I
know it has been a long time since I last updated my web site. We
all get busy. This is a “not so current” current
events page for now. A lot has happened since 2003,
so I wanted to share my 2003 World Championships experience with
everyone. Over the next few weeks and months, I will be updating
my site with pictures and articles from 2003 and 2005, so keep checking
back for new updates.
2003
was an exciting year for me in the bodybuilding world. Last
I updated my site I had said that I was preparing for the Canadian
Championships because I had not heard whether I had been selected
to make the team for World Championships yet.
Well,
things happened fast and I got the news that I would be representing
Canada at the IFBB Women’s World
Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in Spain on September 26-29,
2003.
My
2003 IFBB Women’s World Amateur
Bodybuilding Championships Experience
The City Santa Susanna is 50 km north of
Barcelona on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The temperature
was in the high 70’s and low 80’s. It rained on
and off most of the time. 3 hotels hosted over 220 athletes,
team delegates and athletes’ supporters from around the world. The
view from my balcony overlooked the outdoor pool and Mediterranean
Sea. Hotels and small shops were along a paved path. At
night, people would bring out covered carts with small items for
sale, from jewelry and clothes, to woodcarvings and glass ornaments,
etc.
Friday (Morning Registration & 7:00 pm Weigh In) I
had food poisoning from some eggs I ate that morning. For
the rest of the day I was cold, felt weak and sick. I saw
my physique go from being tight and cut to smoothing out by the
afternoon. My skin went from tanned to very pale. I
hadn’t eaten anything all day. I went in the sauna
for a while to help get the water out. I got my posing suit
on, went upstairs and weighed in just over making middleweight. I
had 30 minutes to make weight so I went down to the exercise room,
got on a bike. After 30 minutes, I went up again, weighed
in and made middleweight right on 57 kg. After the sauna,
cardio and weigh in, I started to feel a bit better and was able
to eat a little bit.
Saturday (3:00 pm Pre-Judging) When I woke
up I felt much better. My colour was back. I tightened
up again from the night before. I got some pictures down
by the poolside then went to my room to get ready. When
I got to the competition site, the bodybuilding women were first. I
went upstairs, pumped up and lined up. When it was time to
step on stage, I got nervous and excited at the same time. This
was it!!! I was out on stage with women from around the world. Many
of these women have been here before and many of us new to the
stage too. We stood in line in relaxed pose, then, they turned
us around. I was competitor #9. There were 16
women in my class. Usually if there are more then 15 women
they will look at the line up and then take only the top 15 to
come back on stage for pre-judging. The judges started their
call outs. They called women out for comparisons. They
finally called my number! I lined up and went through my
mandatory poses as they called them. Then I got a second
call out. We again went through our mandatory poses. After
the judges were done we were asked to exit the stage. One
woman directed everyone on stage since some women didn’t
understand English. At this point in time I did not know
if I made finals until the next day.
Sunday (3:00 pm Finals) There were lists
of the women who made finals (top 5). They had a parade of
all the countries for the opening ceremonies where the team delegate
carried a sign with the country’s name and an athlete carried
the country’s flag. There was an introduction of many
IFBB officials and an awards presentation to some of the officials
and then the finals began. There was a Farwell Banquet for
everyone involved with the competition after. The party was
moved to the bar where everyone danced to music and had a great
time.
Monday (Departure) I picked up my music
where the registration was and I also found out where I had placed
in my weight class. I placed 9th in the world in the middleweight
division! For my first World Championships and what I had
been through, I was pretty happy with that!
It
was amazing to be competing there at the same caliber as these
women from around the world, and representing Canada! These
women were well conditioned. The “Team Experience” was
excellent. I would also like to thank OPA for their support
and CBBF for giving me the opportunity to represent Canada at such
a prestigious competition.
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