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THE ARNOLD WEEKEND, 2005
March 4 – 6, Columbus-Ohio
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FEMALE BODYBUILDING, FITNESS AND FIGURE
Competition Reports
INTRODUCTION
The IFBB Olympia is the title with the most prestige in the physique world but increasingly the weekend of competition hosted each year in Columbus, Ohio by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer is becoming the most important event – and certainly the biggest.
The weekend involves much more than physique. There are also athletes competing in strength, martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading, arm wrestling and other events. "The Olympics involved the participation of 10,000 athletes," Lorimer explained at the beginning of the weekend. "In Columbus, we will be hosting 16,000 competitors."
In addition to the various types of competition, the Arnold also hosts a huge Fitness Expo, with more than 600 exhibitors and a stage that features a series of ongoing events (including prejudging for the women bodybuilders, fitness and figure competitions) which extends from Friday to Sunday. Last year, attendance on Friday was good but the Convention Center was not totally jammed. Not this year. Friday was as crowded as was Saturday last year and the Saturday crowd made moving around from booth to booth extremely difficult. Times Square on New Year's Eve must be something like this.
Columbus is not that big a city, so this yearly influx tends to fill up the available hotel space fairly early. Many trying to book rooms two months before the event found they couldn't get any closer to downtown than the area around the airport. This isn't that far away and getting to and from the Expo and the Veteran's Memorial theater where the finals of the men's and women's physique events are held is just a matter of renting a car. But just a few years ago booking a hotel was not that difficult – which illustrates how much the whole event has grown.
THE VENUE
The finals of women's bodybuilding, fitness and figure are held on Friday night at the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium. Prejudging occurs at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on stage at the Expo Hall, where everyone in attendance has a chance to watch. The thinking here is that a lot of the fans don't want to have to make a choice between attending the Expo and prejudging – and that many who might not have bought tickets to the women's prejudging will stop and watch and like what they see enough to become fans of female physique competition.
INVITATIONS
The Ms. International, Fitness and Figure International contests are invitational - Jim Lorimer and Arnold look over the lists of eligible competitors and decide whom to invite on the basis of how well they've done in previous contests, popularity with the fans and with an eye to keeping the field as "international" as possible. These invitations are highly prized. With the exception of the prestigious Olympia title, no other physique titles are held in higher esteem than those awarded during the annual Arnold Weekend.
THE LIGHTING
Lighting at prejudging, held in the Expo Hall, is at best minimal. It is bright enough to see the competitors but not particularly flattering nor revealing of physical detail. It would be difficult to improve on this, given the venue, and the lighting suffices for the audience and judges to see the bodies on the stage.
In the past, the primary weakness of this otherwise well-organized event has been the stage lighting at the finals – both for the women and the men. Many years ago the lighting was done in a "theatrical" manner – harsh overhead light sources meant to be dramatic but which resulted in too much contrast, too many deep shadows, on the faces and bodies of the competitors. In the past few years the lighting became very "showy" – way too busy, with too much light on the background compared to that on the physiques, not enough contrast and distracting color lights spilling onto the bodies on stage. Some connected with the show said this lighting was designed for video, but it didn't even look good to highly forgiving videos cameras.
In 2005, the lighting was IMMENSELY BETTER! There was still plenty of "production value" on stage, well-designed sets, plenty of showy lights, but all this took place behind the competitors, not on top of them. Given that the Arnold is the best organized contest in the sport, gets better every year and the only problem in the recent past has been the lighting, the improvement in this aspect of the production this year made the whole weekend just about perfect.
The only problems people could point to were that the weekend has become so popular and draws such crowds that it's almost impossible to move around in the Expo Hall – and there are only a few seats for fans of the women to watch prejudging. But crowds come with success and there simply isn't any larger venue in Columbus than the Convention Center, so unless the Expo schedule is expanded to include Thursday there doesn't seem to be much anyone can do about the crowding.
THE COMPETITIONS
THE 20% RULE
Over the years, there have been a number of attempts on the part of the IFBB (often with the participation of the NPC) to keep women physique competitors from becoming "too muscular" – as if ether the women themselves or their fans are considered about such a thing.
This happened in 1992, after Bev Francis frightened the federation by almost winning the Ms. Olympia. It happened again in 2000, when a set of guidelines was introduced that caused a number of both pro and amateur female physique contests to be inaccurately and unfairly judged during the rest of that year. In both cases, the problematical (and inappropriate, in my view) judging instructions were dropped after running their course and doing their damage.
Given this history, it is no wonder that female competitors and fans were concerned when a memo was sent out earlier this year declaring that the IFBB was dictating their be a 20% reduction in muscularity in all three of the women's physique categories. The consensus was that this wouldn't work. You can't really set such a standard in any real objective sense, how could it apply across the board to women at such different levels of development in competitions judged by such different standards in the first place, and who says such a thing is necessary in the first place?
In any event, the Arnold was the first competition in which the effect of this new pronouncement could be implemented. But, despite a lot of pre-weekend worrying, the memo turned out to have virtually no effect at all. The women were all in good shape, about as muscular as in the past, nobody seemed to have sacrificed conditioning to please the IFBB and the judges went about their business with a commendable degree of accuracy.
Let's hope that's the end of the 20% less muscularity rule. If not, the results can only be negative to the competitors, the audience and women's physique competition as a whole.
MS. INTERNATIONAL
The Ms. International is held using two weight classes rather than three, and in 2005 a total of 12 women were invited – which means only six in each class. Given the enormous number of athletes invited to compete in all the weekend events, and the fact that there were also about the same number of figure and fitness competitors invited, why this is so is understandable. But if you invite 12 or 13 fitness/figure women you can be relatively sure you are getting the cream of the crop. With only six women bodybuilders per class, it is obvious that a huge amount of talent is being left out of the competition. Especially when you are taking pains to make sure the field is international in character.
It would be nice if there were more FBBs involved in the Ms. International, and especially if there were three weight classes so that genuine lightweights could compete – and with the cut-off between middleweight and heavyweight moved up somewhat. As it is, 136 pound women are "heavyweights" and are competing alongside women weighing 170 pounds or more. It would be better if that range were narrowed somewhat.
Lightweights
The quality this year in the lightweight class was really excellent, with Brenda Raganot and Mah-Ann Mendoza finishing first and second, both in terrific shape and separated by only 5 points on the judging sheets – they tied in round 1 and Mah-Ann actually won round 2. Both Brenda and Mah-Ann have continued to make progress since turning pro – and it would be nice for their fans to be able to see them in magazines from time to time to see this for themselves.
The rest of the lightweight line-up also looked great. Third place Desiree Ellis has everything needed to be on a par with Brenda and Mah-Ann. It's just a matter of continuing to improve over time. Susanne Neiderhauser, who finished 4th, is a different matter. Susanne has a very special, highly aesthetic look that is a pleasure to see. But she doesn't have the kind of fullness that wins contests at this level. It is possible she could gain some size and fill out her shape. But it is also likely that what she needs is to lose a few pounds (or wait until the weight classes are adjusted) and compete in a genuine lightweight class. In any event, no matter how she places there is no disputing the quality of her physique.
Angela Debatin is simply excellence waiting to happen. She has everything necessary to be a lightweight/middleweight champion but she just isn't quite making it when it comes to contest preparation. The improvement in conditioning necessary isn't that huge – but it is vital at this level of competition. Let's hope Angela finds the right formula and moves up from 5th place in her next contest.
Fannie Barrios finished 6th – and was not quite in the kind of shape she's achieved in the past. This is another first-class physique that can finish near the top when she hits contest-prep perfectly. Fannie says she has plans to improve her overall presentation and appearance in future events and that, together with showing up as hard and lean as possible, should make considerable difference.
Heavyweights
Yaxeni Oriquen has gradually improved over the past 5 years or so and has become the best of the really big female bodybuilders. This year she wasn't as totally ripped as she can be – although she was in excellent shape in general – but she achieved a polished look and presentation that resulted in the best overall appearance she has ever presented on a bodybuilding stage.
The judges agreed and gave Yaxeni first place in every round. Finishing second was Betty Viana, who got uniform second place votes from the judges. Betty is another competitor who just a smidgen away from competition excellence and winning titles. She is like Yaxeni was a few years ago – everything there but just not finished enough. This is a matter – it is almost always a matter – of contest preparation. Dieting hard enough and smart enough, eating well as well as cutting calories, staying in good enough shape all year around and staying healthy and without too much stress. How much of this applies to Betty is a matter of speculation. But it tends to apply to all physique competitors who want to capitalize on their gift of genetics.
The perennially excellent Betty Pariso finished 3rd and once again proved that age is no barrier to creating a quality bodybuilding physique. Betty's only weakness, showing up from time to time, is skin coloring. Sometimes she gets it perfect, sometimes not. But there isn't much else to criticize about this woman who is closing in on 50 years of age with no sign of slowing down.
In 4th place was Lisa Aukland, a combination of brains, physique and beauty that would be difficult to match. Lisa shows up in shape, presents herself well on stage and only fails to do better because of some weakness of proportion in her physique which probably can be improved, at least to some degree, by changes in her training routine. But remember we are talking about the very specific and exacting standards of physique competition where very small differences can be decisive – as in Olympic sprinting, where the difference between first and fourth may be a matter of hundreds of a second. In "real life" terms, Lisa is a most impressive young lady.
Christine Roth finished 5th and the only thing you can say about Christine is she just needs to do more of whatever she's been doing and give herself some time. She has virtually everything needed to be a top contender. She's beautiful, has great proportions and is not lacking any major body parts. Let's hope she has the patience and dedication (and doesn't listen to well-meaning advice to the effect that she should have scored higher) to stay the course and give her body time to grow, develop and mature. If she does, Christine will be somebody to reckon with in figure IFBB pro competition.
FITNESS INTERNATIONAL
With so many women moving from fitness to figure (to avoid having to do a gymnastic-based routine and under the mistaken assumption that the judges will reward the same kind of physique in figure that did well in fitness), there is a fairly noticeable lack of "new blood" in the pro fitness ranks. To a large degree there is a "round up the usual suspects" feel to the pro fitness lineups.
But, of course, the established women in pro fitness are pretty damn good. The top two contenders in Columbus were Adelina Garcia Friedmansky, who has been winning shows and Jen Hendershott, who has been almost winning. Adelina began her pro career with a kind of Susie Curray-type athletic-but-not-much shape kind of body. But although she's still slender, Adelina has continued to fill out her physique and the judges have been rewarding her for it.
Jen Hendershott – who is from Columbus and got a lot of home town support from the audience – has always had one of the best gymnastics-based routines and has had an excellent physique, although sometimes looking a little bit more blocky than she or the judges would prefer. As Adelina has been developing on her shape, Jen has been trying improve her symmetry. Even at this level, there is always more work to do.
As it turned out, the contest was incredibly close, with Jen two points ahead of Adelina when the results were announced. As I've often said, given the unknown element of judging the routine, it is very difficult to know before the results are given who is going to win a fitness contest. Plus there is the element of the suits. Why are there two physique rounds, one in which the competitors wear a two-piece suit (which shows the whole body) and a one-piece suit (that covers up the mid-section). What is the point of hiding the abs and most of the torso in a physique contest? Why would you give points for looking good when your body is hidden from the judges? And are there such disparities between the points given to some competitors in each round by different judges? The body hasn't changed from round to round – why should a physique score?
Besides which, how many quarter turns can the audience and/or the judges stand before the whole process starts to get super boring?
Anyway, Kim Klein finished 3rd and Kelly Ryan was 4th, despite winning both the performance rounds. Whatever changes Kelly has been making in her physique evidently do not suit the judges, since she has placed higher in the physique rounds in the past.
FIGURE INTERNATIONAL
As pro figure continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly clear what kind of physique the judges are "looking for." They are rewarding women with tall, lean proportions – long legged, long waisted – who look like models with a sufficient amount of muscle and muscularity. Davana Medina, who has one two Olympia Figure titles is a perfect example. And so is the winner of the Figure International, Jenny Lynn.
When she was in fitness, Jenny's "model like" figure made competition difficult for her, although she got very defined and showed up in good shape. But the fact that has excelled in figure is an excellent example of the difference between the two events – and should offer a word of warning to fitness competitors (and women bodybuilders, as well) who don't realize how specific the genetic requirements are (and becoming more so) to win in figure. Compete in pro figure without the requisite "long lines" at your peril.
Looking at an ideal example of this reality, finishing in what is becoming her customary second place was Monica Brant. Monica looked okay but was actually not in her best shape, hasn't been in super shape for more than a year. Possibly somebody told her she needed to be less muscular and she believe them. She looked good, of course, but not long ago she was so striking that it seemed to be she might have the best overlook look of anyone in any of the three categories – and could have won the lightweight Ms. Olympia or Ms. International bodybuilding titles with very little effort.
But Monica – impressive as she is – has a more compact physique than Jenny or Davana. That compactness is what made her so good in the physique rounds of fitness (and would allow her to be a champion bodybuilder if that's what she wanted). She has such a great look that she keeps finishing near the top in figure in spite of not having the right kind of genetics. But even cut like a fine diamon, she is always going to be handicapped when sharing the stage with long-proportioned competitors who seem to embody what figure is developing into.
There were no particular surprises, and certainly no outrages, in most of the rest of the top six placings. In 3rd, Mary Elizabeth Lado;
4th, Christine Pomponia-Pate; and 5th, Latisha Wilder. Great looking competitors in excellent shape. These are the women you should be seeing in the magazines instead of generic photos of generic fitness models. Like the fitness women, they are first-rate bodybuilders who are training for something other than hard-core female bodybuilding. Any of them might have been Ms. Olympia in early 1980s.
One surprise – at least to me – was Amber Littlejohn finishing in 6th place. Or, I should say, Amber coming in looking as if she deserved 6th place. In reality, Amber should be fighting for top titles with Davana and Jenny. She has an exotic look, EXACTLY the kind of tall-proportioned figure the judges are rewarding and she is beautiful. What's wrong is that she has stopped developing any more muscle in the past year or two. It is unlikely that Amber will ever develop a "bulky" look, given her proportions. But all the other women in the top group had more muscle and definition than she did. The whole point of physique competitors compared to models or bikini contestants is that they look like they train with weights and diet to show muscularity. Amber was making progress but seems to have slacked off. Maybe it was the 20% rule. Maybe somebody told her she shouldn't be or didn't need to be more muscular.
But if an when she gets back on track than other figure competitors should watch out. Amber may have the best overall package for this kind of event we've seen so far.
Bill Dobbins