CRAIG PRODUCTIONS LLC

Trip 1: CHICAGO (17-20 June)

I always joke about being a professional traveler because I am probably on a plane once a week and feel like I have family  in every state. A few weeks ago, I flew to Chicago for several reasons. My assistant Save Fitness coach, IFBB Fitness Pro Michele Mayberry and I were going to Test Judge the Junior Nationals in Chicago and work our way to becoming national judges. Michele and I have been judging for about 3-4 years. Being a judge gives you trememdous insight as a competitor. Being on the other side allows you to understand what the judges go thru and that it is not always an easy job to rank competitors in a short period of time. The hours are often long, the competitors are many and sometimes you feel like you are comparing apples and oranges.

Our evening of pre-judging began at 5pm on a Friday night, and this is after an hour delay due to a power outage at the host hotel. We judged over 260 female competitors and did not get done until 11pm that night. Judging the Fitness routine round was the most stressful because you get 2 minutes to jot down notes, pay attention and form your best opinion about the combination of strength, flexibility, execution, flow, transition and overall performance of a routine. However, before you get a chance to really digest what you just saw, the next competitor is already running out on stage. I think Michele and I took great notes but struggled to have a good system of how to assign value to each of these areas. We learned a lot about setting up a point system that we could use as we watched the routine so that at the end, we could see who had the most points. We caught on quickly and did this for the Figure, Bikini and Bodybuilding. We learned that you not only need to have a “good” eye, but you have to be able to do it quickly and keep up with the Head judge. There were many times that Michele and I had to go back to our notes (in between classes) and try to re-evaluate some of our decisions. As a competitor, the world usually revolves around US and we expect the judges to see every ounce of hard work we’ve put into our physique and performance. While I will say that the best and worst usually stand out right away, everyone else that is in the middle usually DOESN’T. So, my advice to competitors (and I take this advice as well) is not to over analyze your placing if you are not in the Top 5. 6^th place and 9^th place could have been changed with a whip of a pencil… What you should take away from the experience is that you have work you need to do in order to be more competitive. SIMPLE! Most judges don’t stress themselves out trying to judge EVERY single placing after 5^th. This is why placings only go to 15^th at the national shows. Most say, “Look, if you didn’t place Top 5, it means you’re average and need to come back with improvements.” Hard to swallow? It shouldn’t be. Out of 20-30 competitors in the class at the nationals, only 5 can be in the top 5. My advice to competitors before they invest the money into competing at a national show is WIN or place Top 2 at a regional or state show first. Otherwise, if you’re going to Nationals for the simple status of being a “national” level competitor, coming back with a 14^th placing may be more humble to the esteem than waiting to progress when you’re ready. This is my opinion. J If you’re going for the “experience”, please remember that when you get your placing.

So, all in all judging was hard work. Michele and I also had to take a National Judges Test. We are waiting to see how we did, but after a healthy discussion, we agreed that we would not be dismayed if we didn’t pass. We don’t want to judge national shows until we’re ready…however long it takes. J 

I was also blessed to be able to represent StrongHold Ministries along with IFBB Pros Alicia Harris and Chaundra Tangi. We held a small prayer meeting for the female competitors at the Host Hotel that Friday morning. Pastor Mike and the other pastors of the ministry travel to the major Pro shows and pray for the athletes. I have benefited from this for the past 4-5 years and it has been a huge blessing to my competition experience and to my life. We just wanted to offer the same support to the competitors competing at the Jr Nationals. We didn’t know what to expect but about a dozen women showed up and we lead discussions covering scripture from Hebrews and shared personal testimonies of our own experiences competing…with and without God. It was humbling to be infused with the emotion, peace and bond that was created between those that attended. When we walked away, Alicia, Chaundra and I realized that we just did the most important thing we could do that weekend….pray for these athletes! And I just thank God for giving us the words and preparing our hearts to support these women. And I am so thankful to Pastor Mike Wenger for being such an awesome mentor and friend to me in the past few years as I've walked in my faith.

My final role in Chicago was to coach and support the 5 athletes from Save Fitness that were competing. In Fitness, we had Tracie Soder from San Jose, Save Fitness coaches Cinzia Clapp from Anchorage AK and Heather Skaar from Portland OR, and Sara Bankemper from Seattle. In Bikini, we had Venus Ramos from LA. Thurs night before the event, we rehearsed our posing and portions of our routines. These women are already a tight family so you could sense the loyalty and sense of family present in their love and support for each other. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these women. They showed up ready to present their best. They set goals, they followed through, they showed up and got it done. And when it was over, they kept their heads held high. After each round, we would get together to “regroup” and “assess”. Part of regrouping after a show is to keep everything in perspective. If you don’t, you can easily let one show be the “end all, be all” and I don’t think your goals or dreams should ever come down to “one” show, especially if you are truly embracing the journey you are on. So, Sat night, we all had a wonderful time celebrating our hard work, new goals and most of all, our special friendship!

So, I get back on a Sunday afternoon and have about 24 hours to rest and prepare for my next trip…. To Los Angeles.

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