2005 Emerald Cup Review

Bellevue, Washington was the place for the Emerald Cup again. I got in early on Monday after my trip to Canada did a couple of shoots including IFBB Pro Sandy Grant, Shaushi Zike, Michelle Mayberry, Amanda Ogden and some more. Bellevue from what I was told was a rich place and it shows in it's downtown and the places around it.

The figure/fitness and pro fitness was on Fir day all day. Prejudging started at 12pm and ended real late like at 5:30pm. At 7pm the finals began and ended at around 11:00pm. It was excruciating for competitors to wait that long and then having barely any time to rest. The fitness competitors in special must have been tired after the end of the prejudging.

For the Pro Fitness it was a great show, many competitors came from all over the country, this was the first time a Pro section was added to the Emerald Cup. There were some competitors from Canada and one from Spain Rosi Mena who flew from Barcelona. The big name was Tracey Greenwood being a top competitor at the Olympia she was expected to win or be top 3 at least. Tanji Johnson took the show and she did bring a great physique. I saw her at her posing seminar and I was convinced she looked her best ever. Julie Child took second with her excellent routine. Tracey took third and it was the first time either 1st and 2nd place competitors beat her. Tracey always brings the best, hardest to beat physique. Sandy Grant was overlooked as she had some best muscle out there. Christina Summers was a pleasant surprise, making a comeback into fitness. Christina could challenge any top 3 pro physique-wise. As far as routines go Julie Childs had an entertaining routine as did many other gymnast type competitors. Unfortunately three competitors got injured while doing there routines. First it was Rosi Mena who apparently hit the stage real hard on a split and was close to tearing her ACL. She was carried on a stretcher after her routine. Teri Mooney had her routine right after Rosi. From where I was sitting I could see Teri waiting in line for her routine. You could see the look of horror in her face when Rosi wasn't able to continue. It was like a bad omen from the Olympia. Teri stepped on stage and went on with her routine. At one of moves she flipped and fell awkwardly on the floor. Immediately she tried to get up and wasn't able too. Her ankle seems to have twisted. It was a harsh hit again for Teri which was carried away from the stage. Later on Sandra Wickham did complete her routine but injured her inner thigh and probably didn't execute her routine to her full potential. While talking to some of the Pros they all echoed that the stage was too short. Gymnasts would be able to tumble sideways but those who didn't tumble sideways were left to go back and forward. To some competitors this limited their routines.

The amateur figure was a big disappointment and it was all because of a problem with the formula tabulating the scores of each competitor. Apparently in the 5'6 to 5'8 class Misty Green beat Michelle Troll which seemed unlikely judging from the physiques on stage. Even Misty herself mentioned she had no idea how she beat Michelle Troll. The other classes were easy to judge and presented no real surprises. The overall was won by Anna Larsson who did bring a great package but who knows how she would have fared against Michelle Troll. Many top pros have said they would be afraid to step on stage next to Michelle Troll. We are talking about a woman who's pro card is coming soon but has escaped due to several reasons including politics. Other competitors who looked impressive were Michelle Flake, Ali Metkovich, Michelle Anderson and Amanda Savell. One competitor in particular Rebecca Slatt was doing her first show ever and took third in her class. She probably could have taken second but the judges put her in third. Andrea Dumon took third in her class and is a competitor who keeps on improving. Fawnia Mondey keeps on working hard and is looking better and better. Viviana Soldano was doing her second show of the year and she looks better every time. She can probably do several shows this year and probably place top three.

The fitness portion brought out two excellent competitors Bridgett Murray and Karen Patten. Both have great potential for national level contests. Karen was really overlooked in her class in figure but took second to Bridgett on fitness. Karen hails from Alaska so she is far from most of the other people. Watch out for Karen Patten in the future. Jennifer Casssetty had a very entertaining routine and keeps on improving at every show. Michelle Mayberry could have scored higher as her physique was in great shape. Sherry Boudreau looked much better and performed better than a last place. It would be interesting to see what the judges thought about her. Sherry is WNBF Pro and also a great model who has graced several magazines. We hope to see her at the NPC again.

The female bodybuilding portion took place on Saturday and even when the numbers were small there were good quality competitors. Wendy Lindquist and Susan Mathison were some of the youngest ladies on stage and also very attractive to the eye. But the clear winner was middleweight Millie Cleveland. Millie with a small but compact frame displayed excellent symmetry. Laurie Bardette had the most ripped physique and can probably do damage at nationals if she gains some more size. Be on the lookout for Susan Mathison if she plays her cards right she can probably become one of the best young competitors out there.

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