• Amateur report

• Pro report

Competitor #7, Rosalee Vallejo, had my favorite music selection, which included clips from The A-Team, Knight Rider, and James Brown - class! Gina Oaks had the best energy and smile and her routine was the one of the top two.

Overall, many fitness routines are looking too similar, and for myself, it's becoming harder and harder to judge the competitions. Strength moves are important as well as the physique, but it seems too much emphasis is often placed on gymnastics skills.

Anyhow, CJ's routine started out with a Cinderella intro including the most extravagant props of the evening - tall pole, trampoline, wooden step and cart with Cinderella gear. The routine was decent, although the props seemed too much to be aides, rather than complimentary in their use. The pole tricks were reminiscent of strip club antics, so it may have been inappropriate and cost her points.

After speaking with some on the judging panel, it was noted that CJs props counted against her since they didn't follow the regulations (i.e. you can only bring things you yourself can carry on stage, or something to that effect.) The following two contestants in the class also utilized the pole since it was already on stage, but were not deducted since it was not their prop officially.

The contestant immediately following CJ, Opal Petty, was a relative newcomer who performed some impressive moves. Only eventual winner and overall champion Gina Oaks had a better routine. Petty possesses great stage presence, fantastic energy and a great routine with some of the most impressive strength moves in the amateur and even pro show. Only her physique kept her from placing higher and with a little more time in the gym, she can definitely improve, and may be competing at the NPC nationals in Atlanta this year.

The tall class was much smaller with only five contestants but the top two, Rachel Ryker (sp?) and Jenny Raines (sp?) had solid routines and physiques. Raines' slightly better routine and better developed body pushed her over the top to win the tall class, but wasn't enough to take the overall.

When the women's bodybuilding competition began, the physiques were not that impressive. However, when the heavyweight class took the stage, two physiques stood out - that of Th-Resa Bostwick, with her impressive size, and Christine Marshall and her excellent muscle maturity and conditioning. In the end the mass won out as Bostwick took the class amidst some boos in the audience and then easily took the overall to qualify for the Nationals.

After the women were done, Masters Olympia veteran Ed Corney came out to guest pose to the appreciative crowd.

The women bodybuilders that did not make the top fifteen were then announced and then allowed a very short segment of their routine, before the rest took the stage. Notable new faces included Monica Martin of Brasil who was at the end of the lineup, but had an impressive physique and Beatte Drabing, the Austrian with the most beautiful eyes in the show. Unfortunately, she didn't come in looking that great.

The first few callouts in the symmetry round indicated that Lesa Lewis and Gayle Moher were two of the top favorites. Although not as hard as the others, Lewis' sheer size and lines seemed to make up for her conditioning. However, she did seem to get harder as the show went on, particularly in the evening, although not reaching the levels that Moher possesed.

Denise Masino stood as if she thought she didn't have a good physique on stage, and seemed a little out of it during prejudging. Her conditioning was off as well, and her symmetry looked awkward, although her lines were popular with the audience.

Betty Pariso came in hard, but due to her genetics, her lines are not the best. Yaxeni Oriquen on the other hand, was softer but possesses fine lines. Based on conditioning, Pariso was one of the best, but that was not enough. Dyana Cadeau had very curvaceous lines, although her large implants obscured her upper body in some ways. Her legs were good too, and she presented herself well.

After the 18th and final callout, it looked like the top five were Moher, Lewis, Pariso, Oriquen, and Cadeau.

The second round of callouts was the muscularity round. However, it wasn't until the 6th callout, that it seemed that some of the best muscular physiques were compared. In that comparison, many in the crowd were pleased to finally see Amelia Hernandez's impressive physique compared with Inna Uit's improved body and first-time Brasilian Monica Martin. All three were in superb condition with fine details visible under their thin skin.

The third and final round for the bodybuilding was the routines, which was presented during the evening show. The top fifteen were allowed to pose, and it began with veteran competitor Renee Casella, who looked harder at night. A decent routine warmed up the crowd and Rhonda Quaresma took the stage. Her glutes and quads looked especially good, and she looked to be having fun on stage, which transferred to the crowd - a solid routine.

Carmella Cuerton was up next and Lynea Brehm followed, both with lackluster routines, which set up Lesa Lewis' nicely, in contrast. As usual, she had her music stitched together with samples and speech and she moved well. The routine seemed a little too dancey, and she didn't hit as many shots that showed off her physique, but the crowd was really into it and it was definitely the most popular routine with the audience.

Denise Masino still looked out of it and her routine was not that impressive. She was followed by Amelia Hernandez who had a more toned down routine than last year's, but managed to show off her impressive muscle density and size to the pleasure of the crowd and appeared to be enjoying herself as well. Hernandez's physique this time around was extremely impressive with eight added pounds from last year's weight that impressed the audience.

Inna Uit then followed and her striated glutes were of note. Yaxeni Oriquen's routine was very expressive and she seemed to put a lot of feeling into it, which transferred to the crowd. Unfortunately, as with several other competitors, her music was cut a little early, making it end awkwardly.

Dyana Cadeau was next and she exhibited the best stage presence of the night in the bodybuilding show. Her smile and routine were excellent and the crowd appreciated it. Beatte Drabing performed some gymnastics moves that were unusual, and then Betty Pariso performed in her typical style.

Paula Suzuki did not impress, and then Gayle Moher's routine to Jimi Hendrix tunes was incredibly short. Finally, Monica Martin finished it up with a nice Latin-influenced routine beginning with The Girl From Ipanema into a military drum cadence, then salsa beats and back to 'girl.' Unfortunately, she was not quite on, and looked timid on stage.

That completed the bodybuilding and the fitness women were up next.

The fitness prejudging had many familiar faces, and some new ones as expected. After the first callouts, it was pretty evident that Mary Yockey, Tina San Antonio, and Lena Johannsen were the top three favorites and probably the ones to take with that placing an invitation to France to compete in the Fitness Olympia later this year. Lisa Dulovic, the Canadian pro, was in her first competition, and was at the far end of the lineup and didn't get a callout until later. However, her body looked to be one of the best out there, and her new status as a pro or her positioning at the end of the lineup must have thrown off the judges, as she wasn't called out until later when she was brought up in comparisons with the top three.

It looked like the fitness routines would be important in determining the actual placement of the top five this year. All of the contestants performed their routines, and there were a few nice routines that stood out amongst the rest.

The second routine was that of Jenny Worth, who pushed out a big motorcycle and did some strength moves off the actual bike. It was interesting to say the least and got the crowd going after Ursula Buckanes-Henry finished up her routine beforehand with an impressive two chair split move that had to be seen to be appreciated.

Mary Yockey's routine was a solid fitness routine, but with nothing unusual about it. Canadian Cathy Giancaspro had my favorite routine of the evening because of her creativity that mixed up new combinations and created new funky moves. Giancaspro, a former member of the Canadian National Gymnastics team (1985-1988), also participated in the 1988 Olympics, and her experience showed. Denmark's Maiken Emborg had some impressive strength moves and until Stacey Simons took the stage, the other routines were not overly impressive.

Claire Hillman's suit was so tight that it looked like it was going to rip off her. If she came in more tight, I'm sure it wouldn't have been so bad, expecially since you could get way too much of her camel toes, which was distracting to say the least.

It was nice to hear some swing music when Valentina Ferrari took the stage in a zoot suit to the Cherry Popping Daddies. The rest of the routines seemed pretty standard fitness fare, and the only things to note were that Kimberly Roberts' quads were amazing (but too much for a fitness competitor); Min Kim purses her lips too much; June Monroe looks like Sporty Spice and Timea Majorova now looks like a built Christina Ricci.

Lisa Dulovic rounded out the first half of the evening finals with some good strength moves, but only a slightly above average routine. The intermission followed and when the show started up again, Shawn Ray guest posed under some dim lighting. It was a good routine, as I've seen some pathetic guest posing in the past from some of the male pros offseason.

Once the pictures of the bodybuilding winners were taken, they brought out the top five fitness competitors. Many in the crowd were displeased at Lisa Dulovic's placing, but it was probably warranted. It was unusual for some that Mary Yockey won first place over Lena, since she had a suit that matched the Wild Thing jungle theme - coincidence? Probably this time. When they were awarding the top two, they accidentally gave Lena the 1st place trophy instead of Mary, and Lena herself had to move it over on the podium in front of Mary when Jan got on stage with them to take the photos and congratulate them.

I sat with Opal Petty who is totally groovy. Very outgoing and a free spirit, Opal has a bright future, phat name, and fantastic outlook on things. Look for more of her in the future. Monica Martin and her boyfriend were by the bar the entire evening while folks were getting their photos taken with her, recognizing that she was one of the best physiques on stage, even if the final results didn't reflect that.

Aside from the schmoozing, drinking and chatting going on, it would have been a weak banquet, but the competitors made it an enjoyable time for all in attendance. Cathy Giancaspro, Ursula Buckanes-Henry and Maiken Emborg were all extremely gracious, and great ambassadors for the sport. Ursula even provided me with a brief back rub, being that she is a massage therapist in Michigan. Stephanie Worsfold too, was incredibly nice and accomodating to her fans as were numerous others. One woman who many were amazed by was Maria Cala, a BIG Argentinian pro who wasn't competing, but in attendance. After the banquet wound down, there was not much going on except some lobby chatting and cigar puffing.

The next morning saw the usual photo shoots going on, and I had a chance to sit down with Monica Martin for a bit, although about all I could get out that she could understand was that she deserved to place higher and that I like futbol (that's soccer for you Americans).