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Bartlett's Bodybuilding Chronicles - Archived
As these (Archived) Chronicles may reference events from the past, we cannot guarantee the current accuracy of the information (such as
website links) contained within.
April 2008
IT’S TIME FOR A NEW DIRECTION!
It seems like I have been around the bodybuilding scene forever! Yes, one could accuse me of being a dinosaur, just an old fossil who has nothing to offer constructive or new in an industry full of testosterone pumped young people. In a sport that is so visual and youth oriented, people tend to write you off after the age of 40. But, wait, please listen, we seasoned veterans do have something to contribute forged by life’s many experiences. I like to call it seasoned wisdom! My critic’s might call it something else!
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1982 Worlds: Ti-Jean LeBlanc (2nd place lightweight)
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Back in 1982, when a lot of you reading this were only a twinkle in your daddy’s eye, I journeyed to the IFBB World Championships to represent Canada on the judging panel and help out my good friend Ti-Jean LeBlanc a competitor. In those days the World Championships in spite of being an amateur competition was the top amateur contest in the world. In fact it was only second in importance to the Mr. Olympia. I still shutter with fear, when I think back and remember, as if it were yesterday when 25-30 of the world’s best light heavyweight competitors walked on stage. At that level they all looked the same and the daunting task of placing them seemed impossible.
In those days winning the IFBB World Championship was huge and provided a tremendous boast to a pro career. The superbly built Lee Haney won the heavyweight category and went on to win a record eight Mr. Olympia titles. I was also elated to see Ti-Jean finish second in the lightweight category.
My point is, somewhere along the way the IFBB World Championships lost a lot of its prestige and importance in creating super stars of Pro bodybuilding. It still is a huge event overseas where many nations are represented but here in North America, it means very little to the average bodybuilder. There was a time when this event was responsible for launching many top IFBB Pro Careers. In recent years the US has not sent a team. Considering that most of the world’s best pro bodybuilders come from the US, one has to question the importance of the championships. I think that the reason why the World Championships have lost their luster is that the championships are held in countries so far away from North America making it very difficult, to get to them. Considering the current political climate and fear of terrorism, the US is reluctant to send a team due to security reasons. Also travel to these far away places is extremely expensive, which is a huge drain on the coffers of countries like Canada who have limited funds. We must also recognize the fact that the IFBB has instituted an extensive drug testing policy that I am sure is responsible for frightening off some potential champions. Back in the 80’s there were very few pro events and limited amateur competitions available to athletes seeking a Pro card. Currently there are many more opportunities to obtain your Pro status without having to go through the world championships.
The CBBF for many years have supported the IFBB World Championships with good reason, as we are the only recognized governing body for bodybuilding by the IFBB in Canada. For the past several years the CBBF have fielded teams and officials to the various world events at a cost of thousands of dollars. I personally think this is great if the funds are available. However, after closely observing the track records of these Canadian athletes, I have to ask the question? Are we getting our money’s worth from these athletes and officials? Other than a small number of athletes who seem to attend every year, most of the CBBF budget is eaten up by these huge traveling expenses. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think it is great to see elite athletes such as Ontario’s Johanna Dejager and Quebec’s Natalie Tabuillet do Canada proud by winning silver metals. But beyond that how does this help the average bodybuilder who supports the CBBF year after year by competing at our nationals? Most will never get the opportunity to represent Canada at an international event.
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Arnold Amateur Figure winner Natalie Waples
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I think it is time for the CBBF to take a serious look at their current policy regarding international competitions and commitment to the world championships. Considering the price of travel and the economic slowdown, I think something should be done to provide a broader group of Canadian athletes the opportunity to compete internationally. In other words, a shift to more convenient location that is cheaper and easier to get to.
I just got back from the Arnold Classic Sports Festival held on the weekend of March 1st where the first Amateur Arnold World Championships were held. The show had many different countries represented with 18 athletes from Canada, second only to the US. Now this was a fantastic contest organized by Bob Lormier and Mike Davis who did an excellent job at processing close to 200 athletes throughout the weekend. I can’t speak enough regarding what this contest means to Canadian Athletes. I predict that this show will grow in importance and status where it will rival the IFBB World Championships. My reasons, Lormier is lobbying to make it a pro qualifier, Columbus, Ohio is located in the central US and is easy to get to, especially for North American athletes. And most importantly it is the center of the most popular and prestigious bodybuilding, fitness expo, and sports weekend in the world thanks to the efforts of Jim Lormier and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For Canadian athletes this is a huge opportunity to compete internationally and get a chance to be part of a huge event for a moderate expense. The fact remains that out of the hundreds of athletes who compete at Canadian National events, very few ever get the opportunity to represent Canada at the world Championships.
Considering the thousands of dollars spent the past several year’s sending athletes all over the world, Canada could get a much bigger bang for their buck by funding many more athletes with the same money to the Arnold Amateur Championships and have much more to show for it.
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Shawn Ray with Arnold Amateur Fitness winner Allison Either
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I can’t recall the last time a Canadian actually won a world Championship. I know it was many years ago. At this year’s Arnold we saw Quebec’s dynamic Allison Either winning the overall fitness championships with team mate Silva Trembly finishing second to Allison in the fitness short division. Ontario’s sultry Natalie Waples and Alberta’s shapely Sandy Helmig both won their respective classes in figure. Canadian athletes did us proud at this event proving that we have some of the best athletes in the world. Unfortunately, their entire competition experience was financed out of their own pockets.
I think it is time for the CBBF to review their entire policy of attending and funding world championships and look to where we can gain more notoriety, better use of funding, and a greater participation of Canada’s great athletes internationally. The place to do this is at the Arnold Amateur World Championships.
Perhaps an official qualification process should be administered with some form of funding put in place. I have a good feeling about this competition and with support from the CBBF and its many great athletes we could be looking at an annual international event that is open and accessible to our best Canadian athletes!
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I would appreciate hearing from you!
grbartlett@yahoo.com
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Garry Bartlett is a leading authority on Canadian bodybuilding, figure and fitness.
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