CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue | Page 18

Juan: Hi Paul! Thank you very
much for joining us today. You
are a huge inspiration to myself
and many other CPA athletes.
How did you get into judging
and what are your top 3 most
memorable moments you have
experienced as a fitness judge?
Paul: I got into judging back
in 2001 because I loved the
sport of bodybuilding and have
always been a huge fan. During
that period of time, I wasn’t
competing but I was still going
to watch shows and I had a
good friend Darren Fink that was
a judge. I was also friends with
Nimrod King who at that time
was western regional director
of the OPA. They asked me if
I wanted to become a judge
so of course I accepted.
Now fast forward almost
20 years later and I am
now a CPA head judge
and an IFBB Pro League
judge.
I would have to say
that some of my most
memorable experiences
as a judge would have
to include judging the
Supershow since its start
back in 2011 and seeing it
grow into one of the biggest
pro/amateur shows in North
America. Up until then we
weren’t used to judging shows
of that size especially with the
tight time lines we given due
to the shows schedule and the
sharing of the stage with the pro
show. I remember pre judging
on Friday night for the first
couple of years going until 1-2
am and then having to be back
at the table the next morning
at 8 to begin finals. They were
exhausting weekends, but it was
such a rush to be a part of them.
The challenge of trying to get
the placings right when there
was so many athletes to assess
in a short amount of time was
exhilarating. Those shows made
me a better judge and forced
me to learn how to assess
physiques quickly and efficiently
and they were valuable learning
experiences.
I also will never forget the first
year of the big change when
the CPA came to be. We found
ourselves judging some portions
of the Supershow with IFBB Pro
judges from the USA like Tyler
Manion, Bill Sibilia, Gary Udit
and Jack Sullivan to name a few.
It was very cool for me to be
sitting on a panel next to these
guys that I looked up to and to
learn from them.
Juan: These definitely sound like
amazing experiences. When did
you judge your first show and
what is one piece of advice you
would give yourself if you could
go back to that moment?
Paul: The first contest I ever
judged was the 2001 Stratford
Festival City Championships.
Looking back on that show
now almost 20 years later, I
would have told myself to be
more social and open with the
athletes as far as offering them
feedback after a show. When
I first started judging, I kind of
felt like we weren’t supposed
to socialize with the athletes
because it wasn’t appropriate.
But as time went on, I started
TO SEE ALL THE OFFICIAL
CRITERIA THE JUDGES USE
PLEASE REFER TO THE
RULES SECTION ON
OUR WEBSITE
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