Fitness
Well, the Fitness and Bodybuilding competitions began on Saturday morning, and little did I know what kind of time investment I'd have to put in for the prejudging alone. As usual, the fitness women were brought out first, with there being in excess of 30 women in the short class and around 15 or so in the tall. This year, the division was first implemented dividing the women into the two classes, delineated at the 5'4" mark. With the number of women competing in fitness, it was a necessary move.

Anyhow, the short class women were all introduced and then the judges made their callouts, which were peculiar to say the least. In my personal opinion, in the first round, a standout physique was that of competitor #98, Jenny Hendershott. Overall, it was difficult to judge them, but a personal favorite of mine was Melanie Webb, from Seattle who is the current Emerald Cup Fitness Champion. Her body looks great, and her routines are very energetic and kinetic. She possesses great stage presence as well. As there were so many other competitors, it was very overwhelming to try and pick out which were the best.

After the short competitors concluded, the tall class came on which was thankfully half the size. Competitor #135, Laurie Vaniman, seemed to have the best physique. Otherwise it was hard to find a clear favorite. The final competitor (#143) was Dana Rosvall from Alpine, Utah. Although coming in smooth and slightly soft, it was not surprising considering the fact that she competed even though she broke her kneecap just a few days before the competition. Dana also was one of the most down-to-earth and friendly competitors.

After the first round of comparisons, the bodybuilding women came on. However, to wrap up fitness, I'll recap some of the routines. During the routines, standouts from the short class included Jenny Hendershott, Melanie Webb and Sheena Forkner. Hendershott impressed with various strength moves, good stage presence and a very high-energy routine. Webb's performance was similar to her impressive routine at the Emerald Cup, and in her own words was one of her best ever. Forkner had an aura that exuded into the crowd and had some of the most impressive string of presses. She also seemed to enjoy flexing her biceps more than any other fitness competitor.

In the tall class, Vaniman did her routine to the disco version of the Star Wars theme, which I dug, being a fan of the trilogy and such. I missed a few of the other routines, but during her routine, Dana Rosvall unfortunately re-injured her knee during a spill.

The one-piece round was after the routines, which I just couldn't stay for. Well, the entire fitness prejudging ended around 4:30 p.m. (and it started around 10:15 a.m.). Entirely too long, if you ask me, and many, even the significant others and family of some of the competitors were dozing off. The uncomfortably hot temperature inside the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall didn't help, of course.

Bodybuilding
Well, the bodybuilding women were squeezed between the fitness physique round and the routines, and provided some great competition. With the introduction of the lightweight class, the audience had to be impressed with the quality of competitors that took the stage starting with the very first one to come out, Stephanie Rosenlund. With a deep class of 15 women, it was an impressive first class of female bodybuilders. During the first callouts, the top three competitors appeared to be Rosenlund, Yaz Boyum and Kathy Pichnarcik, who brought with her, very vocal support. Boyum's complete package of sharp, very aesthetic lines, great symmetry and outstanding conditioning seemed to overcome Pichnarcik's density and mass, while Rosenlund was a very close third with probably better lines than Pichnarcik, but not the muscle maturity.

It should be noted, that during the end of the fitness physique round prejuding for the tall fitness women, before the lightweight bodybuilders came on, the background music during the callouts was several tracks by Yaz (a.k.a. Yazoo - the band which eventually spun off into Depeche Mode and Erasure) - foreshadowing? perhaps...[Editor's Note/correction: Thanks to Eric Iverson who pointed out that "Vince Clarke was a member of Depeche Mode *before* he left and formed Yaz, and eventually Erasure."]

Anyhow, I was really impressed with Yaz, as she has steadily improved her physique since I first saw at the Nationals two years ago. Definitely someone to keep an eye on. She is very feminine while presenting her impressive muscularity with great poise, and a friendly disposition. Other notable lightweights include Caron Smith who placed 7th and Diane Restani (4th) who had very nice lines. One competitor (#148) had great muscularity but, stood with very awkward posture pulling her shoulders way up, as if she were doing an intense shrug continuously and pulling her neck down. Try it yourself and look in the mirror, it definitely won't help you show off your physique.

When the middleweights took the stage, they were led out by Lauren Hart. A veteran on the national scene, previously competing in the Lightweights, Lauren came in with impressive mass that she added since her last show. Although looking good and beefy, she was a tad soft, but othwerwise, her structure was fine. Her biceps were notable and when hitting back double bis, they really stood out. Also, the added mass to her quads made them the most impressive in the class IMHO, although there wasn't enough definition to appreciate them fully. Fatima Johnson, who's son and his girlfriend were attending, had great support from her family and friends, and also came in very ripped condition. Her thin skin and vascularity showcased her muscle, but from the front, something seemed awkward. Her lines were not that aesthetic, but she had interesting presentation in her posing, notably when hitting her front double bi and and other bicep pose. Denise Hoshor came in looking good with her very feminine look and good shape. However, her diet seemed to be a tad off, and seeing her after the show on Sunday, it seems like she was much more vascular then, unfortunately too late for the show.

After the smaller Middleweight class, on came the largest class of the night in mass as well as numbers. The heavies took the stage to the pleasure of the crowd, 16 strong. There were many new faces and a lot of veterans as well. Notable was the return to the stage of Ann-Marie Crooks, who was the last competitor to come out on stage. As usual, her legs were tremendous, and her upper body was improved, although overpowered by her legs. Crooks was next to Debi Laszewski in the lineup who had planned to come in as a middleweight but before the Thursday weigh-in was about five pounds over the 132 lb. limit, so she decided to compete in the heavies, and made quite an impact. Perennial national level amateurs Iris Kyle and Heather Foster were the other two who seemed to be the top four of the heavyweight class. Veteran Jayne Trcka also came in excellent condition, and made the first callout with the aforementioned competitors. It appeared to some that either Laszewski had sewn up first, from the callouts, or that Foster and Kyle were battling for it, but it wasn't clear until the evening finals. Foster came in smoother than Kyle, but they were very close. From the front, they were very similar. Overall, a close call for the judges and many in the crowd had mixed opinions on whom they had leading the class before the finals.

Other competitors of note in the heavies was Trish Swander who, like Denise Hoshor, presented a very feminine package while still being muscular. Her stage presence, smile and other non-body assets were enviable, and with a little more polish and hitting her diet, she could place much higher than her 9th place finish.

Break
After the entire prejudging ended at 4:30, there was another couple of hours before the finals. Back at the host hotel, the Alexis Park, many of the competitors were seen running about, and many of the audience members were discussing their thoughts on the prejudging. Notable attendees included a relatively new face - Kathy Lara from New Mexico who is determined to be a force on the scene very shortly. Her framework will allow for a lot more muscle, and being a tall competitor (5'10" or so), she could be quite impressive when she competes. Additionally, her attitude is welcome, with great desire, determination, and a positive outlook on her own career.

Finals/Evening Show
In the crowd was an interesting physique owned by Robin Coleman. Although definitely in off-season shape, she posses good structure and a solid frame, that could be someone to look for in the future. Otherwise, since the prejudging took so long, it was back to the evening show for the finals. The female bodybuilders were all announced and then the top five in each class did their posing routines for the crowd. Most of the routines were not show stoppers. There were many solid routines, but nothing that really captured the vibe of the audience until Heather Foster came on stage and did her funky robotic dance/posing routine. That really got the crowd going, and was pretty much the only routine to stir the crowd to any extra decibel level. Solid routines came from Yaz Boyum, Debi Laszewski and Ann-Marie Crooks.

The announcement of the class winners was not unusually controversial for the lightweight or middleweight classes, but when the heavies were announced, the boos started coming. They started with the fourth place announcement of Ann-Marie Crooks and continued when Laszewski was announced at 3rd. Overall, many in the crowd favored Laszewski. With her solid physique that looked even better in the evening, it was a tough call. Not to mention the fact that Laszewski emanates and incredibe charisma on stage, and was perhaps one of the most beautiful and sensual women in the competition. For the Overall, the three weight class winners came out, and I thought Yaz had the best overall package of the top three. Although the middleweight was in the best condition, her structure was not the best. When the short posedown was finished, the judges announced the overall winner and next pro was Iris Kyle to the surprise of many, myself included. After that, the top fitness competitors again did their routines again and the fitness winners were announced.

After intermission, Diana Dennis performed the guest posing, although I would classify it more as guest dancing than posing, since it looked a lot like interpretive dance (or something like that). The men took the stage, and I bolted...

What was HOT

• Vegas - the thermometers were busting out of the 100-teens, and I still saw people walking around with long sleeves and pants (Steve Wennestrom, of course, wore jeans)...

• Laura Mak - A fitness competitor from Atlanta, GA, Laura has a infective personality and a solid physique. Look for her to compete in the NPC Nationals Fitness competition as one of the hometown favorites. Training at Gold's Gym, the former Spartan gymnast should do well. And don't ask if that's the San Jose State Spartans, I guess that's a cut on her alma mater, Michigan State.

• Debbie Kruck - This woman can't be getting younger, but she remains one of the best ambassadors to the sport of fitness. With her impressive muscularity and charming personality, she seems to always have time for her fans. What a babe!

  What sucked
  

• Heavyweight women judging - Seems they can't agree on much. With the most boos of the night, the only thing consistent was the continued randomness of the judging results at the national level for heavyweight contestants.

• Fitness Prejudging - You've already heard it once from me, but jeez, what's the deal with taking so long. The competitors should all receive medals just for having to deal with it. Hopefully the NPC will figure out a better way.