2018 NPAA Magazine 2018 NPAA Magazine - This is Our Sport | Page 59

CONTEST FAILS AND BLUNDERS
from a Pro-athlete, Contest Judge and Coach
“If you fail to plan you plan to fail” These words have been
drilled into people so many times throughout their personal
and professional lives in order to be successful in whatever
they are trying to accomplish. It is quite prudent and
paramount to apply this mantra in the preparation of a fitness
and bodybuilding contest. Most competitors always step up
their game plan to ensure they faithfully follow the directions
provided by their coach to prepare a flawless presentation
on contest day. Nevertheless, there is also another saying
that unfortunately rears its ugly head at the most inopportune
times and that is “Murphy’s Law” –a popular adage that
states that “things will go wrong in any given situation, if you
give them a chance,” or more commonly, “whatever can go
wrong, will go wrong.” When carb depleted athletes lack
the fortitude to” keep it together” on contest day they give
murphy’s law a chance to show up. Incidents range from
mandatory posing, routines to music, tan preparation, contest
suits, and hair styles. From the perspective of the viewer
we experience a host of feelings from embarrassment for the
athlete to outright laughter. The following are some of the
incidents I have witnessed back stage as a competing athlete
and on the stage as a contest judge and coach.
As a competing athlete I have seen some pretty interesting
“things” backstage guys do to prepare for stepping on stage:
Eating a pile of rice cakes prior to going on stage only to have
the crumbs stick to the front of them because of the excessive
use of Dream Tan or Muscle Sheen. I would see them in the
line-up about to go onstage looking like a little kid who just
gobbled down a bag of potato chips.
One thing I’ve seen in almost every amateur show is
competitors with their “unsightly” hair showing from under
their posing suits - either they wore a posing suit that was too
small or they were blessed with the hair of a sasquatch and
failed to trim their “bits”.
I have seen some guys showing up looking like Casper the
ghost - somehow they “missed the memo” on tanning. It was
quite obvious and unfortunately too late to sort out.
As a contest judge and coach in the stands I have
witnessed multiple blunders on stage:
It was obvious that some guys neglected to practice their
mandatory posing or simply forgot the proper poses and
creatively displayed their own poses. As a judge it is quite
evident to see those individuals stand out. I recall one young
guy trying to observe and duplicate the competitors on either
side of him. You can have the best body on stage, but if you
don’t know how to present it properly, all your hard work will
have gone down the drain.
When it comes to individual posing routines athletes are at
the mercy of the house DJ. I have seen guys stop dead in the
tracks because the music stopped playing and these guys
froze like they were hit with a stun gun. Best advice is to just
keep on going like nothing happened.
Suit selection is quite important in order to maintain the
quality and integrity of the contest. We have seen some
athletes sporting suits that have revealed more than we are
adjudicating on our judge’s scorecard. We have also seen
some competitors donning posing suits from the days of
Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s always a good practice to have
spares in case of a “wardrobe malfunction” and also update
your contest suit to today’s styles and standards.
In light of all the unfortunate situations that go wrong athletes
seem to still hold it together and have an enjoyable contest
experience. The blunders and fails are merely chalked up to a
learning experience that are talked about with a quiet snicker
or raised eyebrows within the circles of family, friends and the
fitness community.
BY: DUANE DE JAGER, M.ED., B.ED., BPE
NPAA All Canadian & IFPA Master’s Pro
56.