Is IFBB Judging Leaving You Confused?
The answer to the question in the title is without batting an eye—YES. If you’re anything like me, checking the results of recent IFBB Pro Shows leaves me scratching my head. What direction is the sport going? Is it going down the same path that it has for several years, or is it transitioning? IFBB judging is confusing to say the least.
Where It All Began
In the early days, the sport of bodybuilding was all about symmetry and aesthetics. IFBB judging looked at V-taper, tight waistlines, vacuum poses, and aesthetic conditioning. Then there was a transition into the “mass monsters” where the sport got away from tight waistlines and overall conditioning and started awarding the biggest freaks on the stage first place—even at the expense of some competitors looking pregnant on stage when not controlling their midsection. This change in physiques caused a domino effect where all competitors then went back to the drawing board to figure out how much and how quickly they could put on size to compete with the larger, more muscular competitors. This seemed to go on for years.
Then walks in Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 2015 Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH pointing his finger in disgust at the IFBB judging saying they are hurting the sport and that the vision of the judging panels needs to go back to the good old days of symmetry and aesthetics. Did that happen? Yes and no. Has the sport “evolved” more so than “change?” It seems these days when you say the word “change” it seems to make people feel a negative vibe as if whatever will happen will be for the bad. So maybe the sport is simply evolving into the next form of the sport, like a Bodybuilding 2.0. If you ask most people today if they feel the sport is entertaining, the answer would be yes. So what’s the NPC/IFBB to do?
Related Article: The Posing Round Needs to Be Scored and Judged Again!
The Demand for “Change”
Last year in Columbus at the Arnold Classic, the man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, took to the mic and had some criticism of the judges after the show was over—and he didn’t hold back. Arnold’s vision of the sport bleeds of the days where he was on stage competing against Lou, Franco, and the likes. But where and when did the sport go sideways? The sport is very subjective and has several judges who can be looking at different pieces of an overall physique differently—it’s certainly not an easy job. You can look at one competitor who isn’t as big as another but is much more conditioned and is striated all over but that individual places poorly due to lacking size. Arnold looks at the NPC/IFBB judges for the answer.
For years the NPC/IFBB has compared size and seemed to have put that up on a pedestal as a key attribute when judging competitors, but that shouldn’t be the only thing they look at—and it’s not. Honestly, you have to respect the judging panel, as many of us would have a very difficult time scoring what we see on stage and deciding on who the clear winner should be as well as the following placings. It takes a lot of hard work in the gym, dedication, food prep, and rest to achieve the size of competitors today. There’s a lot they sacrifice to be the best in the world. So can you really blame the judges for awarding the biggest and baddest athlete on stage? I can’t, and here’s why.
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