Please get in touch with the host to register.

The First Annual Piedmont Classic here in downtown China Grove located in the heart of North Carolina's piedmont region!

Competition will start at 9:30 AM on Saturday, May 9th. The athletes meeting will take place approximately 45 minutes earlier at 8:45 AM to allow ample time between the rules meeting and giving all athletes a chance to get fully warmed up prior to the first event.

Early weigh-ins will take place on Friday, May 8th from 9 AM - 12 PM and 2 PM - 6 PM at Grove Cartel Brewery (211 N Main St China Grove, NC 28023) on the back patio. If you want to weigh-in on Friday, and neither of those time slots work please don't hesitate to reach out and we will see if we can work something out. If you wish to weigh-in on the day of competition you need to make sure you weigh-in BEFORE the athletes meeting begins.

Note: If you are SHW you still need to check-in as weigh-ins are when you receive your athlete welcome bag, as well as how we make sure we have the correct headcount for the competition. If you don't check-in before competition your name is dropped from the roster

Spectators are FREE and as we get closer to the day of competition we hope to update this page with more information on parking, sponsors and businesses that will be set up at the competition, and more! (If you have a business and are interested in partnering with us, please reach out!)

Open Invites

The number of qualifying athletes for Nationals depends on the number of athletes competing ON THE DAY OF COMPETITION and follows these standards:

1 athlete in a class: the promoter may merge the class with another class; if the athlete competes alone they will earn an invite by completing (i.e. not “zeroing”) at least 4 of the 5 events to the standards originally set forth by the promoter. 

2-4 athletes in a class: 1st place qualifies for 2026 Nationals

5-9 athletes in a class: 1st and 2nd place qualify for 2026 Nationals

10+ athletes in a class: 1st-3rd place qualify for 2026 Nationals

Nationals Invites are NOT given to Novice Classes

Teen & Masters Invite 

Teens qualify for America's Strongest Teen 2026 by competing in a licensed show period. 

Masters qualify for America's Strongest Master by placing top 3 in a Masters class or by placing top 5 in an Open class

Athlete Photos

We will have a professional photographer on-site taking photos of the athletes! Jessica Galler (@j.dieselphotography on Instagram). Please reach out to her with any questions about photography packages she's offering!

Membership and Weigh-In Rules

• Strongman Corporation membership is required for all competitors and can be purchased online at Membership – Strongman Corporation 
• Please note that USS and Strongman Corporation are NOT the same, and you will need a Strongman Corporation membership for this competition
• Weigh-Ins will be conducted in KILOGRAMS and there is no "allowance" for clothing. For example, an athlete in the 64kg class must weigh-in at 64.0kg or less.  Athletes must weigh-in wearing at least minimal clothing (underwear).

General Competition Rules

• Competition Shirt must be worn on the Deadlift, Truck Pull, and Farmers Carry
• Grip Shirts will be allowed on the Max Log and Natural Stone events
• NO TACKY or TACKY TOWELS on any event
• Chalk, belts, sleeves, and wrist wraps are allowed on all events (you may not wear more than 1 hard belt)
• Straps are allowed on the deadlift. Deadlift suits are NOT permitted
• Time limits are strictly enforced. In rep events you must complete the rep and have been given a down command prior to time expiring to get the rep. EX: If you have a stone in your lap when time is called, then finish the rep, it is a NO REP

*The events and weights listed below are subject to change. For the natural stones, over the next month more of them will be weighed and the goal is to post pictures of each one on the competitions Instagram page*

Event Order:

All athletes in all weight classes will perform the first two events listed below (Log and Deadlift), in that order. After the deadlift, for the remaining three events we will be doing those in a rotation based on which Group your weight class is in! Here are the lane assignments for each weight class:

Lane 1 (All Women and Teen Classes):

• Event 3: Firetruck Pull
• Event 4: Natural Stone to Shoulder
• Event 5: Max Distance Farmers

Lane 2 (All Novice Men and 105kg Masters Classes):

• Event 3: Max Distance Farmers
• Event 4: Firetruck Pull
• Event 5: Natural Stone to Shoulder

Lane 3 (All Open Men and Masters HW Classes):

• Event 3: Natural Stone to Shoulder
• Event 4: Max Distance Farmers
• Event 5: Firetruck Pull

Note: While unlikely, these lane assignments between lanes 2 and 3 could potentially be subject to change if one lane were to have a disproportionately higher number of signups between now and comp day

Event 1: Max Log

State Records will be up for grabs!

Athlete will have 30 seconds to pick the log up, clean it, press (or jerk) the weight overhead, and receive a down command. 

Rising bar system, athletes will get three attempts and once you fail an attempt you are out. If two athletes tie on a weight, but one of them lifted that weight in less total attempts (i.e Person A hitting 200 on their 3rd attempt and Person B hitting 200 on their 2nd attempt), then that person will finish ahead of the other.

Group 1 will be using a 70lb, 10 inch Titan Log (10 Pound Jumps)

Group 2 will be using an 85lb, 12 inch Pitbull Log (15 Pound Jumps)

Group 3 will be using a 90lb 12 inch Pitbull Log (20 Pound Jumps)

Logs may be dropped from overhead but they MUST be guided down onto the crash pads. If they're thrown or released from overhead intentionally with no regard for the equipment you will zero the event.

Event 2: Trap Bar Deadlift For Reps

Athletes will have 60 seconds to complete as many reps with their designated weight as possible.

Athletes will receive both a down command AND an up command for each rep. It's called a deadlift not a bounce lift, so if you try to trampoline the weight off the ground before you receive an up command the rep won't count. We won't require you to do a lengthy pause on the ground, but it can't be touch and go.

Straps are allowed, but you must strap in on your own time once your turn begins.

Pick height will be standard high handle height for Trap Bars.

Event 3: Max Distance Farmers Carry

Athletes will have 60 seconds to carry a pair of farmers handles 50 feet back and forth between safe zones for as many total feet as possible. 

In the safe zones, athletes can drop the farmers to turn themselves around, you're allowed ONE grace drop outside of the safe zones, but if it happens twice your turn will immediately end and your distance taken. We intentionally made the farmers weights a little bit lighter so we want to see some distance covered!

All weight classes will be using Mike Bartos Farmers Handles (70 pounds empty in each hand with a roughly 15 inch pick height)

Event 4: Firetruck Pull

Athletes will have 60 seconds to pull a firetruck that is harnessed behind them roughly 100 feet down the street.

If you do not complete the course in 60 seconds a distance will be taken.

Primary testing has been COMPLETED for this event, and ALL weight classes will get the opportunity to pull one of the firetrucks! 

Event 5: Natural Stone to Shoulder

Athletes will have 75 seconds to shoulder a series of 4 natural stones in ascending weights.

You must start on the lightest stone before moving onto the next one. When shouldering the stone, athlete is required to get their opposite hand away from the stone, show that it's stabilized, and receive a down command for the lift to count.

Split times WILL be taken.

SOME, not all, of the stone weights listed on the weight matrix are approximate weights and are subject to change slightly depending on how certain stones weight out exactly.  Pictures of each stone will be posted on the competition Instagram page so that athletes can get an idea of how they may want to approach each stone.

Reminder: No tacky or tacky towels so be prepared to chalk up

In the event of a tie for podium placings, we will re-score the 2 (or however many) athletes based on if they were the only people competing. i.e. If  two athletes are tied on points, but one of them finished in front of the other in 3 of the 5 events, that will break the tie in their favor. If they're STILL tied after that, well it will be a surprise for the tiebreaker!