Whether
you’ve competed before, or you are just thinking about competing, the
one question everyone wants to know is “what do the judges want?”
Recently, I went to a seminar led by judges from our region in hopes
of finding the answer. Here is what I learned – and what I didn’t.
10 Things A Competitor Should Know
1. Make your first few steps count. First
impressions are EVERYTHING. One of the first things the judges said is
they can tell if you are winner as soon as you step on stage. So, as
soon as you are in view, the judging begins. Your first step should be
just as strong and confident as your final one. Your smile should
already be on, your posture should already be rocking, and your attitude
should already be in play. Many competitors practice all their moves
for center stage, but neglect practicing their walk and transitions
(moving around in comparisons, etc) – and it shows. Don’t wait to nail
your favorite pose, win them over in your first few steps.
2. Pose to look good from 5 feet below. Judges
reminded competitors and coaches they are normally 4-5 feet below the
stage. What may look symmetrical in front of a mirror, may not look the
same from the bottom of the stage. This means, when you face away from
the judges and bend over to stretch out your butt crease, you may giving
the judges more than they want to see. The judges suggest trainers sit
on the floor while coaching their athletes, or competitors practice on a
platform to get the most accurate view of each pose.
3. Stand naturally. Judges
prefer competitors look natural. They don’t want a bodybuilder lat
spread, and stiff hands that look like you are pointing a fake gun at
everyone. They want competitors to stand tall and proud, maintaining a
tight core while having relaxed arms and soft hands. I admit, it does
look a lot better – unless you have a flaw that needs hiding. In that
case, I suggest you do what you think makes your body look its best.
Some of the most common mistakes were winged arms, flared lats, poor
posture, forward shoulders, downward chin (showing insecurity), severe
bent-over glute pose, torqued waistlines and awkward stances.
I picked out a few pictures online, from both bikini and figure
competitions, to help clarify what they are not wanting – as well as
show you what they want, which is demonstrated beautifully above by this
woman in the blue suit. Refer to the very first photo in this blog to
see how to make corrections.
4. Don’t resort to poses made popular by people who were trying to hide flaws.
Some competitors will twist more at the waist to hide width, or bend
more at the hips when showing their rear pose to get rid of lose skin.
However, if you don’t need to do these poses, then don’t do them. The
judges prefer you stand normal with arms down to the side and only
lifted slightly. In many ways, posing is smoke and mirrors trickery.
But, it is always best to stand and walk as naturally as possible, while
posing in a way that flatters you most. This is just my opinion, but
based on what the judges said, I’d venture to say the girl with the legs
crossed is fit enough to stand normal, as well as the girl with her
legs awkwardly spread out wide. Of course, if you need to cross your
legs, go for it – but if you’ve got the total package, stand comfortably
in it and leave the awkward poses for the people who need it.
Since presentation is everything, a person who well-hides their flaws
still have a great chance to beat out a hot body who lacks confidence
and is missing other elements, so don’t be discouraged if you have to
use the alternative poses. I think their whole point is not to do them
if they aren’t necessary.
5. Be original.
Just because someone else does something, doesn’t mean you have to.
Choose your walk, suit, hair, style, poses and sign-offs that fit your
own personality – not someone else’s. The judges love it when a person’s
unique personality comes through. Some girls are girlie, some are
sassy, some are classy, some are a bit sexy (but be careful on this
one), and some are bouncy and fun. The key to your success is choosing
what looks best on you, going with your own personal style, and going
with it 110%. Remember, they see competitors alllll the time – so give
them something fresh and new to look at!
6. Avoid the awkward side glide.
No one really enjoys walking away from someone while in a bathing suit,
knowing your butt is bouncing all over the place – but what looks even
more ridiculous is someone obviously trying to walk away from you while
forcing their body to face forward. The same goes with people walking
out on stage. Side-gliding across the stage looks funny. It’s natural to
point your body in the direction it is going. I only wish I could have
found a photo to demonstrate this ridiculous looking walk, but I came up
empty handed – so you just get this crazy quarter turn side pose (which
I’m sure the judges would hammer by the way).
They key to looking natural is practice, practice, practice! When you
are walking on stage, you can still face your head toward the audience,
while looking natural walking across the stage. If you want to avoid
bouncing your bottom across the stages in front of the judges, you can
still limit the time your body may have it’s back to the crowd while
walking, but you need to do it in a way where know one notices. So
practice how you would get on and off stage, how you would change places
in comparisons, and how you will return to the back if asked to step to
the side.
7. Bring your attitude – and if you don’t have one, act like you do. Have
you ever wondered why the guy or girl that looks like they have enough
attitude to go around (even if they appear a little TOO confident)
always wins? Well, after this seminar, it was clear the judges want
confident competitors. So, while the cockiness may be a complete turn
off to me, the judges will take a confident cocky competitor over a
pretty, but bashful, one. And, if you lack confidence, they suggest you
fake it. This is when acting skills become very valuable. 99% of the
crowd has no idea who you are, or what your real personality is, so
bring your alter ego to the show and leave Little Miss Shy at home.
8. Your posing suit won’t win the show for you.
If you thought you needed to spend $500 on a suit to win, think again.
The judges said there is no reason to spend a bunch of money on blinging
out your million dollar suit – especially if you aren’t blinging out
your body. I’d suggest spending the money on the things that matter most
– like good training and a professional tan (the judges highly
recommend getting sprayed at the show). As for the suit, its primary
purpose is to have the right shape that flatters your physique. All the
extra bling is just that – extra. This doesn’t mean you go pick up a
bathing suit at Kmart, but it does mean that you shouldn’t let a pricey
suit get in the way of competing. While overall presentation is super
important, no one will notice that you have 100 less rhinestones than
the next person – especially if you have the most rocking body! 2012
Bikini Olympia Champion, Nathalia Melo, (pictured here) proves a simple suit can still look like a million dollars.
9. You’re a bikini athlete, not a victoria secret model. One
of the judges actually made a comment in the seminar that they wish
they could just pop the heads off and judge their bodies. While I do
understand the point they are trying to make (and realize the focus is
on the body) the way you style your hair, wear your make-up, and express
yourself through facial expressions is also a big part of your
appearance and attitude. Although we can’t pop off your heads (sorry,
you are stuck with it), what you choose to do with it still matters in
my opinion.
What I believe the judges meant was this. When choosing your hair
style, you shouldn’t be constantly trying to flip and rearrange your
hair, or allow it to cover your body. They same way you don’t want your
hair to be a distraction, your makeup should not be distracting either.
Your make-up should enhance your natural beauty – not take over your
face like a rhinestoned leaper. Most importantly, don’t spend a ton of
money and energy on the extras. The judges aren’t judging how natural
your extensions look or noticing the stones on your false eyelashes.
10. Be YOUR best.
The judges explained that they never know ahead of time what will win a
show. What they meant was, if a bunch of hard girls show up, the winner
will most likely be hard. If a bunch of soft girls show up, the winner
will be most likely soft. This was super frustrating to me. Since I have
seen how much judging can fluctuate from show to show, this is what
we’ve always told our competitors. Choose ahead of time what YOU want to
look like. Personally, I’d rather a competitor lose because they are
too lean, than too soft. At least, even if you don’t win, you didn’t
lose because you were too fat and deconditioned.
Before you compete, you need to decide WHY you are competing. Are you
doing it to force yourself to diet and train hard? Are you doing it as a
science experiment, to see what you can do with your physique? Are you
doing it to win a trophy or get “discovered”? I would venture to say
most competitors are doing it to look their best – and all the rest is
the icing on the fat-free high-protein cake. Of course we would all like
to look THE best, but that is a bit relative – so I suggest you just
focus on looking YOUR best, and if the judges agree…BONUS!
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