Natural Bodybuilding is Big in Canada!

Bodybuilding has a unique position in the sporting world in that it is the only sport, that I know of, that separates competitions into drug-tested and non-tested events. Just take a look at the list of competitions and you’ll see that they usually indicate whether they will test for drugs or not. Is there tested and non-tested basketball? How about swimming? What about sprinting? Of course not. But I’m sure that if there were, guys like Ben Johnson would have been breaking records in non-tested events instead of being banned from ever being in a competition again.

For all intents and purposes, bodybuilding’s segregation, as ludicrous as it sometimes seems, works surprisingly well. For the most part, drug users stay out of legitimate drug-tested competitions, while everyone, drugged up or not, can freely compete in the non-tested shows. It’s sort of a weird way to operate things, but some of the other sports are probably jealous that bodybuilding boldly and unashamedly goes about its business this way.

What is also interesting is how the different organizations handle the separation. In some instances, the same organizations have tested and non-tested shows. The Canadian Bodybuilding Federation (CBBF) is a good example of this; for years, they’ve had a non-tested national bodybuilding competition called the Canadian Bodybuilding Championships and a tested show called the CBBF National World Qualifier. The latter was the nation’s qualifying event for the IFBB’s world championship events that, in 2009, has been renamed the Canadian Natural Physique Championships, which is more indicative of what it’s about.

The IDFA, another Canadian-based organization, handles things differently. IDFA stands for International Drug Free Athletics so, of course, by having "drug free" in their name, you’d expect all their competitions to be tested – and they are. What’s impressive about the IDFA is the way they’ve grown in a very short time by offering only drug-tested events. The organization started in 2005 with just two shows and this year they’re up to seven. We featured Dickens Lambert on our cover this month. Dickens was the 2008 IDFA Canadian Classic IV champion in the pro division.

There are other organizations in Canada, all of which claim to offer at least some drug-tested shows, but I’m not going to get into who offers what kind of testing because that isn’t the point of this article. Rather, it’s this: there is a huge market for natural bodybuilding in Canada and it appears to be growing bigger and bigger every year.

I think there are two reasons behind natural bodybuilding’s explosive growth. One has to do with health. Quite simply, drug use often leads to health problems that are irreversible. I’ve seen many competitors, both male and female, who used drugs and harmed their health and, obviously, regretted doing so not long afterwards. Then there is the issue of pride – the pride that comes with a legitimate win at a drug-free competition. You only have to watch the recent inquiries in the United States about drug use and sports to see the shame and humiliation that comes when an athlete admits that their performance was dependent on drugs. It basically makes them a fake. Just look at what happened to the reputations of Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery when they finally confessed. On the other hand, I personally know many drug-free bodybuilding champions and know that in each and every case they’re very proud of their wins and just as proud to tell people that they achieved what they did without drugs. Nowadays, when drug use of all types seems rampant, this is refreshing and inspiring to hear.

The only problem with natural bodybuilding is the difficult and expensive task of drug testing. Proper drug testing costs a lot of money, and an organization assumes serious responsibility when it tests competitors and has to make the results of the tests public. Just look at what the Olympic Committee has to go through in order to administer the tests and then deal with the aftermath. Imagine the difficultly that a little bodybuilding organization has handling it.

On the other hand, it is apparent from the popularity of natural bodybuilding that there is a big market for it and, as a result, any negative aspects of testing should be offset by the potential that is there to make it a huge success. One just has to look at the number of drug-tested events that take place each year in Canada and to witness the explosive growth of the IDFA to see that. Natural bodybuilding is big in Canada and, in my opinion, it’s going to continue to grow.

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

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