Editorial by Juan Carlos Lopez

Yet another good ol' editorial to write. Some changes in the website will be competitions will only have top 5 or top 3 competitors with a photo. I believe it takes too much to time to load up the contest page for at least for some visitors. We hope to add more profiles on December and January when the season will be over with. So if we haven't added your profile it will be added shortly. Patience is the key here...

Glad to hear I got more positive responses about my two past editorials about professionalism and quality. Couple people talked to me about this at the Olympia. Even some fans that knew who I was approached and thanked me for what I was doing on my site.

Congrats to Mindi O'Brien for making it on the cover of Musclemag Mexico Edition. I was glad to photograph her at the Europa show and got some great shots which we used in the magazine. Her interview was the same one we included on Issue #9 except it was translated to Spanish. Here are some photos of the cover and also the "Hot Fitness Section" which Melissa Degasis a future HardFitness cover model made it on that same issue. More U.S. and Canada competitors to come on the covers just watch this section for news on that. Contest coverage on the events I attend are also included on the magazine. Fortunately Musclemag Mexico edition actually wants fit and real competitors not just t & a like other publications.

The 2005 Olympia

Many things were speculated regarding this 2005 Olympia one of them being in a different venue than the Mandalay Bay and another one being the female bodybuilders relegated to an expo side show for their finals. The change of hotel according to several competitors was far worse given the lack of fridges and microwaves they needed. There was a good bodybuilding menu which I ate for several of my meals but still most competitors already carry their foods and have all of it measured by the ounce. The Orleans is a good hotel much cheaper than most since it's not on the strip, maybe 5 or 6 blocks past the strip on West Tropicana Avenue.

The first thing that went wrong was the press conference which was more like an inquisition for the competitors. No one wanted to be picked on by the Bob Cicherillo and Triple H. Not even the press people could formulate a question. The next thing that went wrong was "Meet the Olympians". The number of people that wanted to see the Olympians were far too many for the top level of the Orleans to hold. The Mardi Gras room was first invaded by the VIPs and then one hour later a huge line formed at 8pm and ran all the way almost thru the escalators. I was lucky to get in before they cut off more people that intended to go up the escalators. Probably as a measure of security they closed the escalators for a bit and then let everyone up. The Mardi Gras room were all the athletes were to sign autographs was very small and given the number of people it was really crowded. The room was half the size of what the Mandalay Bay offered for this nightly event. All the events had been at the Orleans Arena but the prejudging for fitness, figure and female bodybuilding was at the Las Vegas Convention Center which was about 10 minutes by car from the Hotel. So many people had to get taxis or shuttles to the event. Those of us who rented a car had a better option regarding transportation. To add insult to injury the expo (which opened at 10am) on Friday had the prejudging set at 12pm and there was huge VIP line that would let them in at 11:30am. Many VIPs got lousy seats and there was almost no chairs available. Standing up like in last years Olympia was not an option as the security people would bother everyone who tried to stand. Once the VIPs sat down and took almost all the seats they let in general admission. Only about 20% was able to get in the seating area before they closed off access. Those who didn't get in had to stand up far away outside to see the whole event. This was just downright stupid the way it was organized, you have to cater to the fans not how much money they are saving. Most NPC and IFBB events are well organized and fans come out happy watching their loved ones compete. But now the change of venue clearly made a big change in the format of the seating assignments.

The night Finals came on without the FBBs and had a Wildcard for the Olympia Men. This is a neat idea but having it at the same time than the women's portion of the finals makes it look like the promoters want to fill in seats, meaning the women don't attract enough people. It probably helped their sales but it was an insult to female bodybuilders and the fitness and figure ladies. The event was plagued by audio problems the whole weekend and the MC so I heard had to improvise many things. He had no idea he was scheduled to MC and all the plans they had made for the other MC weren't used. The female bodybuilding finals on Saturday was just like prejudging those VIPs got in first and general audience barely made it. So let's say that many people showed up for the women's finals and yes there were no men involved in this part of the show. There is a photo that shows the large crowd at the finals alone. Yaxeni won, it was a sweet moment of victory but at the same time bitter due to the venue where it took place.

WPI

There has been lots of gossip regarding the new organization WPI (http://www.officialwpi.com) Women's Physique International. One day the rumor just started and then it died down but then again it restarted and some people such as Kelly Ryan and Craig Titus were linked to it. Then at some point they weren't linked again and several other rumors regarding this new organization. I talked with someone from the WPI and they mentioned more information about their organization would be available, as of now if you check their website there is much more content; including rules and regulations. One of the interesting statements is that any competitor from other organizations that has palced top 5 in a pro qualifying contest is eligible for pro status in the WPI. This is a move to bring those competitors who haven't gotten their pro cards yet and have been at for a long time.

At the Olympia they had scheduled a party for Saturday night at the Seven Night Club. It advertised Karen Konya and Teri Mooney as their new WPI athletes and as hosts of the events. I was at the BSN party at the Venetian shortly just to say hi to some friends and then had to jet off to bed as I had a desert shoot the next day and really needed some sleep. I passed the Seven nightclub on my way to Tropicana Avenue on South Vegas Blvd. and saw the club with barely any people. Some sources have told me the WPI party had few people from our industry and that the hostesses were not at the event. Teri Mooney was in Vegas according to one person but did not attend this party. For those out there that are serious about this project it's best to get serious now and get things started otherwise many competitors will not trust their organization. Look at the NPC they mean business and they are serious about their events, shows and everything else.

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