October 1, 2008

The 2008 IFBB North American Figure Championships

For many Canadian amateur figure competitors, the annual IFBB North American Championships event is the one they look forward to the most. There are three main reasons for this. The first is that the competition allows them to compete against other women from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It has an international flavor and all the prestige that goes with it. The second has to do with the judging criteria. Unlike Canada, where the national-level judges favor muscular women who border on being female bodybuilders, the judges at the North Americans have traditionally favored women with less muscle but with better shape and a more feminine look. Frankly, this is what far more women tend to want to look like anyway, and is much more in line with what the competitors currently look like in the IFBB’s professional ranks. It’s also a look that more magazines wish to feature. Obviously, the Canadian judges need to catch up. Then there’s the third reason: three IFBB Pro Cards are awarded at this event. Two are awarded in the open division (the overall winner and the runner-up), and one is given to the over-age-35 masters champion.

This year’s event was held on August 30 in Cleveland, Ohio, where it has been held for the last number of years. Over 120 women competed. In the open division, they were divided into six height classes from shortest to tallest: A, B, C, D, E and F. There were four masters classes: A, B, C and D.

Each class in the masters division was won by an American. The winners were: LaVonda Ezell (A), Ann Pratt (B), Natalie Calland (C), and Brandie Gardner (D). The overall title and the one IFBB Pro Card for this division went to Brandie Gardner, who I thought was a good choice. Brandie has an attractive physique with great overall shape. She has the kind of look other women would want to emulate.

The open division saw a mix of winners from all the countries. I had never seen Paige Oliver compete before, but I was immediately impressed with her when the A class came onto the stage. Her physique has great shape and she has wonderful stage presence – she looks like she’s enjoying herself up there. Paige seemed to win the A class quite easily. LaVonda Ezell, the A winner in the masters division, came in second, while Tiffany Moody was third. All three women are from the United States.

Ann Pratt, the B winner in the masters division, also won the open B class. However, she didn’t win without a fight. I really liked the way second-place-finisher Tiffany Procopio looked. In my opinion, she could have won it too. However, Procopio is also quite a bit more muscular than Pratt and that probably didn’t work to her favor at this show. If Tiffany’s a little softer next year, she will have what it takes to win. Elissa Schlichter placed third. As with the A class, all three of these women are from the United States.

It was clear from the first callouts in the C class that the judging panel really liked the look of Mexico’s Georgina Valenzuela. I could see why – she has great shape and really nice stage presence. Georgina appeared to win this class quite easily. Emily Nicholson of the United States came in second, while Orah Bigio of Canada took third.

The D class was very tough to judge since any one of the top three could have taken it. Marie Newman ended up in first place, Carrie Schindley was second, and Terri Turner placed third. All three women are from the United States.

Canada’s Natalie Waples took fourth at this competition in 2007 and then did everything she could to improve on that placing for 2008. Her hard work paid off with a win in the E class. Natalie Calland, the C winner in the masters division, placed second, while fellow American Lauren Valentino placed third.

Whereas all the other classes had at least 15 competitors (the C class had more than 30!), the F class had only nine. However, the competition in this smaller group was intense. Brandie Gardner, the masters D and overall winner, ended up in third place. The top two spots were taken by Canadians. Kim Tilden, fresh from her class win at the 2008 CBBF Canadian Figure Championships, placed first. Christina Dzieduszycki, a competitor who I think looks very good and has what it takes to win this show, came in second.

All the class winners were brought back for final judging to determine the 2008 North American Champion as well as the runner-up. These are the two who also receive IFBB Pro Cards.

The excitement in the auditorium was at a high and it was obvious by the way the head judge moved the competitors around the stage that the choice was clearly between Georgina Valenzuela and Natalie Waples. It was also quite apparent that they were having a hard time making a decision. I’m not exactly sure how many times the women had to do their quarter turns, but I counted eight!

After the women posed, they were instructed to stand toward the side of the stage while the scores were being tabulated. For those six women, that one minute of standing there must have felt like an hour – you could see how nervous they were. However, no one could blame them since a win at this prestigious event is a dream come true for most competitors.

Georgina Valenzuela emerged as the winner, becoming the 2008 North American Champion, and Natalie Waples was the runner-up. Both women were thrilled with the result and excited that they could now enter the IFBB’s professional ranks along with Brandie Gardner, the 2008 North American Masters Champion.

All told, the 2008 IFBB North American Championships were a huge success, partly due to the large number of competitors, but also because the event’s biggest winners came from each of the participating countries. It shows women in all three countries that they can come to this prestigious international event and be judged fairly and, possibly, go home a newly crowned IFBB Pro. I bet a lot of competitors are already planning for next year’s North Americans that will be held, once again, in Cleveland.

. . . Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com