Day one is in the books and the competition will be some of the toughest the NPC figure has seen. Last night the men and women weighed in and had the ladies heights were checked. You will see a number of women moving around in height classes from last year. This year the classes were changed in an effort to even the numbers out, particularly the A and F classes. We’re still getting a feel for how this plays out on the National stage.
The schmonation is running strong and you will see a variety of the individuals I wrote about in my photographers post. Another item I’ll be writing about later is something I hadn’t given much thought, until last night. The “schmodels”. These are the women who thrive off the attention of posing, flexing, smiling for anyone who has a camera. Ladies if you’re a fitness or figure competitor and you’re flexing your biceps for a dude with a camera phone - YOU’RE A SCHMODEL. I’ll save this diatribe for another time.
The weather in Chicago is nice, not too hot and the crazy bugs from last year are no where in sight. I ran into a few familiar faces and some new ones yesterday. When I met up with the PR Team they informed their fearless leader, IFBB Carla Sanchez, was not let on the plane with them because she didn’t have the right credit card that the ticket was booked with. What a load of poo. The women forged ahead and were sporting matching outfits for their photo shoot with JM Manion.
JM photographing the Peformance Ready girls.It as amusing to watch traffic come to a hault and random people stop to take photos of the scene. All five women looked great and in a conversation with Jamie Meade, who is making her first trip to the national scene, I was reminded of something. No matter where you finish in this show you should be proud and happy to be on stage. Why? She works with handicapped people every day who can’t walk or have disabilities that prevent them from doing every day things. I love her outlook and she reminded me to not loose sight of the big picture.
Then there is Liza Kampstra. Liza will be a force in the B Class and one to watch. She had some fun with the group and one point sported a blonde wig. Her altered ego - “Larrissa” came out for a few shots and it was comedy at it’s finest.
“Larrissa” wanted no photos from the paparazzi until he she was ready. 
Just kidding it was actually hilarious.At check-in I caught up with a number of women, all of which mentioned HARDBODY.com. Thanks for the props and thanks to all of you for visiting regularly.I “officially” met Khristy Poteat and we chatted a bit. She tells me she is coming in a bit softer than JR USAs and I could tell in her face she wasn’t as hard and drawn in, this should suit her well. Very stunning woman and watch for her to move up from her last placingSara Hurrle was trying to stay calm over the airline loosing her luggage. This is Sara’s first national show and looking to keep her winning ways alive in the D Class.
One woman I’ve know for a few years and honestly did not recognize her was Betsy Harris. Betsy ain’t play’n no games and came to do damage in Chitown. She competes in fitness and the last couple of shows hasn’t fair as well as she would like due to her conditioning or lack their of. I can tell just from her face that this won’t be an issue for her this show. I’ve never seen her so lean and if she can muster up enough energy to bring the noise to the stage tonight, WATCH OUT! I’m anxious to see how she looks on stage as her routines are solid and with a conditioned physique she puts herself in the mix to turn pro.
Betsy Harris leaner than ever and ready to take the stage.I had a chance to chat with Paola Almerico and her husband Nelson a bit yesterday. Two good peeps who are always fun to be around. Paola just finished shooting for OXYGEN magazine in Canada. The husband/wife duo prepped two figure competitors for this show. You may recall, they worked with the overall champ from JR USAs, Lenay Hernandez. Paola was chatting with a variety of people including “the man with the big book” John Stutz. She also smiled pretty for a dead ringer of IFBB Pro Mary Lado. Yes, there is a Mary Lado lookalike at the show and she calls Dallas home. Monique “momo” is stunning and you have to do a double take when you see her as she is a spitting image of Mary. Keep an eye on her in the coming shows, she isn’t competing in this show but is a striking woman.
Poala with Momo, the Mary Lado lookalike.I’m off to get my cardio on and hit the second check-in that will be held at 9am this morning. I’ll squeeze in a couple photo shoots before tonight’s prejudging which starts at 5pm. Tonight it’s all about the women and good luck to all of them.
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