Gripper Certifications > Inactive Certifications > GHP Certification

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GHP Gripper Challenge

The GHP Gripper Challenge was the certification and repetition-ranking program for Gillingham High Performance grippers. Wade Gillingham announced the challenge on February 22, 2012 after athletes had begun filming closes of the new grippers.[1]

Unlike a single-pass certification, the challenge ranked both the hardest gripper closed and the number of accepted repetitions. Gillingham's original ordering placed a close on the next gripper level above any number of repetitions on the lower level.[1]

Eligible grippers

The challenge initially covered the Professional Series, GHP Level 7 through Level 9.[1]

The challenge used individual production GHP grippers rather than one organizer-owned certification gripper. The verification rules were intended to establish that the gripper shown in a submitted video was an unmodified example.

Original attempt format

The standard starting width was 1.5 inches [38.1 mm], measured with the official GHP aluminum set block. The block had to pass between the handles before each closing repetition.[1]

For a video submission, the preferred procedure was:

  1. Show a new GHP gripper being opened from its packaging on camera.
  2. Show the official GHP set block passing between the handles.
  3. Remove the block and close the handles together.
  4. Repeat the block pass and close for every additional repetition.

An athlete using an already-opened gripper was required to show its handle spread and spring diameter on camera. Gillingham described the expected spread as 3 inches, plus or minus 1/16 inch, and reserved the right to request another performance on a supplied new gripper when a result required additional verification.[1]

The challenge could also be contested at a grip competition, where an onsite judge could inspect the gripper and count repetitions. Video clarity mattered because unclear repetitions could be rejected under public review.[1]

First accepted performance

On February 29, 2012, Wade Gillingham identified Tommy Jennings Jr.'s filmed attempt as a successful example and added it to the original results list. The video shows the block and close from multiple viewing angles and illustrates the early standard.[1]

The original video is no longer available at its linked YouTube address, but Gillingham's contemporaneous acceptance and the discussion surrounding the attempt remain preserved in the GripBoard thread.[1]

Status and preservation

GHP worked through its remaining gripper components during 2023 and announced in January 2024 that it had no immediate plan to continue manufacturing grippers. At that time, Gillingham said the future administrator and home of the GHP certification results were still being discussed.[2] No later official relaunch has been identified, so Gripperpedia classifies the challenge as inactive.

The original results were hosted at gillinghamhp.com, a site that is no longer reliably available. The surviving GripBoard launch and results discussion preserves the rules, accepted attempts and organizer commentary across twenty pages. Archived captures of the former official site can be explored through the Wayback Machine. Gripperpedia links to those records rather than reproducing the complete athlete roster.

References

  1. Wade Gillingham, “GHP Gripper Challenge”, GripBoard, begun February 22, 2012. Launch rules, verification procedure and accepted early attempts. ↩
  2. Wade Gillingham, “GHP Announcement”, GripBoard, January 4, 2024. Manufacturing status and unresolved future administration of the certification. ↩

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