Questions on SS Fall Classic Rules

[manveer]

Coaches,

I have a couple of questions on the rules for the Fall Classic. Sorry if these are stupid. This is my first meet.

• Are there any commands for the lifts? There is no mention of commands in the rules, except in the case of a "serious infraction of the rules that constitutes a missed attempt" ("Judges" section, paragraph 5).
• In the section covering the press, the rules state "the bar must be below the undersurface of the chin." I have a natural tendency to start at a level pretty close to my chin, then drop the bar a couple of inches before pressing it up. Is this an issue? Should I practice unracking with the bar lower? As an example: https://youtu.be/22oUWfN7g2A?t=2m9s

Thanks for your time.

[Michael Wolf]

There are no commands. The judges judge whether you completed the lift in accordance with the rules.

That looks high to me - if you tilt your head up so much that you displace your chin several inches upwards, then have the bar 1cm below it, that seems problematic to me. And you can see, based on your humerus position, that you're starting artificially high. But, since the letter of the rule just says "below undersurface of the chin," I shall once again shall summon The Comrade to clarify.

Perhaps wording the rule, "The bar must be below the level of the undersurface of the chin, and the chin must be parallel to the ground," would clarify. Or maybe that's not the intent - which is why we are once again summon our favorite tovarisch.

[Tom Campitelli]

No commands for the lifts. The judges do not participate in the lift in any way. They simply rule on whether you did it correctly, not unlike at a weightlifting meet. This is one of my favorite parts of the rules that Rip wrote.

While you unrack the bar kind of high, you dip it down to well below the chin before pressing it up. Just hold it a little lower when you set up so that there is no confusion.

[manveer]

Great. Thank you for the clarification. I'll work on breaking my bad habit.