A few random thoughts from my nearly week long stay in Orlando and the Europa Show of Champions. The Good, The Bad and The in Between…
• The venue and hotels were conveniently located from the airport. The airport itself was easy and affordable to fly into.
• The hotel staff didn’t seem to have much information on the schedule of events or shuttle service to the venue. I was at the second host hotel and it was a nice hotel but the staff seemed fairly clueless on the entire event.
• The show ran much quicker than it did in Dallas. There were two less events for the pros, so that obviously helped.
• Orlando was a good place to hold an event like this, my only hope is that it’s near another show to draw in more competitors – primarily for the men and not the women.
• Note to Self: Don’t procrastinate and leave late for the airport. I missed my flight to Orlando because I didn’t pack the night before and hit traffic. I missed my flight back (which sucked because only one flight back on my airline) because I didn’t allow enough time to return the rental car.
• The lighting improved for the NPC show and the night show of the pros but I hope every promoter can do the competitors justice by properly lighting the stage. I know every venue is different and it’s a challenge to often work with the given venue however if the competitors put in the time and effort to attend your show, they deserve to show off their hard work with proper lighting.
• A number of women commented to me that they were dissappointed in the evening show. Every competitor had to get in their two-piece outfits but only the top three went on stage. By that point in time the scores are tabulated and there is no reason (in my opinion) to make every competitor change into their two-piece if they are not going to all walk on stage. Either bring them out on stage one more time for another pose or inform them that they were not in the top placings.
• The vendors/supplement companies seemed pleased with the amount of traffic that the expo received. I was photographing the NPC and Pro events which didn’t allow for much time to hit the expo. What part I did, it seemed to run much the same as the Dallas show.
• Promoting shows is often a thankless job. Ed and Betty were able to duplicate their efforts in Orlando that they’ve done numerous times in Texas. It’s one thing to put on a show where you live, it’s an entirely different animal when you are organizing a show in another state. Overall I felt the did a good job. There are a couple little details I’d like to see change – like the lighting but aside from that it was a great showcase of talent with the women’s events.
• Erin Riley impressed me with her routine. It is choreographed to her music perfectly, when she hits a move in her routine it is timed with the beat.
• Myriam Capes is one to watch come Olympia time. She’s changed her physique a great deal and has one of the best routines you’ll ever see. She could be a top 6 finisher in September.
• Mindi O’Brien also had an awesome routine and did a great job of entertaining the crowd.
• Shannon Meteraud made it two in a row. Impressive. Especially when you consider she is 40 and able to do moves that women half her age are unable to do.
• Nicole Wilkins-Lee is definitely one of the stars of the future and it looks like her time arrived in Orlando.
• Heather Mae French looked her best ever and solidified herself as a top 5 competitor in any show she enters.
• Erin Stern has a great, athletic, healthy look that will continue to improve as she competes. She’s a great example of what a taller figure competitor should look like.
• NPC Bikini is still finding it’s way. There weren’t many competitors in the show so it’s hard to critique it. The top three in the Tall Bikini class stood out to me and should be able to hold their own on the National stage.
