wishes Jim,

I'm going to finish off anything that's left in the tri tomorrow afternoon at the WPF Worlds here in Vegas. Then its under the knife on Nov 23. Got a great doc and rehab guy lined up so all should be fine and I'll give you a good run at next year's worlds.

Best to all,
Robert H.
Las Vegas

[BRENTSGTROCKHOWARD]

Robert said it best. Ryan O while I respect your opinion, I have been doing this for 22 years and a top ten ranking for close to a decade so telling me to go full speed ahead etc, your preaching to the choir. I had a cracked rib, have you ever tried deadlifting with a broken rib bro? Benching with one is one thing, try deadlifting over 700 with one then you will see what I mean. I have won more open Wabdl world titles than ANY heavyweight lifter in history, I always give it my all and know my body, I have been fairly successful with this approach. So while I appreciate your advice, I am already giving it MORE than my all, thanks anyhow. Look in the record books, I still have two world records that have stood the test of time in WABDL, and several state records as well. If it seems like I took offense, when anyone questions my drive on the platform, yeah.....I take offense.

Semper Fi