And there I was! Listed as reporter which meant I got my very own tag saying Official how exciting! (Doesn t take much to keep me happy!

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1 With Season A in full swing now, competitions are coming thick and fast and almost every weekend between now and mid June. Last weekend it was the turn of the Riverina and Melbourne on the INBA calendar. Being a Melbournite, it was off to Moonee Valley for me. I got there nice and early to get myself a good spot for taking the hundreds of photos that I knew I wouldn t be able to resist taking and there at the door as always was the First Lady of Bodybuilding Patricia Lanciano - she even had her own tag that read First Lady in big red letters just in case you weren t sure who you were talking to! Patricia checked the list of important people :-p And there I was! Listed as reporter which meant I got my very own tag saying Official how exciting! (Doesn t take much to keep me happy!) The room was virtually empty sponsors were just rolling in and setting up stands, there were a few competitors floating around; having checked in, they now just had to take it easy until it all started. I made my way to the front of the seating and spread out ipad, phone, camera, food all placed just where I would be able to get hold of it quickly, as once the action got going I knew it would be fast and furious. But now there was time to take it easy and wander around chatting to people that took ages! By the time I kept bumping into people I knew, it seemed like I would know almost every competitor on stage..hmm, that meant there were going to be LOTS of photos! Janet Kane was on the Max s stand, looking in great shape as she is preparing for the world title in Greece which is only 10 weeks away. I ve just done another feature about Janet in Figure & Physique and listed her daughter (Kelsey) as my assistant editor for the edition, which she was thrilled about something to take to show and tell at school that will get her plenty of bragging rights! The show was due to start at 1, so with about 10 minutes to go I headed back to my seat and got myself prepared, took my practice shots to check the lighting and get my settings right. That s the good thing about the Moonee Valley venue from a photography perspective it actually has quite good lighting certainly the best of any of the bodybuilding events I go to, which makes my job of processing the photos so much easier afterwards! The judges were called behind the stage for their last minute briefing, then took their places ready for the action to begin, Tony stepped up to the left of the stage and introduced Fred who took his spot behind the podium on the right of the stage the two stage generals had everything under control and off we went. The first order of business, before a single competitor even stepped on stage was to hand out some awards! 2 new judges were officially welcomed to the INBA Judging team and much to her surprise (and horror!) Vicki Arief was awarded a certificate of excellence and recognition. Very well deserved too, Vicki is a tireless contributor to the bodybuilding industry in Victoria she judges on panels across all federations, she assists at workshops, she runs posing classes, helps people with their posing routines..she s even been willing to try and teach me ballet! She s a brave lady!

2 A lot of what Vicki does is voluntary, it takes up a lot of her time, yet I ve never heard her complain about it. She does it because she loves the industry and wants to make it a better place but just don t call her up on stage she doesn t like people to make a fuss! Hats off Vicki, you re a legend. The Novice fitness models came on for their bikini round and it was a big group. I was looking out for Sarah Ting, who I d bumped into and had a quick chat to whilst on my rounds and I thought she looked really good, lovely shape and definition lots of photos of course! I wasn t paying attention to how may callouts there were as I was just clicking away madly trying to get everybody. The T walk had changed slightly this time instead of each competitor coming on stage individually and doing a T walk before going off stage, this time all the competitors came on stage together, then each one walked to the centre of the stage, did a few poses and then joined the back of the lineup. So by the time everyone had done their walk, the lineup was back to its original order. This is a much quicker way of seeing each competitor individually as well as giving the judges a chance to assess the whole lineup right from the start. One of the competitors stood out and I m not sure it s for the right reasons she came to the middle of the stage raised her hands above her head, and started wriggling her hips around doing ab poses! Er don t think that one is in the posing manual...it did look a little odd. When the judges were happy, this group left the stage and the Fitness Models 30+ came on there were a couple of competitors I recognised from previous weeks competitions, including Koren Sutherland who won the Novice and Rookies a few weeks ago. She has held her condition well and was looking sharp. I was also looking out for Erin Blandford, and both of them were looking great in bright green bikinis. There was also a competitor who had just been on stage in the novice Fitness Model group. Fitness Model Open was on next and it was another big line-up that also included a couple of the novices, in fact there was only 1 girl in the line-up who I hadn t seen previously! I was watching out for Jodi Sheafe as this was her first competition for a long while she got a huge cheer as she stepped up on stage in a camo theme bikini looking supremely confident. After the compulsories and a number of callouts the judges were happy and the group left the stage.

3 Next up was the Mr Beach Body, and all of the guys were distinctly not bodybuilders in other words they weren t really big, they weren t shredded to the max some were very lean and others less so, some were more muscular than others but in general I think the guys are beginning to get the hang of the type of look that is required for this category nice shapely sculpted physiques that would have the ladies peeking surreptitiously over the tops of their sunnies on a beach. I was looking out for Ben Raso who had just won an equivalent of Mr Beach Body a few weeks ago. Individual poses, quarter turns and several callouts later the guys headed off stage and the fitness models returned in their Black & Blue gear this time it was a hot pink, black and blue camo effect which looked really good. Time for some prizes in the Novice Fitness Models Kylie Gray won and I was pleased to see that Sarah Ting came 2 nd, and Lina Konstantinidis 3rd. In the Fitness Models 30+ Koren won, Erin Blandford was 2 nd and Jaclyn Smith 3 rd. Koren s children came running onto the stage and gave mummy a big hug which was lovely to see In the Fitness Models Open Jodi Sheafe was the very popular winner, with Koren 2 nd and Sarah Ting 3 rd

4 In the Mr Beach Body another Ben (Spina) won, Stuart Monroe 2nd and Ben Raso came third. The show was going really smoothly, everyone knew their job and knew when they were on Fred would call the competitors on stage and for their T walk, then when the line-up was back together Tony would take over calling the quarters turns. Tony would then split the line-up, swap the competitors and repeat the quarter turns. The judges would then do their callouts, repeating the quarter turns. When the judges were happy, Tony would hand back to Fred who would then call up the next group. The backstage crew as usual were working flat out making sure that everyone was where they should be when they should be the unsung heroes of the day! No show could function without all the work that goes on behind the scenes, so a big thank you to the backstage crew. After a short break it was the turn of the bikini models. First on, the novice group with 5 competitors. It must have been close with the judging as it seemed to take a long time before the judges were happy. There were several split and swaps, then swapping back, then 2 callouts as well. The crowd were getting a little restless, so Tony stepped in and explained that it was essential to get the right decision, that every competitor had earned their right to be there and to be judged as fairly

5 as possible, which meant that no group, no matter how big or small, was going to be rushed on and off stage. This is where Tony is so good he has a keen sense of how a show is going and takes action immediately and appropriately to the atmosphere or situation. After the novice bikinis, it was the Open group. This was another big group with several experienced competitors who I had seen before. I was immediately drawn to one particular competitor who looked amazing. She was confident without being arrogant, had a beautiful shape, posed well without exaggerating anything and had an aura of certainty around her. She wasn t the leanest in the group but if anyone fitted the criteria of bikini model it was this competitor. The quarter turns were completed, then Tony split the line-up, swapped them over and repeated the quarters turns. There were only 2 callouts before the judges were happy and the group left the stage. Trophy time Bikini Novice was won by Letitia Luttrell, 2 nd Brooke Little and 3 rd Cassandra Kozulin. In the Bikini Open, Lina Heinze the perfect bikini body won, Natasha Seeto 2 nd and Jessica Anderson 3 rd. I was pleased to see Jess get 3 rd, this was her 1 st bikini competition, but not her first competition I was on stage with her 2 years ago in the Figure International category!

6 Next on was the Figure International, and only 5 competitors none of whom I knew, although one of the competitors had just been on stage in the Fitness Model category. This struck me as a little odd, Figure International requires more muscularity and leanness than fitness models it s more of a step towards the physique category. This group didn t take long to run through the quarter turns and the category was won by Patricia Harris, 2 nd was Rachel Chadwick, 3 rd Kirsty Hutton.

7 Now we were on to the muscle categories and first up were the Masters Men 2 competitors in the 40+ and one in the 50+. The competitor in the 50+ I had seen before at the Aussie titles last year I took a ton of photos, but think I forgot to send them to him. Oops must check that! The 2 competitors in the 40+ I had seen compete a few weeks ago and the results were the same! Craig Winter won with David Baxter 2 nd and Andy Harris was the 50+ winner. Next was the Physique Masters only one competitor in the 40+ and one in the 50+ so again a very quick category with just the quarters turns and the compulsories. Vanessa Andrew who won at the Novice and Rookies a few weeks ago won the 40+ and Leah Windsor who I have seen on several occasions won the 50+. Intermediate men were on next and this was a big group with a few really good physiques. The judges ran the competitors through the quarter turns and compulsories, and there was only one callout with 2 competitors so I figured this was either for 1 st /2 nd or 2 nd /3 rd placing. They also only did the side chest and triceps poses - but both sides instead of just preferred side. It turns out the callout was for 1 st and 2 nd Danny Parker won, Miki Novakovich 2 nd and Michael Petersen was 3 rd (much to the disapproval of some in the crowd!) Physique Intermediate were on next and another small group of just 3, Only quarter turns and compulsories were required for a decision. Rachel Chadwick won, Elicia Austen 2 nd, Kirsty Hutton 3 rd.

8 We were rattling through the categories now, and although the show had been running quite late it was now beginning to catch up, which was good I hadn t packed enough food really so was starting to get hungry and I get cranky when I m hungry! Watch out when I m on comp diet! Next on was the teenage and Junior men combined there were only 2 competitors in each category and I d seen one of the teenage guys before, he s a big unit and was looking good he posed very well too. I noted that because taking into account the whole show, the quality of his posing was the exception rather than the rule so far. Since the departure of Michael Buna as the head judge for Victoria, I couldn t recall if there had been any pre show posing classes, which is a shame, because I believe it is very important for competitors to know what and how the judges are going to be judging them on the day. Nathan Roe won the Novice and Billy Abougelis 2 nd, Ricardo Saracoglu won the Junior men and Trent Balmer 2 nd. Now we were down to the last few categories Physique Novice was next and another small group of 4. One of the competitors stood out she had beautiful symmetry (great set of lats!), posed really well, but hadn t quite got there on conditioning, which was a shame, because she has great

9 potential. Quarter turns and compulsories saw Marnee Moore the winner, Patricia Harris who won the Figure International 2 nd and Kimberley DeBono 3 rd The Novice Men was a big group and again there were a few really good looking physiques one of the Mr Beach Body competitors was also in the line up. Head Judge Andy started the compulsories, the front pose was all good the quarter turn to the right went well but then one of the competitors just didn t know how to present himself so Andy stopped the turns and explained to the competitor exactly how and where he should place him arms, feet and hold his body! I don t think I ve ever been to a show before where the head judge has had to tell a competitor on stage how they had to pose. Once the competitor had got it sorted, the quarters turns were started again and this time they made it all the way through. There were 2 callouts for the symmetry. Then the compulsories followed. One competitor who had a big cheer squad in the house was told to suck in his beer gut on the abs and thigh pose, which caused a few chuckles and probably actually helped the competitor who by laughing would have popped out his abs more! Chris Latella won, Brett Reed was 2 nd and Cameron Pinto 3 rd By now with the small groups we d caught up time wise very well, and it was now the turn of the Open competitors. Physique Open only had 3 competitors, so again only one round of symmetry and compulsories were required.

10 Wendy Young who had won the overall the previous week at Filex won, Mary Rahini was 2 nd, Vanessa Andrew 3 rd Last it was the turn of the men. A big group and almost every competitor had been on stage in earlier categories. Competitor 109 had a huge cheer squad in and they were very keen on telling everyone how good his legs were (he did have good legs!). The judges made the guys work for it the quarter turns and compulsories were run through, then the line was split and swapped and the quarters turns and compulsories repeated. There were 2 callouts with quarter turns and compulsories repeated again. The judges were happy and Michael Petersen won, Joseph Ko 2 nd, Danny Parker 3 rd. 109 came 4 th.

11 And with that it was all over. Mr Melbourne stayed on stage posing for photos with sponsors, Vicki asked me to take her photo with her award, the sponsors stands were dismantled and carted off and everyone headed off home. Another show done, and we ll all be back at Moonee Valley for the All Female in June. See you all there!