I ran across a post by NPC competitor Ginny Gardea on Siouxcountry.com this morning. She wrote about her experience sitting at the judges table and not being the one on stage. It’s an entirely different perspective sitting at the judges table. I’d encourage other competitors to contact their NPC district chairperson to test judge at a local show. Once you do you might gain a new perspective on how difficult it can be to judge a competition.Â
Â
I had the opportunity to sit on the judges’ panel for the 2010 Vancouver Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Competition. In the process of earning your NPC credentials you’re required to score the contestants 85% the same as the rest of the panel of officials at three different shows. I had a great time! It was a really long day. We saw 224 competitors over the course of the day. Prejudging ran from 9 am to 1:30 pm and finals from 6 pm until well after 11 pm.
The most valuable thing I took away from my experience was just how hard it is to evaluate and rank these hard working competitors. I never took for granted that it was a difficult task, however…I may have been hasty to criticize how shows were judged in the past without fully understanding the complexities. The details I always thought stood out and distinguished me from others may not be so apparent from the judges’ table. We all have a narcissistic streak when we step on stage.
Â
