What was the "Big Announcement" at Team U?

[ripitupbaby]

After Jr. Nats, there was some talk about a "big announcement" re. figure that would be made at Team U. Did anyone catch what this was?

If the announcement was that the girls are coming in too big and hard, that's not much in terms of big news, since that is what was said at Jr Nats, right?

???

[Jennifer Cowan]

They didn't announce anything at Team U (at least that I know of) but I had heard this big announcement had to do with splitting Figure into 2 catergories. One more bikini-modelish and the other more like Figre was last in the past-bigger. Maybe they decided it was a bad idea because of bbing...

[kdbrit]

The NPC / IFBB is making a lot of money now, thanks to figure competitions! Why would they mess up a good thing? They will probably add pro figure shows to all of the state championships in the very near future, to make more money for the local promoters.

[ripitupbaby]

I was kind of hoping that they would consider changing prejudging for Figure to be more like the Canadian style - plain black posing suits for everyone. It might make it easier to focus on the physiques since there are so many girls in each of the classes.
The BLING on the suits is getting a little out of control for those of us who do not want to have to spend over $1000 for a suit that can stand up to the competition on stage! Oh well, I guess I had better start saving up for more bling next year...

Of course, it would be fine with me if they also followed the Canadian lead and rewarded muscle mass and definition in Figure, but now I know that I am getting carried away.... :)

[femalemusclefan]

I was kind of hoping that they would consider changing prejudging for Figure to be more like the Canadian style - plain black posing suits for everyone. It might make it easier to focus on the physiques since there are so many girls in each of the classes.
The BLING on the suits is getting a little out of control for those of us who do not want to have to spend over $1000 for a suit that can stand up to the competition on stage! Oh well, I guess I had better start saving up for more bling next year...

Of course, it would be fine with me if they also followed the Canadian lead and rewarded muscle mass and definition in Figure, but now I know that I am getting carried away.... :)

$1000 for a posing suit?
WOW, that's obscene! :)

[shekong1]

$1000....that's just the beginning.....i've seen girls pay up to $2000 for a suit, and that's for just one. if you want to be creative, you either have to make it yourself or hope to scratch a winning lottery ticket that week!!

this sports sucks enough money out of us....i agree 200% w/ripitupbaby and it should be done like the Canadians....all black and scoring on strictly physique.


Train hard, stay hard and keep smiling! :D

[gymdiva1222]

oh I like the idea of the black posing for pre-j! that is an excellent way to conduct pre-j for figure...think it'll happen here?

[shekong1]

there's always hope...but i think we have better chances of having lunch w/Jesus Christ!

[genex]

I've heard that the two different figure is still in the works potentially but we'll see...

[KristineLarge]

If they brought in the black pre-judging suit, I think it'd level the playing field a LOT!!! You could still have it cut to flatter your body type, but it would cut ridiculous costs AND bias out of the game...

[kdbrit]

One of my friends just competed in the Canadian National Figure championships, and she told me that their judging is really bad!! They told her to come in tight and hard, and she did not crack the top 5.

[femalemusclefan]

If they brought in the black pre-judging suit, I think it'd level the playing field a LOT!!! You could still have it cut to flatter your body type, but it would cut ridiculous costs AND bias out of the game...

Do some judges award a competitor a better placing because her posing suit has more bling?
That's just not right, and should be stopped! :(

[Tre]

$1000 for a posing suit?
WOW, that's obscene! :)
It's totally stupid...especially since - even if you make it to the pros - the prize money goes to the same 7-8 women at most every show.

The amateurs or 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th-tier pros spending that kind of money on posing suits deserve whatever they get.

Since they made this year's Figure Nats a bikini contest, then the next logical move is to create a true bikini division like Fitness America has. That way, the women who are serious about looking good onstage can continue to do what they do without having to worry about getting 'beat' by women who just began working out 6 months ago.

[Tre]

One of my friends just competed in the Canadian National Figure championships, and she told me that their judging is really bad!! They told her to come in tight and hard, and she did not crack the top 5.

The Figure judging in Canada has historically been great. It's fitness where they've had problems in the past.

Your friend was mistaken.

[Tre]

I've heard that the two different figure is still in the works potentially but we'll see...
It's money in the bank - should've been done years ago.

They talk about time issues, but what has to happen is that the one-piece round be eliminated. It's such a waste of time.

Both the physique and bikini divisions should be contested in a 2-piece, period.

[Tre]

oh I like the idea of the black posing for pre-j! that is an excellent way to conduct pre-j for figure...think it'll happen here?
We've been asking for it for 2 years now, but are no closer seeing it become a reality.

I don't know if they did a knockout round at last weekend's Figure Nats in NYC, but the NPC has previously refused to do that and hasn't even responded to the suggestions for it. Although no one at the top will admit it, I've always believe that the American officials don't want to give the impression that they are 'copying' Canada.

I will say, however, that it's just plain laughable when judges spend more time critiquing suits than physiques.

[dcg]

Hey tre,
6 months is giving some of these ladies a few to be nice. My wife will be the first to admit that she did not come in at her best at this show. So she believes her placing was right. But boy did we feel for some of these athletes that did not even get on the scoresheet. I saw a few athletes that easily would have placed 3-7 last in past natl level shows that went home and are now probablly thinking if they wish to put in that hard work through the entire year for nothing. Something needs to be done..... as i posted in the usa thread - too many athletes on stage from small shows around the nation. How can an athlete that won an overall at a regional show be placed behind an athlete that got 2nd in her class at a small show in Mississsippi with a total of 6 competitiors? Yep - it happened.....

[Jodi Leigh]

The one-piece round is very difficult for the girls with bigger quads and more lower body development. Between that factor, the on-stage time issues, and the overall cost of the one piece suit, it makes absolute sense to bury it.

This type of suit accentuates the size of the legs and actually somewhat distorts that symmetry because the legs become so prominent. It was stated in New York that the one-piece round is being done first so that the judges base their decisions on shape first, rather than having thoughts of a girl's conditioning creating bias in their scoring (though what exactly the scoring is based upon still isn't conclusive or presented in writing to the girls).

The shape that was consistently rewarded at this show was a Y-shape, rather than the X-frame that is typically at the forefront of the bodybuilding industry.

[dalberton]

The shape that was consistently rewarded at this show was a Y-shape, rather than the X-frame that is typically at the forefront of the bodybuilding industry.
Aaaaah ... that explains a lot. It had seemed to me that slighter legs had been becoming more common among high placers in figure shows. Now I know why.

Seems like it wasn't that long ago that most well-placing figure contestants had really full calves and some degree of delineation between the quad heads. That's all out the window now.

Heck, it seems like they don't even like to see six-pack abs so much. Biceps veins? :sigh: if you must.

[ripitupbaby]

I'm not sure that girls actually get scored better based on the bling on the suits, but it seems like it makes it more difficult to judge 30-40 girls on the stage at the same time, all the same height and in good shape, when each one is wearing a different color of suit with all kinds of patterns, and stones are reflecting off the lights in every direction.
I would think that the girls with the flashiest suits would get noticed first when there are so many girls on stage. Alot of the suits at the amateur shows are pretty much looking like the pro suits these days.
There were some suits at Team U that looked like they were made out of crystals...you couldn't even see the fabric! They are beautiful indeed, but honestly, way way too expensive, esp when you need two of them!

[dcg]

Just think if there were two pennies on the ground. A dull, old, scratched up penney - and a brand new penney that shinned in the sun. Which one would catch your attention? The same thing happens when you put 40 girls on stage with different suits. The bling does catch their eyes. Now if only suits cost pennies. Well, I guess they do cost pennies. In many cases they cost 150,000 pennies - :)

[Jodi Leigh]

Actually, one competitor told me that a judge mentioned to her trainer that her suit had "too much bling" as an explanation for why she was in the third call out rather than an earlier one.

I think the shape of the suit--the lines of it, if you will--can really either hinder or help your physique. It can make your waist look smaller, your lats look wider, your butt appear rounder, etc. But I think that if a judge is relying upon the stone work or even commenting on it as a basis for their judging decision and not mentioning the physique, which is the mainstay of the competition, then the judge either a) doesn't remember you, or b) isn't quite sure of why he/she placed you where he/she did and things like tan, hair, make up, jewelry, and suit selection are very easy targets.

I actually had a state level judge admit this to me.

Like I said, a suit (or any one of those little items I mentioned) can either hinder or help a physique. It is an accessory to the body. It can make a difference between first and second or fifth and sixth. But rarely should those items be the main point of why a person isn't in the top ten or top fifteen.

[Tre]

When a competitor goes from a top-5 placing in 2005 to 27th this year with a much better physique and the physiques of those placing higher this time around were inferior to last year's top group, then the entire process loses what little credibility it had to begin with.

I'm sorry so many of you wasted your money competing in this event. Next time, you should call ahead and ask the officials, "I have a great physique. Do I having a chance in hell of placing well?"

If the answer is no, stay home and save yourself a thousand bucks.

[shekong1]

I HEAR YA TRE....that's happened to me....coming in top 5 in a national show and then the following weekend coming in 16th at another National event which i'm sure has happened to other great competitors. The rules, guidelines, judging and even the feedback from them is soo random and inconsistent, leaves soo many of us confused. as well as broke!

i'm very much in favor of the boilerplate black 2 piece suits for prejudging, as used in the Canadian Nationals, and then keeping it to one suit for the show.
Every year the suit costs are going up because of the "bling".....and our wallets are getting smaller! :)

Train hard, stay hard and keep smiling!!

p.s. All the best to those who are going to Vegas next week....you're all winners no matter what!

[kdbrit]

I know a few judges, contest promoters, and a lot of competitors in Canada, and we talk all the time about the shows there, so i have a lot of information about the contests there. My buddies promote all of the big shows in Western Ontario, and they are trying to get consistency with the judging there too.