Overview: This will be our inaugural Hub City Barbell Club Strongman Classic. The HCBC Strongman Classic is a United States Strongman Nationals Qualifier as well as a Men's and Women's Middleweight Pro/Am. The show contains full weight class options for competitors AS WELL as Pro classes for Women's 165- and Men's 220-.

Venue: Our venue, Sports and Fitness at the Ell is an amazing gym with all the room we could ever need to compete (and warm-up) and not feel cramped. 4 of our 5 events will be indoor in a climate-controlled environment. There will be a $5 spectator fee. Our competitors are our number one priority, but keeping this venue in perfect condition is a very close second.

PRO Classes: As long as there are 6 or more athletes present in the Pro class, the winner of the class will receive an invite to the USS Pro International and the top 3 in each class will receive pay-outs as follows: 1st - $500, 2nd - $300, 3rd - $200. A Minimum of 6 athletes in each pro class is a required for Pro International invites as well as the cash prizes with the number of invites increasing by 1 per every additional 6 present Pro class competitors. Anyone can sign up for a Pro class as long as you can make the weight. There are no prerequisites to signing up in the Pro classes. Nor is there an increased signup fee. I will not punish you for being a Pro level competitor.

*I am always happy to answer any and all questions in regard to the Pro classes here, the Pro International, shots at a USS Pro Card, or a shot at a USS Pro Contract. That's right. USS has Pro Contracts*

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Weigh Ins/Rules/Reminders/Special Prizes:  

Weigh ins will be October 17th from 8AM - 11AM and 3PM - 6PM at Hub City Barbell Club located at 48 Liberty Place, Hattiesburg, MS 39402.  Limited weigh ins will be available October 18th at 7:30AM at the venue and by appointment only. Rules will be at 8:30AM the morning of the event. Attendance is not mandatory; however, you will be held to the letter of the rules whether you attended or not. First lift will happen at 9AM

A current USS Membership is required for this event.

Weight classes with only one competitor will be combined (within reason) with another class so make your friends sign up too if you compete in a less populated class and don't want to combine!

*More info on trophies/awards and any special prizes will be added as I nail down the details.

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EVENTS:

1. Max Axle Press From Rack

• Competitors will test and give rack heights for the unrack at weigh-ins. *This will be the same rack height as your squat for reps so plan accordingly.*
• Axle will be taken out of the rack and walked out between jerk blocks for competitors to perform their attempt.
• Jerk blocks will be set to the height of the shortest competitor in that lane as to not get in anyone's way AND expedite this event.
• Axle must be dropped on the jerk blocks after the attempt. Loaders will set the rack height for the next competitor and reset the axle.
• Competitor may perform the lift in any way they see fit. Behind the neck, front rack, strict press, push press, split jerk, etc. As long as the lockout is good, feet are brought together, the competitors and axle are motionless, and you get the down call, you will get credit for the lift.
• 3 attempts, 30 seconds per attempt.
• Wessel's Rules, miss and you are out.
• Rising bar with 10lb minimum jumps for women, 20lbs minimum jumps for men. MAKE SURE you give the judge and their scorekeeper your name before or after your attempt since this is a rising bar style event!
• All standard equipment allowed.

2. Ascending Weight Squat for Reps

• Competitors will squat an axle down until the loaded plates both touch blocks and back up again for as many reps as possible.
• Weights will ascend as annotated in the weight matrix above for each class. Competitors will unrack and walk the axle back on their own when it is their turn. Once the competitor is motionless and in eye contact with the judge, the judge will give a "down" command. The competitor will squat the axle until both sides touch the blocks then return to their locked out position. The judge will then signal the loaders to load the next weight and give the competitor the "down" command once loading is complete. This process continues until the THIRD additional weight has been added to the bar. At this point the squat becomes a squat for reps with no time limit. The judge will give down commands for every squat in this event. Any rep that does not touch on both sides will not be counted.
• The competitor will leave the axle on the blocks at the completion of their attempt.
• Squat depth will be measured for at weigh-ins with the hip crease LEVEL with the top of the knees being our guide. We will be controlling for bar placement on back, shoes worn (BRING YOUR SHOES TO WEIGH-IN), and squat width. Don't try to cheat this. We have probably already thought of whatever you thinking.
• Equipment allowed: Squat suits, briefs, Grip shirts, wrist and or knee wraps, knee sleeves, elbow sleeves, elbow cuffs, one soft belt, one hard belt, and chalk.
• Not allowed: tacky or anything sticky, wrist straps.
• *PSA: loaders will be trained ahead of time and will load quickly and as smoothly as possible.
• *I know this one seems complicated. Please reach out with questions.

3. Sandbag Toss Medley

• 4 bag series
• Sandbags will be placed in a row 10 feet from the apparatus.
• Athletes will start with a hand on the upright, the judge will give an athlete ready command and start command.
• Athletes will then toss each bag in the series in ascending order over the cross bar.
• Time will stop once an athlete’s final bag touches the ground.
• Split times will be taken for bags completed
• 60 second time limit.
• No allowed: anything sticky, straps

4. Sandbag to Shoulder Ladder

• Each athlete will have 60 seconds to complete a 5-bag ladder from ground to shoulder
• The ladder must be completed in order from lightest to heaviest
• Down call from judge must be given a down to move on to the next bag.
• Score will be the number of bags completed and the split time for each one. 
• Equipment Allowed: Chalk, knee sleeves, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, soft belt, hard belt, grip shirts, nothing sticky

5. Sandbag Steeplechase

• Competitors will have 90 seconds to carry 2 sandbags one at a time and load them over a yoke staged 30' from the starting line. Competitors will then carry the same bags an additional 30' and load them over another yoke.
• Lighter bags must be loaded first. Both bags must clear the first yoke before attempting to carry and load to the second yoke.
• The yokes used are standard width. Plan your loads and subsequent picks accordingly. *You probably want to "throw" the lighter bag a bit farther to give yourself room for your pick after the first two loads.
• Scores will be taken for time to complete. Distance will be measured if a competitor does not finish the event.
• Load heights will be 44" for women and 48" for men.
• Equipment Allowed: Chalk, knee sleeves, elbow sleeves, wrist wraps, soft belt, hard belt, grip shirts, nothing sticky