2006 California Pro Figure and NPC Championships Review
by Juan Carlos Lopez
The California Pro show that runs together with the NPC State Championships was held again this year in Culver City. The Pro Figure reached a total of 31 competitors making it one of the biggest shows of the year. Perhaps the idea less and less big names attracted many competitors. Some were also doing this show and then heading north to Canada for the Toronto show which got cancelled. The NPC portion was rather small probably smallest ever and the attendance was rather small for a state show. Rumor is the promoter might be moving this show to the SF Bay area or Sacramento. It is indeed a state show and you have to be a resident in order to compete. But still there should be a big number considering it has a pro show attached.
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Claire Rohrbacker-O'Connell |
Going into the show Friday night was all the prejudging for the NPC Figure, Fitness and Bodybuilding. Like mentioned above the number of competitors was surprisingly low even for NPC Figure. Masters Bodybuilding and Open Bodybuilding had one name: Claire Rohrbacker O'Connell who looked her best ever and seems to be ready for Nationals or USA's. Susan Kodaira with her great posing and symmetry could have taken a run at Claire. But Claire was just very dry and for her small frame was well balanced. Must be noted as well that the open bodybuilding had about only 5 competitors.
Fitness had only two competitors like last year. Fitness in almost every show has decreased in size considerably and competitors can qualify for Nationals rather easily. This is one of the reasons the tall class at Nationals is less competitive, there are few competitors with that height and those that qualify may also have few competitors in their state and regional shows. In the end we get less and less competitors with the quality muscle and great fitness routines. For this show Sherlyn Roy brought the better physique and thus took the show. It seemed April Fortier did have quite an energetic routine but judges awarded the more balanced frame of Roy.
NPC Figure was also small, having at most 7 competitors in each class, with 6 classes in total. Each class had at least one or two competitors that clearly dominated it. Mona Liza Reyes took class A edging both Sherlyn Roy and Gemma Santos. Mona Liza has competed in many shows before and this is were she looked her best ever, being lean and with good shape even when she lacked a bit of muscle. Kari Gee who won Masters Figure overall now took her class but not without Elissa Schlichter making a run at her. Elissa won the over 45 portion of the show and it is rather impressive at her age the amount of good muscle and definition she holds. She also looks much younger than she really is. Tanya Pennington brought in a nice shape but judges seemed to prefer the leaner look that most other competitors in that class brought. In class C Bea Fox looked like a great contender for the overall in the biggest class yet. Bea holds a good amount of muscle in a small frame. Her stage presence is pretty good and in general her shape and conditioning might be what judges are looking for at National level. In this same class lets not forget Alexandra Porshnikoff and Natalie Bastiao who both have great structures took 2nd and 3rd respectively. Kathy Bunce who took 5th had the muscle that others were missing. Kathy will probably do well at National level if she decides to go that way. Class D was dominated by Tinya de Paola who has both muscle and symmetry. Good back and also combined with a good lower body. Class E was taken by the stunning Ginger Reissler who surprisingly didn't take overall. Ginger has great muscle and an excellent shape, few competitors at this level have this combination. Ginger will be doing more National shows and will probably fare really well in these. Class F was taken by Jen Thaler who brought the best conditioning in the show. Jen used to compete as a bodybuilder so she knows about getting lean. So watch out for some of these ladies who will be stepping on the National stage very soon.
Now the Pro Figure brought in 31 competitors which is a very high number. Some people already had guessed the top 3 given that they have competed in the Olympia and Arnold. Europe brought in some quality competitors but unfortunately judges didn't seem to like their physiques. What probably was most surprising was that the judging was inconsistent. For example if a competitor who didn't place had better symmetry, conditioning and muscle than a top 10 competitor why did she not place top 10? Not all bodies were lean so the lean look wasn't the answer like in the NPC Figure. It is indeed hard to judge so many competitors but many people are confused regarding how to look on the pro stage. The top 3 did have something in common they all have small frames and petite bodies. Latisha Wilder keeps an excellent shape and symmetry that most competitors would like to have. Christine Pomponio-Pate has that small frame as well and looks proportional muscle-wise even when she is very well endowed in the chest area. Both Ginas, Camacho and Aliotti looked amazing. Aliotti at 21 yrs old showed a lot of muscle best conditioning ever and hasn't reached all her potential yet. Gina Camacho as always looks great, tight small body and good balance. Michelle Flake didn't come in as lean as in her NPC days judges didn't like her lean look. But still Michelle Flake can really turn on the heat if needed. Zhanna Rotar came in looking similar to the Arnold and brought a slow paced quaterturn routine that made the show interesting. Seems that no longer Valerie will be the only one doing a similar set of turns. Alexis Ellis also brought an elegant back pose with her right arm raised. Which was repeated in her front pose.
Pia Marlen Johnsen was again one of the best shapes in the show. Much leaner this time than last year at this same show. Pia has a great unique look which combined with a hyper tiny waist makes her look amazing. Nicole Pitcher-Scott from the UK also brought a very nice package which was also overlooked by the judges. Debbie Leung having not changed much from her Olympia appearance wasn't placed either, giving less credibility to the judging. Sherie Salvadori and Alexis Ellis are other examples of bodies that should have placed much higher. It would be interesting to see all competitors come in the way they wanted to a show. It seems some have toned it down a bit given feedback from the judges. Hopefully later in the year we'll see them back to their killer physiques.
All in all the show was small and could have been more interesting. The Pro figure was good to watch but the many competitors participating made it really hard to watch. It was like a National level show when you are seeing close to 40 competitors per class.
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