There has been some confusion about national qualification and eligibility to compete in lower level competition.  I am presenting this memo from the NPC National Office that highlights Article 307.1 from the NPC Rules.  In short, if an athlete has qualified for national level competition, then that athlete is technically ineligible to compete in lower level competition in the district he or she obtained that qualification.  Further, if an athlete has won the overall title of a national qualifier, then that athlete can no longer compete in that competition.  The exception is if that athlete's national qualification has expired.

The intent of this rule is to encourage athletes to move up to higher level competition and, for example, compete in the State Championships, move ahead to a regional competition such as the Emerald Cup, then move on to Junior USA, USA, Junior Nationals and then Nationals.  The NPC is a national organization and, as such, encourages nation-wide participation. 

This rule applies to all divisions and all athletes.

The following rules governing the new Women's Physique Division will apply to all NPC Sanctioned competitions in the Alaska District.  These rules are taken directly from the National Rules Governing Women's Physique:

WOMENS PHYSIQUE (Updated 11/17/11)

DEFINITION:

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE DIVISION HAS BEEN CREATED TO GIVE A PLATFORM FOR WOMEN WHO ENJOY WEIGHT TRAINING, COMPETING, CONTEST PREPERATION. COMPETITORS SHOULD DISPLAY A TONED, ATHLETIC PHYSIQUE SHOWCASING FEMININITY, MUSCLE TONE, BEAUTY/FLOW OF PHYSIQUE.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE WILL BE JUDGED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

SYMMETRY, SHAPE, PROPORTION, MUSCLE TONE, POISE AND BEAUTY FLOW (PHYSIQUE ASSESSMENT AND COMPARISON WILL TAKE PLACE DURING PREJUDGING)

PHYSIQUE SHOULD DISPLAY ALL OF THE ABOVE CRITERIA WITHOUT COMPROMISING FEMININITY, BEAUTY/FLOW OF PHYSIQUE, ETC.

THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES OF COMMON TERMS USED IN THE BODYBUILDING INDUSTRY. THESE WORDS CAN BE HELPFUL TO ASSESS WHAT SHOULD NOT BE DESCRIPTIVE TO THE PHYSIQUES BEING JUDGED IN WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE: RIPPED, SHREDDED, PEELED, STRIATED, DRY, DICED, HARD, VASCULAR, GRAINY, MASSIVE, THICK, DENSE, ETC.

WHILE ALL TYPES OF PHYSIQUES WILL BE CONSIDERED WHEN IT COMES TO HEIGHT, WEIGHT, STRUCTURE, ETC. EXCESSIVE MUSCULARITY SHOULD BE SCORED DOWN ACCORDINGLY.

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE COMPETITORS SHOULD HAVE THE OVERALL AESTHETICS AND LOOK THAT IS FOUND IN FIGURE WITH A LITTLE MORE OVERALL MUSCULARITY.

JUDGING FORMAT:

PREJUDGING

INDIVIDUAL FREE POSING ROUTINE TO HOUSE MUSIC WITH 10 SECOND WARNING UP TO ONE MINUTE IN TIME. (Waived at Alaska NPC and Most other District local and regional competitions)

QUARTER TURNS

MANDATORY POSING COMPARISONS/ CALL-OUTS

FINALS

INDIVIDUAL POSING ROUTINE TO COMPETITOR'S MUSIC UP TO 90 SECONDS

WHO QUALIFIES FOR NATIONAL LEVEL WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE COMPETITIONS:

For 2012, the top three (3) in a national qualifying Women’s Physique contest will be qualified for the NPC USA and NPC National Championships.

The top five (5) will qualify for all other national contests including the NPC Junior USA, NPC Junior National, NPC Team Universe and IFBB North American Championships. At a non-qualifying contest, no athletes are qualified for a national contest.

RULES:

*SUITS WORN BY WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE COMPETITORS FOR PREJUDGING MUST BE A TWO PIECE. SUITS DO NOT HAVE TO BE SOLID IN COLOR. THE BOTTOM OF THE SUIT MUST BE V-SHAPED. NO THONGS ARE PERMITTED. COMPETITORS CAN COMPETE IN AN OFF THE RACK SUIT. ALL SUITS MUST BE IN GOOD TASTE.

*MANDATOTY POSES WILL BE PERFORMED WITH OPEN HAND STYLE AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING POSES:

FRONT DOUBLE BICEPS/OPEN HANDS (NO FLAT FOOTED FULL FRONT POSE – SOME SORT OF FRONT TWISTING POSE)

BACK DOUBLE BICEPS/OPEN HANDS

SIDE TRICEP WITH LEG EXTENDED

SIDE CHEST WITH ARMS EXTENDED

FRONT AB/THIGH

*FINALS ROUTINE WILL BE MAXIMUM 90 SECONDS IN LENGTH, PERFORMED TO MUSIC OF ATHLETES CHOICE ADHERING TO RULES SET FORTH BY THE NPC.

MUSIC CONTAINING PROFANITY OR EXPLICIT LANGUAGE SHOULD NOT BE USED AND MAY RESULT IN ROUTINE BEING CUT SHORT.

*NO PROPS WILL BE USED.

*NO HEELS MAY BE WORN AT ANY TIME DURING THE COMPETITON/JUDGING OF WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE.

CLASSES:

Promoters can choose to have one height class, two height classes, three height classes or four height classes.

For contests with two height classes:

Up to & including 5’6”

Over 5’6”

For contests with three height classes:

Up to & including 5’4”

Over 5’4” up to including 5’6”

Over 5’6”

For contests with four height classes:

Up to & including 5’2”

Over 5’2” up to including 5’4”

Over 5’4” up to including 5’6”

Over 5’6”

QUALIFYING FOR IFBB PROFESSIONAL STATUS:

NPC JUNIOR USA CHAMPIONSHIPS – Height Class Winners

NPC JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Height Class Winners

NPC TEAM UNIVERSE CHAMPIONSHIPS – Top 3 In Each Height Class

NPC MASTERS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – Height Class Winners

NPC USA CHAMPIONSHIPS – Top 2 In Each Height Class

IFBB NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – Top 2 In Each Height Class

NPC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Top 2 In Each Height Class

The NPC National Office has advised the following as of January 14, 2011:

Women's Physique will be held ONLY at the following competitions for 2011:

JR USA

JR NATIONALS

TEAM UNIVERSE

USA

NORTH AMERICAN NATIONALS

NO QUALIFICATION IS REQUIRED TO ENTER THESE EVENTS. NO CROSSOVERS PERMITTED.

WOMEN'S PHYSIQUE IS NOT PERMITTED AT ANY OTHER NPC EVENT FOR 2011.

The more I communicate with athletes around the State of Alaska, the more it becomes apparent to me that many do not understand the structure of the organization they are members of - the National Physique Committee. This is understandable since many athletes are newcomers to the sport and Alaska can be very isolated.  In this writing, I will break down and explain the structure of the NPC and try to clear up the various position and titles that are frequently tossed around in body building circles.

The Founding of the National Physique Committee

First and foremost it is important to understand how the NPC came into being. In the early days of sports in the United States the American Athletic Union (AAU) was the controlling authority for nearly all amateur athletic pursuits and qualifying through the AAU was the route to making it to an Olympic team. Around 1981, the NCAA petitioned Congress to break the AAU's monopoly over amateur sports in the United States under anti-monopoly laws and Congress did just that, ordering the AAU broken up into smaller organizations. The AAU remains the regulating body for some sports such as gymnastics but no longer has a monopoly.

Rather quickly, Jim Manion founded the NPC and deftly grew it into a national body which became the only amateur body building organization where athletes could qualify for professional status in the International Federation of Body Building (IFBB). The NPC remains today the only route to professional status in the IFBB and is the largest Amateur Body Building organization in the world, second only to the IFBB International League in size.

The National Structure of the National Physique Committee

The NPC is organized into specific areas of responsibility which include the National Office where the President, and Vice Presidents (known as the Board of Trustees) report. The U.S. is organized into zones or regions, each with a Chairperson. Alaska falls under the Northwest Zone, the Chairman of which is Brad Craig. 

Within the zones are districts or states. Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana fall within the Northwest Zone. Each district has a District Chairperson who may appoint a Vice Chair if the district is large enough to justify it. The District Chairpersons collectively make up what is known as the Board of Governors. Typical offices within a district are a Judging Coordinator and Male and Female Athlete Representatives.

Promoters Versus NPC Officials

Promoters are the people who organize competitions. Generally a person who wants to promote a body building competition will form a production company (Such as Alaska Muscle or Alaska Fit Productions in Alaska, or Craig Productions in Washington). If the promoter desires to have his competition sanctioned as an NPC event, he or she will apply for a sanction through the District Chairman's office. Once the sanction is approved, the event becomes officially sanctioned by the NPC which means the NPC will provide the judging panel and the promoter must run the competition according to NPC rules and guidelines. The production of the event is still the responsibility of the promoter and his or her staff which should include back stage and on stage expeditors, a master of ceremonies, pump up room assistants and other staff required to make the event run smoothly. These things are not the responsibility of the NPC. Also a major part of producing an event is generating publicity in order to insure good attendance and to keep the athletes and public informed.

Following is a chart which diagrams the National structure of the NPC

Taken from the official NPC website

www.npcnewsonline.com

WOMENS PHYSIQUE

DEFINITION:

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE DIVISION (HERIN REFERRED TO AS “WP”) HAS BEEN CREATED TO GIVE A PLATFORM FOR WOMEN WHO ENJOY WEIGHT TRAINING, COMPETING, CONTEST PREPERATION. COMPETITORS SHOULD DISPLAY A TONED, ATHLETIC PHYSIQUE SHOWCASING FEMININITY, MUSCLE TONE, BEAUTY/FLOW OF PHYSIQUE.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

WP WILL BE JUDGED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

* SYMMETRY, SHAPE, PROPORTION, MUSCLE TONE, POISE AND BEAUTY FLOW

*PHYSIQUE ASSESSMENT AND COMPARISON WILL TAKE PLACE DURING PREJUDGING

PHYSIQUE SHOULD DISPLAY ALL OF THE ABOVE CRITERIA WITHOUT COMPROMISING FEMININITY, BEAUTY/FLOW OF PHYSIQUE, ETC.

THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES OF COMMON TERMS USED IN THE BODYBUILDING INDUSTRY. THESE WORDS CAN BE HELPFUL TO ASSESS WHAT SHOULD NOT BE DESCRIPTIVE TO THE PHYSIQUES BEING JUDGED IN WP:

EX.) RIPPED, SHREDDED, PEELED, STRIATED, DRY, DICED, HARD, VASCULAR, GRAINY, MASSIVE, THICK, DENSE, ETC.

WHILE ALL TYPES OF PHYSIQUES WILL BE CONSIDERED WHEN IT COMES TO HEIGHT, WEIGHT, STRUCTURE, ETC. EXCESSIVE MUSCULARITY SHOULD BE SCORED DOWN ACCORDINGLY.

WP SHOULD BE JUDGED AS A STANDARD BETWEEN WOMEN’S FIGURE AND WOMENS BODYBUILDING.

JUDGING FORMAT:

PREJUDGING

INDIVIDUAL ONE MINUTE ROUTINE WITH 10 SECOND WARNING

QUARTER TURNS

MANDATORY POSING COMPARISONS/ CALLOUTS

FINALS

INDIVIDUAL POSING ROUTINE

AWARDS

Who qualifies for IFBB Professional League status – at Junior USA and Junior Nationals the top two (2) qualify for IFBB Professional League status, at all other National events including Team Universe, USA, IFBB North American and Nationals, the top three (3) will qualify for IFBB Professional League status. The NPC wants to set the standard for 2011 at the Junior Events and therefore only qualifying the top two (2).

RULES:

*SUITS WORN BY WP COMPETITORS FOR PREJUDGING MUST BE A TWO PIECE. SUITS DO NOT HAVE TO BE SOLID IN COLOR. THE BOTTOM OF THE SUIT MUST BE V-SHAPED. NO THONGS ARE PERMITTED. COMPETITORS CAN COMPETE IN AN OFF THE RACK SUIT. ALL SUITS MUST BE IN GOOD TASTE.

*MANDATOTY POSES WILL BE PERFORMED WITH OPEN HAND STYLE AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING POSES:

FRONT DOUBLE BICEPS/OPEN HANDS (NO FLAT FOOTED FULL FRONT POSE – SOME SORT OF FRONT TWISTING POSE)

BACK DOUBLE BICEPS/OPEN HANDS

SIDE TRICEP WITH LEG EXTENDED

SIDE CHEST WITH ARMS EXTENDED

FRONT AB/THIGH

*FINALS ROUTINE WILL BE MAXIMUM 90 SECONDS IN LENGTH, PERFORMED TO MUSIC OF ATHLETES CHOICE ADHERING TO RULES SET FORTH BY THE NPC.

MUSIC CONTAINING PROFANITY OR EXPLICIT LANGUAGE SHOULD NOT BE USED AND MAY RESULT IN ROUTINE BEING CUT SHORT.

*NO PROPS WILL BE USED.

*NO HEELS MAY BE WORN AT ANY TIME DURING THE COMPETITON/JUDGING OF WP.

.