CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE JAN/FEB 2020 ISSUE | Page 6

The class was re-judged and the right
decision was made.  In some cases,
decisions from the Prejudging are reversed.
Control, the will to make the
controversial decisions: This is likely one
of the most important qualities of a Head
Judge, making the decision that is right for
the advancement of the sport and the
athlete. Although rare, this happened twice
at this competition.  First during the
Prejudging, a competitor was placed ahead
of another competitor in the same class and
the medals were awarded that way at Finals
for that class.  However, during the overalls
the scores were reversed for those two
competitors as one competitor’s condition
became weaker and the other
improved.  The final decision was the right
one. Again, a reminder to athletes that
maintaining your condition and shape up to
the Finals and overalls is all part of the
competition. The final example, that again
could attract criticism and controversy to a
Head Judge is when Steve recognized a
competitor in a men’s physique category,
although muscular and conditioned ended
up in last place.  That competitor was in the
wrong category, he belonged in
bodybuilding.  A misleading decision would
have been to place this competitor in the
top five.  
The right decision for the athlete and the
sport was to place this competitor last. This
is exactly what we did.  However, Steve,
recognizing the hard work this competitor
put in to compete, took the time to speak to
him directly. The competitor should have
understood the decision and could now
make the proper changes when choosing his
class or training methods. It is important
that the right message is sent to all
competitors and the lines are not blurred
between categories.I hope this gives some
insights on what it takes to be the top Head
Judges for the IFBB Pro League and why
Steve, and a select few other Head Judges sit
at the center of the table at The Olympia,
The Arnolds and many of the top Pro
Qualifiers and IFBB Pro League contests
around the world.
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President
Canadian Physique Alliance