STEPPING
ON
by Alison Ludovici
Competing for the first time is an experience
I will cherish. I discovered more strength in
myself and learned how to surpass perceived
limitations. My confidence and self-love
expanded expo-nentially. I felt I had won,
before I had even been handed a trophy, just
for succeeding in prep and stepping on stage. I
want to share with you my experience as a first
time competitor with the NPAA. I hope it inspires
and motivates you in your journey.
The Day Before
Sitting down at the Athlete’s Meeting, it became
very real; I was about to compete. The energy
in the room was thrumming. Dr. Kevin Ashby and
his wife, Wendy kept the meeting fun, while also
being informative and reassuring. By the end, I
was excited and eager.
Next up, spray tan. I entered the tanning room
to find it closely resembled a kill room from the
show Dexter. The tan lady, thankfully, was so
professional, I completely forgot to be nervous
about getting naked. The spray tan is cold,
standing in front of the fan to dry, is freezing,
seeing myself transform in colour, worth it.
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. I did a
short posing practice, enjoyed my dinner and
dessert, read a book and hit the sheets by 9pm.
Photo Credit: Skazka Images
The Big Day
46.
I awoke at 4:50am feeling determined. My
second tanning appointment was at 6am, with
hair and make-up afterwards. It was a bit of a
mad dash to throw on my suit, take a few photos
and get to the venue in time. I was thriving on
the rush of adrenaline.
Backstage
The energy backstage was incredible! The
camaraderie amongst the competitors was far
from the catty horror stories you hear. My coach
and I ran through my posing, after which, I did
a quick pump up routine. I ate a few cherry
blasters and a cookie for a hit of carbs and