Welcome to the Midwest Qualifier for America's Strongest State!

Format:

Each state has a team captain that will field their teams.

Each team will have 6 athletes total in the following weight classes:

2 Women (Any weight class)

1 90kg/80kg Man (Anyone weighing less than 90kg)

1 105kg Man

2 Open Men

Teams may add a lighter weight class athlete in favor of a heavier athlete, but teams may not add extra heavier athletes in favor of lighter ones. For example, you may have 2 90kg Men and 0 105kg Men, but you may not have 2 105kg Men and 0 90kg Men.

Each event (with full team events being the exception) will specify which athletes must participate. Teams may substitute lighter athletes for heavier ones, but may not substitute heavier athletes for lighter ones. For example: If an event specifies that the HW Man will compete, teams may use the 105kg Man in place of the HW Man if they choose. Teams may not use the HW Man in place of the 105kg Man.

There will be 6 events in total. No athlete may compete in all 6 events. Everyone must sit out at least 1 event. Every athlete must compete in at least 3 events.

The events will be the same across all Qualifiers.

Athletes that are interested in representing their state should reach out to their state's captain. If you do not know who your captain is, you can reach us via email at imbachr@gmail.com or on Instagram @cowboy_ryan87 or @AmericasStrongestState.

Weigh-In / Check-In Process

January 5th: 10:00 - 12:00 PM at Twisted Fitness (host gym)
January 5th: 5:00 - 6:30 PM at Twisted Fitness
January 6th: 8:00 - 9:15 AM at Twisted Fitness

Team members may weigh-in / check-in individually. They will receive a packet with the rules booklet, their competition t-shirt, and a few other items to help them through the contest day. All athletes must weigh-in even if in a heavyweight class. Athletes must be wearing undergarments when weighing in.

Parking Information

There is free parking in the Twisted Fitness parking lot. If the lot is full, street parking is available, and it will be a 1 - 2 block walk.

Hotel Information

Many (15+) hotel options exist within 2 - 5 miles of Twisted Fitness. Some reliable options:

DoubleTree by Hilton Madison East; heated pool, exercise room, on-site Starbucks, on-site restaurant
AmericInn by Wyndham Madison; pool, free breakfast
Courtyard by Marriott Madison East; pool, hot tub, exercise room, on-site restaurant

Travel / Airline Information

The Dane County Regional Airport (https://www.msnairport.com/) hosts flights from American, United, Delta, and Frontier. The airport has all major car rental services near baggage claim. Uber and Lyft services are also readily available in the area. The drive from the airport to the hotel or host gym is approximately 10 minutes.

Event 1: Max Log Lift

Athletes:

1 HW Man
1 105kg Man
1 90kg Man
1 Woman

Rules:

10 attempts total per team. Each athlete must make at least 1 attempt. There is no limit to the number of attempts any athlete may make.
Athletes may jump in and out as they want. They may also skip lifts if they choose.
Each athlete’s highest successful lift will count toward total score.
Score is counted as the total cumulative weight lifted by the team.
Women will have 10lb jumps, and men will have 20lb jumps.
There will be no smaller jumps allowed, even as weights get heavier.
Starting weight will be 115 lbs for women and 225 lbs for men.
Athletes will have 30 seconds per attempt.
There will be 1 women’s lane and 1 men’s lane.
All athletes will use a 12” log.
3 Men will attempt, then 1 woman. This will allow our judges to keep track of scores and number of attempts.
Athletes will step up to the platform and the judges will ask their name and state representation. Scorekeepers will then be able to track and score accurately.
Grip shirts are allowed. Belt cleans are allowed.

Event 2: Farmer’s Relay

Athletes:

1 HW Man
1 105kg Man
1 Woman

Rules:

100 ft course. 50ft down, 50ft back. Drop and turn at 50ft.
Only the front of the plate must cross the line on the way down and on the way back. All distances will be taken to the front of the plate.
1 lane for women and 1 lane for men per team.
Athletes will run in order of ascending weight.
The tag-in line will be 5 ft away from the starting line.
The first athlete will start behind the tag-in line, then proceed to the implements on the start whistle.
As each athlete runs, the next athlete will wait behind the tag-in line.
Each athlete must tag in the next athlete.
When the 105kg Man finishes his run, tags the heavyweight, and 4 athletes from that team will drop 10lb plates onto each farmer’s handle peg to set it for the HW Man. All athletes must wait behind the tag-in line until the HW man is tagged.
The plate loaders can be any athlete, whether they are competing in that event or not.
Plate loaders may load once the athlete crosses the line and the judge gives the “Good” call. The next athlete may start on the judge’s “Start” command.
The 105kg Man will start in lane 2 with their weight loaded. They must still wait to be tagged in by the woman.
1 time will be taken for each team. Time will start when the first athlete begins and finish when the last athlete crosses the line.
If an athlete cannot complete their run, the next athlete may take over for them. That athlete will have to finish the previous athlete’s turn, then complete their own. In this situation, they would finish the previous athlete’s turn, then wait for plates to be loaded for their weight, then complete their turn. The team run would return to normal after that.
A turn may be considered finished and is able to be taken over by another athlete after 2 non-intentional drops. At this point, it can be considered not able to be completed by that athlete, and the next athlete may take over.
105 kg Man may not take over for the woman, but the HW Man may take over for the 105kg Man. If this happens, then the HW Man may cross the line without tagging anyone.
If the HW Man cannot finish, they may tag back in the 105 kg man.
If the woman cannot finish, distance will be measured. In this situation, after her second drop, she would then run to tag in the first man. If the last man doesn’t finish, distance will be measured.
The score will be recorded as distance and time. The total distance will be 300ft, and the total time limit will be 2:00. For example: if a team finishes in 1 minute, their score would be 300ft in 1 minute. If a team does not finish and is 50ft short on the last run, their score would be 250ft in 2:00.
No straps or gloves allowed. Knee sleeves and knee wraps allowed.

Weight:

Woman: 170
105kg Man: 300
HW Man: 320

Event 3: Axle Deadlift for Reps

Athletes:

1 HW Man
1 90kg Man
2 Women

Rules:

Each athlete will have 60 seconds to deadlift as many reps as possible.
The score will be the cumulative number of reps between all athletes on that team.
This will be a 9” Deadlift. This may be with standard plates on an axle bar, or with wagon wheels with the athletes standing on a box.
There will be both "Up" and "Down" commands.
Competitors from each weight class will go at the same time across all lanes.
No suits allowed. Briefs are allowed. Suit with straps down are not allowed. Figure 8 straps allowed. Shin coverings of some sort are required if a knurled axle is used.
Athletes will start strapped in.

Weight:

Woman 1: 325
Woman 2: 375
90kg Man: 545
HW Man: 725

Event 4: Sandbag to Shoulder Team Ladder

Athletes:

Everyone

Rules:

All athletes will shoulder 1 sandbag 1 time.
Athletes will start off their respective platforms, 5 feet from the bags, and step up one at a time to lift their bags.
Athletes may go in any order.
The next athlete will be able to lift once the previous athlete gets the “Good” call from the judge.
All athletes must hold their bags in the shouldered position until the entire team has their bags shouldered. Once every athlete has their bags shouldered simultaneously, the team will get the “Down” call and their time will be recorded.
If any athlete drops their bag, the team will have to restart. Time will be paused for the team to reset off of their platforms. Once the team has been reset to their starting positions, the judge will then give the “Start” command again and time will resume.
If an athlete, while having their bag shouldered and waiting for other team members to shoulder their bags, loses their shoulder position (ie: holds their bag with 2 hands or the bag drops to their chest), the team does not have to start over, but that athlete will have to return to a shouldered position to receive the final down call.
A stabilizing second hand is allowed for a brief period of time on judge's discretion.
Any team that purposefully loses a shoulder position to make holding the bag easier will be disqualified from this event and given a score of 0.
There will be a 2-minute time limit.
If a team cannot shoulder all their bags simultaneously, their score will be recorded as the maximum number of bags they had shouldered at any one point during the attempt.
Scoring will be reps + time. For example, if a team finished in 1 minute, their score would read 6 bags in 1:00. If a team cannot finish all the bags, but completed 4, their score would read 4 bags in 2:00.
The highest number of successful bags during that 2 minute time limit will be recorded.
Gloves are allowed. Hard belts must be turned backward. No buckles forward. Grip shirts are allowed.

Weight:

132-353 in 20kg jumps

Event 5: Max Distance Sandbag Carry

Athletes:

1 Woman
1 Man

Rules:

There will be 2 lanes on this event. Athletes will run in order of lightest to heaviest.
50 ft course (down and back)
If an athlete does not touch the line, they will lose 10 ft off of their distance. This will be deducted more than once if it happens more than once.
The Woman will start on the judge’s start command. She will carry her bag as far as she can. When she drops, the Man in lane 2 will start. When he drops, the attempt will be over.
All bags will remain in the place they were dropped until every athlete is finished. Then, all the distances will be measured and added up, and recorded as one cumulative total.
There will be a 3-minute total time limit. The time will be on a running clock, meaning the time will not stop between athletes. Once an athlete drops, the judge will give the lift command to the next athlete, who may then pick and carry their bag.
Athletes may start with their hands on the bags. The bag may be in any orientation the athlete prefers.
Front carry only. No shouldering. If an athlete shoulders the bag, their attempt will stop and distance will be measured from that point.
If time runs out and an athlete is still carrying their bags, their distance will be recorded as the point they were at when time expired.
Measurements will be to the most frontward portion of the bag.
Grip shirts are allowed, hard belts must be turned backward.

Weight:

Woman: 176
Man: 309

Event 6: Tug Of War

Athletes:

Everyone

Rules:

Bracket style, double-elimination tournament
Placings after 5 events will determine seeding for this event
Scoring will be based on when teams are eliminated. If teams are eliminated in the same round, the higher-seeded team will place higher.
No time limit on each match.
If anyone on any team steps outside the playing field on the sides, the judge will call “pause”, and the teams will reset in the middle of the field. Any intentional stepping out of bounds in an attempt to reset, because your team is losing, will result in an automatic disqualification for that team. That match will be scored a loss for that team.
There will be no breaks between games. Only enough time to reset the field and record scores will be given. As is the nature of bracket play, some teams may have to go back-to-back with no rest. To avoid having to do this… win. If you’re in the winner’s bracket that won’t happen.
Athletes may order themselves however they want on their side of the rope.
Athletes may loop the rope around their wrists once, but they may not loop the rope around their bodies in any way whatsoever. Any athlete that does this will result in an automatic disqualification for that team. That match will be scored a loss for that team.
Any type of shoes may be worn.
Chalk only for grip. No tacky or tacky towel allowed.
No grip shirts.
This event will also serve as the tie-breaker in the event of a tie on overall points.

Results (America’s Strongest State):

The teams that qualify for America’s Strongest State will be the top 2 teams from each Qualifier and 1 Wild Card Team.

Wild Card teams will be determined based on the head-to-head scores of every non-podium placing team over every event (not including Tug Of War) when compared directly.

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