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David Gentle takes a peak at bodybuilding judges and judging past AND present

I have 'Rhoid' rage, This time its haemorrhoids, thats right, bodybuiding is becoming a pain in the ass. It seems like almost every b.b journal I browse through of late, carries articles and letters concerned with physique standards and professional contests judging results. Having attended more such muscle show downs than most over an unrelenting half a century, I have certainly witness huge changes, i.e. the evolution of bodybuilding contests and what appears to be the requisites for 'star' standards, from finalists to winners.

1930’s Muscle men

Although always having a private opinion as to who should or should not have won or been placed. Despite suggestions and offers, I have never had either the conviction or more important the courage to judge others. Thus the following notes are in no way a criticism of those braver souls whom set themselves up as easy targets when they sit on judging panels, the results of which can make or break physique careers in the competitive jungle of the body beautiful, with all its commercial offspring's. Advertising, sponsorships, film careers even FAME.
To be honest I haven’t got a clue what exact percentage of bodybuilders actually train with the sole object of competing in physique contests. The answer I suspect is just a tiny minority, with most weight trainers having varied and alternative targets, from rehabilitation, to improving their chosen major sport, get fit or stronger, or simply as most do, to improve their own standard of physique, gain or lose weight, and add some muscle

Early beginning comparisons for
bodybuilding contests - 1940’s line up

Few are like Arnold, who reputedly intended from his first squat and dead lift, to become a bodybuilding champion. For most weight trainers, physique contests as such, are something that goes on in the background, that takes up perhaps too much space in the muscle mags, and possibly an event they may attend just once in a while, usually locally to support a fellow gym member, or nationally to see in the flesh some legendary bodybuilder they have seen in the journals. Almost every gym has its own local hero whom most guys agree should at least enter, if not win the area 'Mr Muscles On a Cake' award or even national fame.

There are, and always will be, the sub culture hard core of trainees who pump iron solely to strut their stuff and maybe enter and try to win contests, adding more trophies to their cabinets at home. However for all of these categories, like it or not, whether competitive or not, all are openly or covertly influenced by physique contests and of course rising standards of accepted muscular perfection. Physique contests DECIDE and DICTATE bodybuilding and bodybuilders hopes and inspirations. Physique fashions, muscles a la mode, like a pebble in a pond radiate outwards and reach all who train with weights. If the winner of Mr O. or Mr U. is big and bulky, or cut to shreds, vascular or hyper pumped, then that is the bench mark for all gym rats who train for muscle by lifting weights.

Having accepted the importance of contests and the standards required to win, let us now consider just exactly WHO and HOW, and WHY certain people are called upon to judge, give out decisions and set goals for bodybuilders.

1950’s pose down - getting harder!

Who for example 'polices' the judges? How do they judge? What qualifications should a physique judge have, ie. should a pre-judging eye sight test be compulsory. I ask this because I am NOT joking, when I say I once sat behind a judge who actually kept turning around to me and asking me to confirm the number on the contestants trunks. Come in number 10 your time is up! That's probably an extreme example, although 'foreign guest judges, overcome with jet lag, Johnny Walker and exuberant patriotism have in the past made some controversial decisions, luckily wiped out by sophisticated scoring systems designed specifically for that very reason. Preventing mistakes made at earlier muscle contests.

Like football refs, pc. judging is not a route to popularity, and special favours would soon be discovered by astute fans. Sure it is nice to have expenses covered (and why not) to be at the heart of things. For retired bodybuilders to stay in touch with the game. But dropping for an instant my cynicism, my belief is most judges are genuine lovers of the game, and simply want to contribute or repay a sport they have spent most of their lives contributing or participating.

1970’s comparison line up

For those who compete, the importance of judges decisions can be vital to that person's goals in life itself. Russ Warner famous photographer, said judges "Can send you home a hero, or cast you empty headed into anonymity alley. Rick Wayne legendry Weider writer, once said. "Judges have to be purists, nothing personal, no biases or outside knowledge of the competitors life can enter into it." That's a hard one to live up to. Charisma and reputation always influence our human subconscious minds and therefore the decisions we make. Beauty is indeed "in the eye of the beholder."
Despite being lifted from the ranks of doctors, lawyers, teachers and practising and retired bodybuilders, judges are all only human and therefore open to criticism over their own qualifications and decisions.

Early show winners stood out a mile, so that even the ice cream seller could pick out the first three places. Old timers always bring up that "once bodybuilding champions had charisma and each looked different". I recall Bob Kennedy held a feature in MMI in which readers were challenged to name the silhouettes. Gironda, Reeves, Pearl etc all stood out a mile. You would have a job to do that now. Such silhouettes would resemble a string of cut out paper dolls. Yes, perhaps they did look individuals. But with better training, nutrition and modern advances, the quality of any modern line up is so good, that like it or not, they do all look similar. Similar degrees of almost perfection and high standards with the call so close the X factor creeps in. Hence judging is so much harder finding the small flaws. You will never please everyone all of the time. Judges usually see competitors the day before or at least at a pre judging session. By the time the guys hit the evening line up, some have gained or lost 7lbs. So the audience see a different physique.

One contest that produced a lot of debate was the 1971 Mr Universe with the placings of Oliva, Pearl and Park. Oliva walked out after Pearl was chosen as Ist, Reg made 3rd place and took it like a gent. Oscar Heidenstam went to great depths to explain the NABBA Judging system, mentioning a distinguished list of judges, most former top bbuilders including Paul Wynter, Len Sell, Bill Stevens, Dave Prowse etc. and said "We like a large panel simply because we believe in that way, we get a large variety of opinions."(source The Quality of our Judges. H&S Dec 1971.

One of the most controversial disputes was between Mike Mentzer and Arnold S at the 1980 Mr Olympia in Sydney Australia. Arnold who had supposedly retired, after 6 consecutive wins apparently decided on the eve of the contest (He was supposed to be in Oz just to do a commentry on the contest for CBS) to enter and try to make it a magnificent 7th. Out of the 16 contestants 15 had signed a petition requesting the Olympia should be judged as one open class. Arnold, now the 16 competitor decided otherwise. Accusations flew around and Mentzers personal belief was Arnolds tactic had cheated him out of the overall title, which history records Arnold 'won', albeit the audience booed the placings which gave Mentzer 5th. Reg Park was one of the judges who was entitled to his opinion, supporting Arnold. Bill Pearl withdrew as a judge because he had spent time training another entrant, Chris Dickerson, who came second. The CBS never did televise the show. Mentzer never competed again and was hostile to the judges decision right up until his demise. Most others simply shrugged their muscular shoulders and treated the results for what they were ie. human opinion.

Some decisions were both popular and unanimous such as Lee Haneys winning the 1986 Mr Olympia with for what was described as "The first time in history of the Mr Olympia that a contestant received a perfect score."

The IFBB Founded by Ben & Joe Weider back in 1947 rapidly became supported by the bodybuilding fraternity, later endorsed by the International Sports Fed in 1970 and now included over 130 nations. Early bodybuilding judging systems included 3 rounds for scoring.

1. Relaxed, symmetry and proportion.
2. Mandatory posing muscularity and development and..
3. Free posing.
Changes and improvements were continuous and faults ironed out. Armand Tanny top title winner, writer and judge, later listed basics of what judges should seek including checking Symmetry, proportion, development, definition, skeletal structure and posing and general appearance. Tanny elaborated on each point.

Those who are considering entering contests now must discover what the judges are looking and the rules of the game. Best source for in depth material can be found by obtaining and reading Bob Kennedy's MMI publication MuscleMags Encyclopaedia of Bodybuilding by Gerard Thorne and Phil Embleton knowledge required can be found in chapters 17 & 18 pages 280 onwards detailing current modern ranking systems. Also included are descriptions of the seven compulsory poses from 'front double biceps' to 'abs and legs' We repeat, to win you must learn the rules of the game.

Unknown bodybuilder! This was seen then as the idea of a perfect physique

You cannot stop progress. Physique standards are bound to look different from those of yesteryear. But it really is up to the integrity of the judges to ensure en mass, by their choices of winners, that what we ie. the majority of public opinion, seek in our champions is muscular perfection and symmetry, but NOT obvious implants or oil injections open to ridicule and putting bodybuilding back to the days of freak shows.

So who
YOU
gonna
choose?