2001 MS. INTERNATIONAL - CONTEST REPORT
Columbus, Ohio – March 2nd
By Bill Dobbins
INTRODUCTION
The good news about the 2001 Ms. International is that the IFBB decided to have an actual bodybuilding contest this year. In contrast, the federation introduced its female physique "guidelines" at last year's event, which resulted in going through the motions - with a lot of women bodybuilders being compared on stage but nothing taking place that actually resembled a bodybuilding competition. The year 2000 Ms. International was to bodybuilding what "slow running" is to the Olympics. Most of the women were out of shape, some seemed to have lost entire body parts and the judges were so busy trying to figure out what the "politically correct" scoring should be that any semblance of traditional bodybuilding went right out the window.
The fact that "guidelines" and arbitrary judging were so much
less in evidence this year in Columbus is even more significant
since this is the first IFBB women's bodybuilding contest since the Ms.
Olympia, which itself was - unfortunately - rather a sad affair.
In Las Vegas, there were only 12 women in the show, divided into
classes of 5 and 7 competitors. Prejudging, which usually consists of
endless comparisons of the same combinations of bodybuilders over and over,
was held as part of the evening show rather than in the afternoon and was
somewhat cursory by any normal standards.
The judges rushed through the comparisons as if in a hurry to get
back to the real contest -
that is, to another round of fitness.
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MS. INTERNATIONAL PRIZE MONEY Overall Winner |
The Ms. Olympia was a qualified success, in part because the two winners -Andrulla Blanchette and Valentina Chepiga - were excellent bodybuilders and also because the IFBB decided to allow it to happen at all. But aside from some real problems in the judging, the federation decided not to crown an overall champion - which has resulted in there being two Ms. Olympias, which badly deflates the importance of the title.
But Columbus definitely represented an improvement over both the Ms. International from the previous year and the 2000 Ms. Olympia. To begin with, Jim Lorimer and Arnold Schwarzenegger invited 22 women to participate, which gave more women a chance to compete and filled up the stage with a line-up of excellent bodybuilders. The lighting was vastly improved over last year - this was the best lighting EVER at the Arnold - so the audience, judges and (very important from my point of view) the photographers got an excellent view of the physiques. Arnold and Jim also came up with enough prize money so that an overall champion could be selected and given additional prize money, so there is only ONE Ms. International overall champion this year, compared to the TWO women holding the title of Ms. Olympia.
The judging also showed little sign of the dreaded "guidelines" being followed, although there was an obvious political character to at least some of the scoring, both in bodybuilding and in fitness as well - more of which later.
THE LIGHTWEIGHTS
The benefits of judging the women in two classes were clearly demonstrated by the 2001 Ms. International. For one thing, the class winner - Dayana Cadeau - normally competes as a heavyweight. In the past, Dayana has usually showed up looking much too heavy, with a blocky waist and compromised symmetry. In Columbus this year she came down to lightweight, her waist was much, much smaller and her overall symmetry tremendously improved. However, even at this lighter weight she was very muscular, demonstrating the difference between real muscularity, with detail and separations, compared to blocky, undifferentiated muscle mass.
After the contest, Dayana said she had reduced her body weight in order to become more "feminine." But what she really did was to come in looking like a better bodybuilder. Bodybuilding, after all, is about aesthetics - and finding your best body weight is a matter of becoming as aesthetic as possible. In the Arnold Classic, winner Ronnie Coleman also reduced his body weight, from the over 260 size he was at the Mr. Olympia to just under 250 lbs. He also improved his aesthetics and symmetry, but I don't recall anyone suggesting he had become more "feminine."
Brenda Raganot placed second with a physique that was sleek and elegant. But, unfortunately, Brenda simply wasn't nearly muscular enough - certainly not anything to the degree we saw in Dayana and many of the others. In 2000, confused by the "guidelines," the judges had given Dayana the lightweight title over Andrulla Blanchette. But this year Brenda's relative lack of muscularity definitely cost her first place. No matter what "guidelines" you attempt to impose upon them, over time good judges will always tend to prefer more muscular physiques - as long as they are symmetrical and proportioned. Bodybuilding, after all, is about muscle.
Brenda may or may not have "held back" because she was concerned that the judges might penalize her for being too hard or muscular. But none of the other women in the class looked as if they were deliberating trying to do the same. They were all in much better shape than in 2000, and some better than they had been in the Ms. Olympia. Cathy Lefrancois - now Mrs. Lee Priest - looked as gorgeous as ever and this year managed to get her skin color perfect, which has not always been the case. Denise Masino was decidedly harder than she was last year, again an indication that the "guidelines" are on their way out. All in all, the lightweight class was excellent, and there was a lot of quality muscle to be seen in this group.
THE HEAVYWEIGHT CLASS
The judging in the heavyweight class in women's pro bodybuilding continues to be somewhat problematical, since these bigger women are exactly who the "guidelines" were created to "rein in." The main battle this year turned out to be between Vickie Gates, who won the event in 2000, and Iris Kyle, who placed 5th at the Ms. Olympia and was not even compared in that contest with any of the top 3.
Unfortunately, as satisfying as the whole Arnold weekend was in so many way, the outcome of the heavyweight judging left a great deal to be desired.
In analyzing judging, I always try to differentiate between a controversial decision that could go either way - one that is really a matter of subjective perception - and judging that is simply wrong. Importunely, this seems to be an example of the latter. In fact, I don't think I've talked to anyone who saw the show who didn't think Iris should have defeated Vickie, rather than the other way around.
Of course, I am reluctant to say anything negative about Vickie Gates, who is without a doubt an excellent bodybuilder. But Vickie has chosen over the past year or two to attempt to conform as much as possible to the IFBB judging "guidelines" and this has severely compromised the quality of her physique. At the 1999 Ms. Olympia in Secaucus, Vickie was the best she'd ever been. Her weakness had always been her legs, which simply hadn't matched the development of her upper body. In New Jersey, Vickie's legs were terrific and the only reason she didn't win was she was up against Kim Chizevsky, also at her best. She would easily have beaten any other female bodybuilder in the world.
On stage next to Iris, the excellence of Vickie's upper body - especially her arms - was obvious. But she had no legs compared to Iris, and the difference was sufficient that it seems obvious the judges were simply wrong - and perhaps motivated by political considerations. If hearing this criticism hurts Vickie's feelings, that's really unfortunate because, as I said, she is a terrific bodybuilder. But it was her choice to conform to the politically motivated IFBB "guidelines" and she has gotten a lot of benefit from doing so in terms of contest victories. But those of us who respect real bodybuilding and want to see the best competitor win can't really endorse this kind of judging.
As to the rest of the class, Lesa Lewis finished in third place. Lesa is simply one of the most magnificent female bodybuilders on the planet. But her weakness is that she never comes in quite hard and muscular enough. Last year, confused by the "guidelines," she was so far off she didn't even make the top 6. She was much better this year, but still needs to get harder. If she does, she might well expect to win any show she enters.
Yaxeni Oriquen continues to improve contest by contest. She was really good at the Ms. Olympia and even better in Columbus, finishing 4th. Her career reminds me a little of that of Marie-Laure Mahabir. Marie-Laure also began by placing low in competition, improving slowly over time until she found herself among the top women in bodybuilding, arriving there almost by stealth.
Most improved in the whole contest -other than Dayana Cadeau - might easily be given to Betty Pariso. Physically, she was the best she's ever been. But she also did a tremendous amount to improve her overall appearance. She used to wear her hair in a kind of old-fashioned style that made her look older and not very "hip." Her new hairstyle as well as other aspects of her "image" on stage made a big difference in her impact on the judges and the audience. Betty is a good example of the fact that "overall assessment" is a very real factor in bodybuilding judging, not just something listed in the rules.
THE NEGATIVES
Overall, other than the decision in the heavyweight division the Ms. International was a great success. But there were two aspects of the event (other than the judging) that really need to be improved next year:
•Although there was time for all 22 of the fitness competitors to do their routines, it was decided that only the top 6 in each weight division of the bodybuilders would be able to do their full posing routine. So 10 of the female physique competitors were only able to be on stage for one minute. Considering that this contest is at the highest level of the sport, second in prestige only to the Ms. Olympia, this seems a disrespectful way of treating such elite athletes who have trained and dieted so hard for the show - especially since somebody decided there was plenty of time for a lengthy gymnastics exhibition. As exciting as that exhibition was, this was not a gymnastics contest and having such an exhibition did not contribute to selling a single ticket. Next time, let all the women pose.
•Only three of the top six in each weight division were given trophies. The others only received envelopes with a check. But you can't put a check on the mantle to show to friends or families for years to come. All top six should get at least some kind of trophy. How expensive can that be, considering what it would mean to the finalists involved? Next year, trophies for all of them please.