Okay, so we’re in an interesting time right now… world wide pandemic, constant health and medical advice to avoid unnecessarily close contact with other people for fear of unknowingly spreading the virus… what’s a bodybuilding contest promoter to do?
Well, aside from canceling and/or rescheduling, one individual I know (I’ve done several of his shows back in the day), has opted to hold a virtual contest. Competitors submit photos (videos?) by a certain date, judges (?) judge the individual entries in their respective categories, and within several days’ time, render verdicts of the class winners.
I’m of a few different minds on this idea, but I figured I’d see what everyone else thought, competitors and non-competitors alike.
Nicks strength an power YouTube channel does a virtual “mr golden age” comp. he gives cash prize away for it and he is the only judge and it’s pretty much based on who looks the most like they belong in the 70s. In any case it’s very possible to pull something like this off.
Eh, I just dont see any way to avoid HEAPS of controversy surrounding something like that. Every year there seems to be photos circulating that show someone in insane condition/shape and then it just doesnt quite materialize. There are way too many factors that make someone look different in a photo compared to other people… Lighting can be utterly dramatic, then combine that with stuff like water manipulation, camera quality and angles, etc… and you can beat someone much better than you in a photo.
Its fun for the stuff we do on this board, the T-ransformation level of things, but to actually hold a contest where I have to pay to enter and the judging criteria is mostly subjective? I’d probably pass on that as a pro.
I can understand online contests, heck, things like that have been used to drum up support for new supplement companies since the early 90’s,… BUT, having judged more shows than I can recall, I can honestly tell you that seeing physiques side by side, being abler to shuffle them around, position them in specific poses, and actually see with your own eyes what their game day level of conditioning looks like (which you usually can’t in most non-professional photos),… well, it’s a very different thing.
If you were to go strictly by photos of each competitor by themselves, you’d have 10 different winners in each category. This is why I rant a lot when some online personality trumpets their contest placings but refuses to ever shows pics of the entire line up.
Maybe it’s just me, but while I do understand the decision to do the virtual shows,… it just seems silly at the same time.