11th Annual Star City Strongman

Join us for our 11th year and continue to #SupportTheSport! A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit our growing nonprofit, the Star City Strong Foundation, to fuel our: Iron Fund - to cover competition fees for law enforcement, first responders, military (active + veteran), adaptive athletes and mental health providersThe Loading Zone - a digital space for event organizers and volunteers to share tools, templates and problem-solving strategies, making strength sports more sustainableupLIFT Network (Uniting to Promote the Lifelong Impact of Fitness & Therapy) - a partnership linking gyms, mental health providers and other partners-in-mission who believe in the power that movement has for mental wellnessThe 11th Annual Star City Strongman is in a NEW location on Nov. 7, 2026:  Riverdale Village (946 River Ave SE, Roanoke, VA). $65 early bird (10 spots), $75 after early bird spots are filled. Registration closes Oct. 9 (extended!) and is capped at 50 athletes. Athletes get an event T-shirt (unisex sizing); no exchanges, so please choose the correct size. EVENTS >Car / 4-Wheeler Deadlift for RepsNatural Stone-to-ShoulderConan's WheelCircus Dumbbell for RepsVehicle Pull  RULES >Car / 4-Wheeler Deadlift for Reps Equipment: vehicle deadlift frame with side handles (13-15") Athlete has 60 seconds to complete as many reps as possible. Each successful lockout at the top of the lift will receive a down command. Athlete must wait for down command for lift to count. Please note:  currently the female and teen divisions are listed as lifting an ATV, with everyone else lifting a car. Vehicle may change based on availability.  Allowed: belts, sleeves, wraps, straps, chalk   Not allowed: suits (briefs are okay), sticky stuff of any kind, straps with hooks _____ Natural Stone-to-Shoulder Equipment: All natty rocks of all sizes - some river, some mountain Each division will have 4-5 stones to choose from and 60 seconds to complete their lifts. Please note: the weights listed on the chart are approximate weights of the beginning and ending stone in each set.  Laps are worth 1 point each, regardless of stone weight. Shoulders are worth points based on stone difficulty. The higher the stone number, the heavier the stone: Points for shouldering: Stone 1 = 1 Stone 2 = 3 Stone 3 = 6 Stone 4 = 10 Stone 5 = 15 Athletes may only advance to the next stone after a successful shoulder of their current stone. They may choose which stone to begin with, but may not move down from that stone at any time. For example:   Athlete 1 chooses Stone 1: > Shoulders 8 times  TOTAL POINTS:  8 Athlete 2 chooses Stone 2: > Shoulders 3 times  > Moves to Stone 3 and laps 5 times  TOTAL POINTS:  14 Athlete 3 chooses Stone 3: > Shoulders 1 time  > Moves to Stone 4 and shoulders 2 times  TOTAL POINTS:  26 Judge will call down command. Athlete must wait for down command for lift to count. Do not intentionally throw/drop stones - this will result in a no-lift. Stones must fully return to the ground before each lap or shoulder attempt. Allowed: belts, sleeves, wrist wraps, chalk, grip shirts, tacky towels only  Not allowed:  gloves, straps, hooks, any tacky other than tacky towels _____ Conan's Wheel Equipment:  Wheel of doom Athlete has 60 seconds to carry the arm of the Conan's Wheel in the Zercher position for as far as possible. Unlimited drops & re-picks allowed within the time limit. Athlete may not push, shoulder or intentionally brace the implement on their belt.  Allowed: belts, sleeves, wraps, grip shirts, chalk Not allowed: straps, sticky stuff of any kind _____ Circus Dumbbell for Reps Equipment: 8-10" bell for women/teens, 12" bell for men Athletes will have 60 seconds to complete as many reps as possible. CDB must touch the ground before each rep attempt. CDB may be cleaned with both hands, but a successful press will be completed with only one hand on the dumbbell. Do not intentionally drop or throw the CDB from the top - this will result in a no-lift. Athlete will receive down command from judge and must wait for this call for a lift to be considered successful. If you cannot lockout at the top due to mobility issues, it is your responsibility to demonstrate this to your judge ahead of time and receive the go-ahead for this lift.  Allowed: belts, chalk, sleeves, grip shirts Not allowed: gloves, tacky _____ Vehicle pull Equipment: Harness, vehicle Athletes will be attached to a vehicle with a harness. For consistency, we will provide the harnesses (Spud, Inc., always). Athletes will have 60 seconds to pull the vehicle (size and type TBD) 50 feet. Time will stop when the front of the vehicle crosses the 50-foot line. Fastest time wins, followed by longest distance if pull is not completed to 50 feet. Allowed: belts, sleeves, wrist wraps, stone sleeves, grip shirts, chalk Not allowed: climbing shoes, tacky, spray tacky, tacky towels, your mom's tacky sweater WEATHER POLICY >In the event of significant precipitation, athletes may be moved from planned lifting stations or events may be changed as appropriate. If weather is too dangerous for athletes and volunteers, venue may be changed or event may be postponed or cancelled. Organizers will make all efforts to ensure the show goes on, with safety as the priority. All decisions will be communicated to athletes as soon as possible. DETAILS >Weigh-ins: Nov. 6, 4-8 p.m. (Lancerlot Sports Complex, 1110 Vineyard Rd., Vinton) OR Nov. 7, 7:30-8 a.m. (event venue: Riverdale Village, 946 River Ave SE, Roanoke, VA). Please do NOT wait until last minute to weigh-in. Venue opens at 7:30 a.m. for athletes and 8:30 a.m. for general public; entry is FREE for spectators. Rules meeting at 8:15 a.m. (all athletes MUST attend) Lifting starts PROMPTLY at 9 a.m. Athletes will compete in reverse order of sign-up for all events except the last one where they will be reordered to go in order of current standing (least to most points) All events and weights subject to change. All athletes MUST purchase a USS Strongman membership card PRIOR to the show. You may purchase your card through Iron Podium - you should be prompted during the registration process. This will be checked prior to event day and athletes without membership will be contacted individually. DIVISIONS >Weight divisions may be combined at organizer's discretion up to and on event day. There will be weight splits for all Novice, all Masters, all Teen, all Hero and if needed. > Top 3 in each Open division (including Masters) will receive an invite to USS Nationals - the only exception to this is the Hero Division; it's up to the USS Promoter for Nats whether they include the Hero Division (please note that the inclusion of mental health providers in the Hero Division is currently exclusive to Star City Strongman - here's a link to 2027 USS Nats info) > Winner (1) of each Novice division will receive an invite to USS Nationals If you have not competed in USS Open and/or have not won USS Novice, you may compete in Novice Email or text me if: you have a TEEN (ages 13-19) interested in competingyou are an ADAPTIVE ATHLETE interested in competingyou qualify for the HERO DIVISION (law enforcement, first responders, military, veterans, mental health providers) and are interested in competingcost to compete is a true barrier (all conversations are confidential)See you on November 7!