My Trip to the 2007 IFBB North American Championships

This year, I attended the IFBB North American Championships for the first time. They were held over two days, from August 31 to September 1, in Cleveland, Ohio, and were promoted by Gary Udit. The competition features classes for figure as well as men’s and women’s bodybuilding, and is open to qualified competitors from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. To say that I was impressed with how the event was run is like saying Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fairly well-known guy. It’s a gross understatement, because this year’s competition was one of the best-run events I’ve ever been to. There were more than 300 competitors in all, but the show ran as if there were just a quarter of that number.

For example, the prejudging for figure and women’s bodybuilding was held at 5 p.m. on August 31. It started exactly on time and we were out of the auditorium before 8 p.m. This gave the competitors and us plenty of time to have dinner and rest up for the next day. Prejudging for the men’s bodybuilding competition, as well as the remaining portions of women’s figure competition, was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. the next morning – and it did. In fact, the prejudging finished early enough in the afternoon that I was able to go shopping at a nearby mall to pick up some things I needed and return with plenty of time to get to the finals that were scheduled for 6 p.m. Once again, the finals started on time and they finished before 10 p.m. So, by 10:30 p.m. I was at a Mexican restaurant ordering a late-night snack.

Now, granted, the success of every show shouldn’t be gauged by how fast it’s run. If you run it too fast, you can shortchange the audience as well as the competitors. But I never heard one complaint from a competitor or any audience member about this event going too fast. In fact, I heard the opposite. Competitors whom I know from Canada were impressed with the efficient running of the show, which is in stark contrast to many of the small events I’ve been to that have just a couple of dozen competitors and seem to drag on forever.

The judging at the North Americans was also good. On the men’s side, Erik Fankhouser emerged as the Heavyweight winner as well as the Overall Champion – and he fully deserved that win. (He’s featured on our cover this month.) Fankhouser, who is from the United States, has some of the best leg development I’ve seen anywhere. Furthemore, he had as impressive an upper body as the majority of the competitors there. So, when he won, nobody sneered and there certainly weren’t any boos. It was much the same for the women’s bodybuilding. Maria Segura of Mexico won the Middleweight category as well as the Overall title. Although there were some other great competitors up there, from what I could see around me, the audience agreed with Segura being crowned. So, the judges at the North Americans got it right despite being forced to judge at lightning speed. (The highest-placing Canadian bodybuilder was Ontario’s Ben Pakulski – he took second place in the Super-Heavyweight class.)

The North Americans impressed me so much that I’ve already made plans to go back again next year, and I hope more fellow Canadians will be there as well. And, no, I’m not just talking about photographers and writers. Rather, we need more Canadian competitors at this three-country event because, frankly, this year there weren’t enough Canucks on the stage.

From what I could tell, this year’s North Americans had only about 30 Canadian competitors, and most of them came from Ontario. I suspect that part of the reason for this is the fault of the CBBF, Canada’s affiliate to the IFBB. The CBBF hasn’t really embraced the North Americans event, nor has it gone out of its way to promote the event to its competitors. For example, you won’t find the date for the North Americans listed on the CBBF’s website and you won’t find its executive members at the competition, although you do see the top delegates from Mexico and the United States. (It should be noted, though, that Canada did have some representation. Ron Hache of the Ontario Physique Association [OPA] supported the North Americans by participating as a judge. He also supported Ontario’s athletes who competed there by having the OPA provide funding, just as it would for its athletes competing at any national-level event.) In addition, prior to 2007, the CBBF mandated that you had to place in the top three at a national event to qualify for the North Americans. This year, just two weeks before the event, the CBBF opened it up to the top five. However, giving competitors two weeks’ notice doesn’t give them enough time to prepare.

But qualifying in the top five from Canada is still not enough – and it’s not in line with what the Americans are doing. For example, in the United States, top finishers from each state qualify for the North Americans. In Canada, obviously we don’t have states, but we do have provinces, which are basically the same thing. In a province like Ontario, which has more than 500 active competitors each year – likely more than many states – it seems only fitting that the top finishers should qualify. If they did this in Canada, it would put our country on a more equal footing with the United States and Mexico, and most likely we would see more competitors who would bring some first-place trophies home.

Furthermore, I don’t believe supporting the IFBB North American Championships more would harm Canada’s national-level competitions, which is what I believe some fear would happen. In fact, it might help them.

Virtually all the Canadians who competed in Cleveland also compete nationally in Canada as well. Likewise, I suspect that most of the American competitors who were there also compete at their own national championships. So, it’s not likely that competitors are going to stop competing for their own country’s national title just because the IFBB North American Championships exist. Rather, most competitors I know are looking for more opportunities to compete as well as more challenges. The IFBB North American Championships afford athletes these opportunities. So, if Canadians have the chance to compete more often, we might actually see more competitors come out of the woodwork to take part in all these important events, and everyone’s competitions might grow. Food for thought.

My experiences at this year’s IFBB North American Championships were very positive and, as I said, I’ll more than likely be back there in 2008. Congratulations to Gary Udit for putting on such a well-run show, and let’s hope that at least some of what I write here provokes discussion in Canada and that more competitors from this side of the border will make the trek to Cleveland next year. I hope to see you there!

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Photos from the 2007 IFBB North American Championships can be found on our sister site, www.ThePhotoIssue.com.

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.