The Female Physique Webzine/Gallery
THE
JAN TANA CLASSIC 2003
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Charlotte, N.C. - August 13-14
back
CONTEST REPORTS
INTRODUCTION
The Jan Tana Classic has been one of the most important female physique events – and
one of the most under-appreciated – since Jan promoted the first Classic
in 1991 (which was won by Sue Gafner). The most pretigious contests for women
bodybuilders are the IFBB Ms. Olympia and the Schwarzenegger/Lorimer produced
Ms. International. But pro competitors have to start somewhere to qualify
for the Olympia and to attempt to receive special invitations to the Arnold.
Since
the Jan Tana is open to all IFBB women pros, it is the major avenue for would-be
champions from all over the world to earn their way to the bigger international
events.
As new types of physique competition for women have been created, Jan has
included them in the Classic. She added fitness to the competition in 1995,
with Monica
Brant winning the inaugural event. In 2003, the IFBB began sanctioning figure
competition and this year’s Classic responded with a contest for the
figure women as well. As a result, the audience in Charlotte was treated
to the spectacle of more than 200 of the most beautiful female bodies in
the world
featuring competitors from 27 different countries.
There is a friendly informality about the Jan Tana Classic that has made
the event very popular with the women competitors and audience alike. There
is much less stress and pressure involved than in Columbus or Las Vegas.
And the opportunity to meet the competitors “up close and personal” is
much greater at the Jan Tana than at a venue like the Olympia – where
access to the women tends to be limited to occasions like the super-crowded
Expo,
where they are behind tables signing and selling photos and tend to be constantly
bombarded by the attention of fans. The after-contest banquet at the Olympia
has a
VIP area set up to isolate the bodybuilding stars from the public; at the
Jan Tana
banquet, there is no such separation between fans and competitors. so the
female physique stars are far more accessible.
Jan should also be commended for continuing to support female bodybuilding
all these years, unlike the GNC
Show of Strength which is dropping female
bodybuilding in 2003 in favor of figure. So much for GNC’s commitment
to athletics for women. Fans of female physique should keep in mind that
there are other
places to buy supplements than GNC.
In 2003, the Classic was held in Charlotte, N.C. at the Blumenthal Performing
Arts Center, featuring a very modern theater with excellent lighting. In
the past, Jan has staged the Classic in Lynchburg, VA, a city much more difficult
to get to and which provided far from ideal contest facilities. Unfortunately
for sponsors, the area in which the booths were set up at this year's show
was at the adjacent Omni Hotel rather than the theater, which meant many
ticket
holders
were
totally
unaware there was an “expo” at all.
BODYBUILDING
Like the recent Night
of Champions women’s bodybuilding
contest, the women bodybuilders at the Jan Tana competing in three classes,
rather than
two as at the Arnold and the Ms. Olympia. Weight classes for female pros
is a great idea (and one the men should be considering as well) but having
only two classes means, in effect, the lightweights and middleweights are
grouped into a single competitive group, which puts the smaller women at
a great disadvantage. If the IFBB truly wants to encourage smaller women
to compete as pros it needs to provide them with their own class. In fact,
when there is a true lightweight class there is a definite possibility that
some of the more muscular fitness/figure women would be tempted to cross
over.
But in doing so they would have their work cut out for them, if the lineup
of competitors at the Jan Tana 2003 is any indication.
THE LIGHTWEIGHTS
Looking at the lightweight lineup, it was difficult to realize that the heaviest
of these women was only 129 lbs. This is one of the great benefits of having
weight classes – and especially including a lightweight division. The
judges can choose between apples and apples rather than apples and oranges.
Certainly, looking at class winner Angela DeBatin of Brazil without a much
bigger competitor beside her there is no reason to think of her as “small.” Angela
is beautifully proportioned and was in great shape at the Jan Tana ’03.
Angela finished 6th at the Night of Champions and 3rd at last year’s
Arnold. What made the difference? “I was certainly in great shape this
year,” she said. “But I think I was also able to impress the
judges because I made an effort to really hit and hold my poses this time.
In the past, I think I was trying to be too ‘feminine’ and was
afraid to flex hard enough.”
Second place went to Joanna Thomas of England, who won this class two years
ago. The problem she had this year was conditioning. “I’ve made
some good gains in the past two years,” Joanna explained, “but
I’m afraid I’ve tended to get too heavy off season, which makes
getting in great contest shape that much more difficult. My goal now is to
continue to develop my physique but to stay leaner all year around so that
I can absolutely nail my next contest diet.”
THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS
There is no doubt that Haitian-born and Canadian-raised Dayana Cadeau has
become the Flex Wheeler of female bodybuilding. There are few female bodybuilders
who have the incredible fullness of muscle shape and symmetry that you see
with Dayana’s physique. Fans are constantly amazed that she only weighed
132 pounds at the Jan Tana. It goes to illustrate the truth of what the late
Vince Gironda had to say on this subject: “Bodybuilding is illusion.”
Dayana is a Ms. International winner who would have more titles except for
one weakness: Her physique is so full that she has to work very hard at conditioning
to bring her waist down sufficiently. When she does – as she did at
the Jan Tana, displaying an impressive V-shape symmetry to her torso – she
is difficult to beat. The judges in North Carolina had her winning every
round
and finishing
20
points
ahead
of the
runner-up.
Her only fault at the contest (as used to be true of Angela DeBatin) was
a tendency not to flex hard enough and hold her poses. In the more competitive
Ms. Olympia lineup this could work to her disadvantage. “I know I always
have to be learning and getting better,” is how Dayana responds. “So
if flexing harder to show the judges more muscularity and definition is what
I need to do, I will certainly work on that.”
Mah-Ann Mendoza placed second, looking the best she ever has. Mah-Ann is
one of those bodybuilders who doesn’t rely on flashy genetics but simply
works to create a balanced, symmetrical physique and to show up in the best
shape possible. She has looked better in virtually ever pro appearance and
if she continues to do so will become an even greater threat to take titles
away from her rivals.
Vilma Caez placed third and was awarded a $1000 prize as best poser by women’s
physique editor and photographer Steve Wennerstrom. Of course, it helps that
Vilma has a lot to pose with – since her solid and symmetrical muscularity
is very impressive, indeed.
THE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Every once in a while a relatively unknown competitor show up at a contest
and sends shock waves through the sport. That happened when Lenda Murray
won the IFBB North American Championships and immediately became a leading
contender for the Ms. Olympia title. At the Jan Tana Classic this year the
same thing could be said of Helle Nielsen of Denmark – who may turn
out to be a very Great Dane indeed.
Helle (who was the biggest in the class finalists at 152 pounds – there
were no giants among this year’s top 5) displayed the same kind of
hard, chiseled muscularity and definition you see with a competitor like
Iris Kyle in
her best
shape. Helle showed a kind of “flayed alive” anatomical detail
that we’ve come to expect from the male pros but don’t see that
often with the women - plus looking so hard she might be made out of bronze
rather than flesh and muscle. Helle is planning to compete in the Ms. Olympia
in November and
if she
is able
to turn around her diet on such short notice and handle the pressure of jumping
up into the big time so quickly, she will definitely be a contender among
the heavyweights.
“
I had hoped to do well at the Jan Tana,” she explained, “but
I really hadn’t any big expectations of winning and becoming qualified
for the Ms. Olympia. I’m going to have to change all my plans for the
year but I’ll do my best. This is biggest opportunity of my bodybuilding
career and I hope to make the most of it.”
Beth Roberts finished second and seems to be adopting a more colorful and
flamboyant approach to her presentation. Her finals costume appeared to consist
of a fetish-like black studded bikini with wrist cuffs and a collar – all
very dramatic when set off by her muscular physique and blonde hair. As Beth
points out, there is a lot more to becoming a success a a pro bodybuilder
than just hard training and diet - although you can't do without those either.
Another big surprise in the show was Maria Callo. Bodybuilding audiences
have never seen this version of Maria – lean and muscular, extremely
symmetrical and looking like much more of a complete aesthetic package than
ever before. Hitting traditional shots like the archer pose, Maria on stage
was able to duplicate the impressive look she’s achieved in studio
photos that caused me to call her “The Female Hercules.” Maria
has always had the muscle but her improvement in overall aesthetics was a
very impressive achievement, indeed.
THE OVERALL
The overall was primarily (as happens so often) essentially between the two
bigger women in the posedown: heavyweight Helle Nielsen and middleweight
Dayana Cadeau. Helle outweighed Dayana by 20 pounds (152 to 132) and being
in such incredibly good shape was probably the unanimous victor (although
it would be nice if the IFBB would publish scores from the overall round).
Dayana, in some ways, had the more aesthetic physique – at least in
terms of full, sensuous (or maybe better said “voluptuous”) muscle
but she simply doesn’t wasn't hard enough to compete directly
against somebody who looked as if she'd been carved out of granite
.
Given that both these women are ambitious and intent on improving over
time, no doubt we will eventually see Helle become more full and
just as hard and
Dayana just as full and a lot harder. There are limits to how good you can
get as a bodybuilder but there should be no limits on how hard you try to
improve.
FITNESS/FIGURE
As usual, my approach to reporting on fitness and figure doesn’t
involve a round by round review of the judging – since these events
don’t
have the same level of objective criteria you find (or should find) in bodybuilding
competition. Fitness and figure are not “just” beauty contests,
but since they aren’t true sports (in the sense of testing the limits
of human ability) nor really athletic competitions (fitness has an athletic
component but not one that is clearly defined) the most accurate description
of them is probably “specialized” beauty contest in which the
aesthetics of the bodies being judges are the result to at least some degree
of athletic effort. So fitness and figure competitors are athletes involved
in competitions that are essentially non-athletic and which are judged as
such.
Of course, in reality what fitness and figure are underneath all the rhetoric
are bodybuilding contests for women who aren’t supposed to look too
much like bodybuilders. Even since fitness began, the IFBB and NPC have been
in opposition to the fact that women training with weights over time are
going to get more muscular. The result, whether they like it or not, is that
the competitors tend to keep getting more muscular to the point where a Timea
Majorova or Monica Brant (and several others) could move over and compete
successfully as lightweight bodybuilders
with
very
little
effort
(in some
ways less effort,
since they wouldn’t have to work so hard in the effort to lose muscle
mass).
Bodybuilding evolves over time as the top competitors managed to achieve
greater degrees of aesthetic muscular development. Fitness – and now
figure – don’t
evolve. They just “change” as the competitors get bigger and
more muscular because of all the bodybuilding-type training they do (but
still mostly remain way below their genetic limits) and the judges either
get used to it and accept it or are asked to follow judging standards intended
to limit this kind of development.
FITNESS
The lineup of the fitness competition at the Jan Tana this year did not contain
the “usual subjects” who have been at the top in most IFBB pro
fitness shows. No Susan Curray, Adela Friedmansky, Kelly Ryan, Jen Hendershott
and the like – most of whom dominate by virtue of their gymnastic ability.
In fact, while winner Stacey Greenwood turned in a credibly performance,
nobody would confuse her with a Bela Karolyi gymnastics pupil (although Stacey
is definitely a fitness competitor who could move to bodybuilding if she
chose).
No doubt it will be business as usual at the Fitness Olympia, but it is clear
that fitness is in a period of change. The NPC has allowed the demand for
gymnastics excellence to drive most fitness competitors into figure and there
are fewer and fewer amateur fitness women coming up through the pipeline.
The judges at the 2003 NPC USA were much more tolerant of non-gymnastics
routines in the scoring but unless a very public and well publicized policy
change is instituted we may be seeing the eventual demise of fitness. The
NPC has also announced there will be no more fitness in the Team Universe
as of 2004.
Of coure, the fitness competitors at the Jan Tana were adept and entertaining
as ever. And accept for Jennifer Hanke dislocating her shoulder during her
routine there were no serious injuries or other disasters. And the audience
seem to accept the outcome with good grace. Who could complain about the
faces or bodies of
Stacey Greenwood (1st),
Stacy Hylton (2nd) or
Kimberly
Scheidler-Klein (3rd)?
But it seems doubtful that anyone would have protested
if the finishing order were somehow scrambled. Such is the nature of fitness.
FIGURE
This is the first year the IFBB has held figure contests so it remains to
be seen what this kind of event develops into. The first few pro contests
were, to a large degree, won by women who looked very much like models rather
than converted fitness competitors - such as Jenny Lynn and Davana Medina.
At the Jan Tana, the top competitors seemed to be somewhat more muscular,
although we've seen women with muscle like Monica Brant and Elaine Goodlad
to well (although not win) in recent figure contests. This is not that evident
to the audience, which is sitting some distance away
and
doesn’t
get a close look at the physiques on stage. To those of us in the press pit – especially
looking at the competitors through telephoto lenses – the fact that
they have a lot of muscle, however small, is much more clear. (Check out
the extensive photos
of the
event in the subscriber area and you’ll agree)
.
The winner of the figure event was Dina Al-Sabah. Dina, interestingly enough,
was a bodybuilder first, then switched to fitness and finally to figure.
She certainly looks more like a proto-bodybuilder than the figure winners
at the Arnold or Night of Champions. Second place D.J. Wallis has always
looked to me like somebody who should be a bodybuilder if the world were
a perfect place. She was very happy to finish runner up after being placed
a disappointing 17th at NOC just a few months earlier.
How do you go from 17th to 2nd almost overnight? You don’t – if
there are any objective criteria to go by. Thus endeth the lesson. But D.J.
is so spectacular that it’s easy to conclude that the JanTana judges
simply did a better job than those in New York.
I was personally glad to see Aleksandra Kobielak finish in the top 5 after
being overlooked as she was in pro fitness events. If the IFBB follows the
lead of the NPC and stops putting so much emphasis on tumbling in the scoring
it would be nice to see Aleksandra back on stage doing her dramatic and theatrical
fitness performance routine. In the meantime, she’ll have to settle
for getting some recognition as having an outstanding physique and overall
aesthetic appeal.
One disappointment was seeing former Yugoslavian Bodybuilding and Fitness
Champion Danijela Crevar in a figure contest when her muscle mass and shape
dictate she definitely needs to be competing in bodybuilding. Danijela should
take finishing in a multiple tie for 19th place as an indication of what
type of event she is best suited for. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing her
shortly in IFBB pro bodybuilding competition.
By the way, if there were a
Miss Geniality or a Best Personality award it would have to go to 4th place
Theil Bradford, who seems constantly to be bubbling with good nature and
energy. The fact that she is also cute as a bug helps create an even bigger
impression – much like that of the spectacular Alphie Newman in her
prime as a teenage bodybuilder and fitness champion. Charisma is one of those
things that are difficult to fake – and which comes in very handy to
those competing in an event based so significantly on subjective criteria.
IN CONCLUSION
The Jan Tana Classic for 2003 was very significant on a number of levels. It certain produced some high levels of competition. Both Helle Nielsen and Dayana Cadeau will be serious contenders to win their classes at the upcoming Ms. Olympia. Tracey Greenwood proved you can win a major IFBB fitness event without emphasizing tumbling in your performance. Figure winner Dina Al-Sabah has opened up competition possibilities for women who are former bodybuilders and not necessarily tall, leggy model types.
There is still the question of why so many rounds are necessary in fitness and figure. What is the point of having a physique contest in which the competitors are judged wearing bikinis and then come back out in one-piece suits that cover up their torsos? The result of this is an audience having to sit through endless quarters turns that quickly become extremely boring. Especially to the judges. They shouldn't need more than one physique round with the women wearing bikinis to decide how the lineup should be scored.
These IFBB women's shows are becoming interminably long. At the Night of Champions a few months ago, by the end of the evening show the women were being rushed around the stage until they looked like a speeded-up silent movie. At the Classic, which also included the IFBB Masters Mr. Olympia, the finals were a full 6 1/2 hours long! (And women's and men's judging was intermixed, meaning those only interested in the women had to sit through the men and vice versa.) Jan Tana may have to consider makes some changes in this competition schedule.
There will only be two weight classes for women's bodybuilding at the Olympia, and the reason no doubt has to do with the time involved in staging three, time-consuming events.. But why should female bodybuilding competition be compromised - with the lightweight women being forced to compete in the same class as the middleweights - in order to accomodate too many rounds of a physique beauty contest?
Another question is prize money. In general, the fitness and figure women are winning the same prize money as the bodybuilders. But female bodybuilding has been sanctioned by the IFBB for 23 years, it takes a very long time to develop a pro bodybuilding physique and (in spite of opinions to the contrary) the FBBs have earned a substantial and very loyal following willing to pay to see them compete. Should the IFBB be giving the same prize money to a fitness model entering a type of physique beauty contest that is in its first year of existence as it does to a seasoned, world-famous female bodybuilding champion? Certainly, nobody who is familiar with what it takes to be a pro bodybuilder would equate the achievement of these women with the effort it takes to compete in figure - no matter how obviously attractive such a competitor might be.
At least for the time being, there seems to be more work in the fitness industry for the women who compete in fitness and figure - and therefore more opportunity to create income from the exposure they get from competition. To give them prize money on top of that which is disproportionate to their level of effort and achievement compared to FBBs seems grossly unfair.
COMPLETE PHOTO COVERAGE IN
SUBSCRIBER AREA