2005 NPC California Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships and IFBB California Pro Figure Championships Contest Report

May 27-28, 2005

Culver City, CA, USA - State championships are often the springboard for National success and that's what many of the competitors at the 2005 California Championships were hoping for. However there weren't as many athletes competing this year for one reason or another.

Fitness was down to two competitors for the most populous state in the nation, with Gretchen Sullivan edging out Amy Perry to take the state title.

Bodybuilding is also on the decline as there were a total of only ten athletes in the four weight classes. Each of the class winners were solid though as Pamela Ty continued to improve her physique to easily take the LW class and Susan Kodaira did the same in the middleweights.

Although there was only one light-heavyweight, Becky West represented herself well and took the overall with her incredible conditioning. The heavyweight class was the largest and Malissa Robles made a strong showing to take the class ahead of Sunshine Fritzges who had suffered a calf injury but still made it up on stage.

Jaime Buffalari showed off her impressive arm development to take third ahead of the towering blonde, Gabrielle Nicander.

Figure continues to drain competitors from fitness and figure, but the good news is that the bodybuilders are looking good. Bill Dobbins has stated that many of the top figure athletes could easily compete as lightweight bodybuilders and that was the case again this year.

Shelly Pinkerton in the masters and Figure C class looked like she could have started hitting mandatories as a bodybuilder and done well, while she also looked good enough to place second in both figure classes she competed in.

Of course defending California state bodybuilding champion Lisa Bickels could not compete in bodybuilding again due to the rules for the show, so she competed in figure and was easily the winner of her class and pushed MaryJo Cooke for the class title.

Finally there was Catherine Sanson-Van Nederveen who was only doing her second show ever and has not trained that long. Even with that being the case, she shows some impressive and full muscle bellies and has the genetics to continue to do well in figure or in bodybuilding as well. In the pros, the case wasn't quite the same.

Other notables were JoAnn Wabisca who won the over 45 masters class but has an incredible physique; the ageless Masae Parker who also won her masters class and open class; and Carrie Schindley who sports a nice frame and sleek look. Keep an eye on Jennifer Pollard as well - she was a bit soft and can carry a lot more muscle while Amy Perry had some of the best abs on stage and can also carry a little more size and still place well.

The Pros...

Pro figure took to the stage on Sunday and 25 athletes from around the world were ready to show their stuff.

As is often the case, many of the international competitors were overlooked even if their physiques were strong, but one problem at the pro levels is the depth and quality of the physiques. A lot of what comes into consideration is more the type of body that competitors possess rather than which physique is best in and of itself since you have to pick a bodytype and go with that.

As has been the case in the IFBB, the longer look of Mary Elizabeth Lado was the choice and Amber Littlejohn pressed her for the top spot. Both have similar bodies and Lado finally will get a break until the Olympia where she will definitely have a shot at the title as does Littlejohn.

Michelle Adams continues her hot streak as did Tara Scotti. Scotti will actually be taping an episode of Fear Factor soon so keep an eye out for that (check her website for more details).

One foreigner who should be getting her Olympia qualification soon is Jane Awad who may have had the best calves on stage (which of course she doesn't have to train!).

Back to the former bodybuilders, two Canadian pros - Deb Leung and Raejha Douzeich - both didn't fare well. Leung was a bit softer than she has been, but when she's 'on' like she was at the 2004 GNC Show of Strength, she's a top contender. She was sorely overlooked then and her shape alone should have placed her higher at the Cal.

Raejha looked great but was probably a bit too 'thick' for figure this time around and held a layer of water. She looked great though and it would be great to see her grace either the figure or bodybuilding stage once again.

Others who should be moving up the ranks are Trish Mayberry who was definitely overlooked, Melissa Frabielle who continues to improve every show, and Pia Marlen Johnson.

The final bodybuilder in figure was Cathy Priest and she had to tone it down so much that she almost looked a bit thin. For now, she doesn't seem to have settled in on an ideal figure physique, but it was her first show after the switch - perhaps she'll decide to come back to the bodybuilding stage which certainly misses her.

Results

Women's Bodybuilding Overall: Becky West Lightweights 1) Pamela Ty 2) Martha Yumbia Middleweights 1) Susan Kodaira 2) Dawn Principe Lightheavyweights 1) Becky West Heavyweights 1) Malissa Robles 2) Sunshine Fritzges 3) Jaime Buffalari 4) Gabrielle Nicander 5) Black Gold Masters Bodybuilding 1) Gabrielle Nicander 2) Dawn Principe Fitness 1) Gretchen Sullivan 2) Amy Perry Masters Figure Overall: Masae Parker Over 35 Class A 1) Masae Parker 2) Shelly Pinkerton 3) Yolanda Martinez 4) Wendy Jameson 5) Lori Bautista Class B 1) Inez Bess 2) Heather Miller 3) Andrea Romero 4) Lupi Harriston Over 45 Class 1) JoAnn Wabiska 2) Vonsell Williams 3) Alyssa Shickler 4) Robin Hizzy

Pro Figure 1) Mary Elizabeth Lado 2) Amber Littlejohn 3) Michelle Adams 4) Tara Scotti 5) DJ Wallis 6) Chastity Slone 7) Monica Guerra 8) Gina Camacho 9) Jane Awad 10) Melissa Frabbiele 11) Trish Mayberry 12) Nancy Hirsch 13) Anna Larson 14) Colette Flack 15) Chrissy Garcia 16) Debbie Leung 17 tie) Raeja Douziech 17 tie) Pia Marlen Johnson 17 tie) Deborah Denio 17 tie) Lisbeth Halikka 17 tie) Lydia Haskell 17 tie) Cathy Priest 17 tie) Tamara Sherrill 17 tie) Brittany Thorsch 17 tie) Mascha Tieken Amateur Figure Overall: MaryJo Cooke Class A 1) Masae Parker 2) Houng Arcnties 3) Catherine Sanson-Van Nederveen 4) Halcyon Duarte 5) Meriza Gonzalez Class B 1) Lisa Bickels 2) Melanie Nakaji 3) Vivana Soldano 4) Wendy Jameson 5) Yolanda Martinez Class C 1) Tonya Smith 2) Shelly Pinkerton 3) Nicole Thompson 4) Robin Hizzy Class D 1) JoAnn Wabisca 2) Vicki Oates 3) Inez Bess 4) Heather Miller 5) Andrea Romero Class E 1) Carrie Schindley 2) Lakesha Williams 3) Amy Perry Class F 1) MaryJo Cooke 2) Anneke Johnsen 3) Andrea Giacomi 4) Barbi Balsamo 5) Jennifer Pollard