THE 2013 IFBB NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS WRAP-UP
When you think about shows
and competitions, a name that seems to go hand-in-hand with them is that of promoter Gary Udit. When you think about the North American Championships, you think of a huge event with hundreds of competitors from Canada, Mexico and the United States looking for another opportunity to win the coveted IFBB Pro Card.
The North American Championships are well known for an extremely large registration, as well as the handing out of numerous IFBB Pro Cards to several competitors in the various classes. So how does one put into words and wrap up one of the biggest competitions to date put on by promoter Gary Udit? Yes, the 2013 North American Championships was the largest show to date with a record number of 845 competitors registered and with crossovers, 1,200!
On Friday, August 30 and Saturday, August 31, 2013, the Sheraton in Station Square, Pittsburgh was transformed into its own version of "Muscle Beach East". Here, the hundreds of competitors anxiously waited for their division and class to be announced, so that they could step on stage and present their best physique to the judges in hopes of winning their IFBB Pro Card.
The event was split over the two days with Bikini, Fitness, Physique (both Men's and Women's) and Women's Bodybuilding taking place on Day 1 pre-judging and finals and then Day 2 was dedicated to Figure and Men's Bodybuilding pre-judging and finals. Due to the extremely large turn-out of competitors, shifts had been made in the schedule to accommodate the numbers with hopes of everything running as close to the original schedule and timeline as possible.
Day 1, it seemed, hosted the majority of the competitors, leaving only 20 minutes roughly from the end of pre-judging to the start of the finals. But what made this event even more unique, was that it was set up as two competitions, described on garyudit.com as, “The most comfortrable contest format in the country! Two completely separate events!”
With the classes and divisions doing their pre-judging and finals on the same day, and placing certain classes together, it enabled fans and supporters a choice to watch the classes they preferred and also guaranteed that the venue would be packed on both days.
With the various classes and divisions ranging from one to 30+ competitors in a class and upwards to seven classes for each division, there were numerous choices for the judges to go through and decide who would win one of the almost 100 IFBB Pro Cards. The judges had their work cut out for them and it was going to be a challenging task to pick 100 new IFBB Pros from the 845 competitors.
The 2013 North American Championships awarded IFBB Pro Cards in the following categories and divisions:
IFBB PRO QUALIFIERS
IFBB Pro cards are awarded to the following placings:
· Fitness Open - Class winners
· Figure Open - Class winners 
· Figure Over 35 - Class winners
· Figure Over 45 - Class winners
· Figure Over 55 - Class winners
· Bikini Open - Class winners
· Bikini Over 35 - Class winners
· Bikini Over 45 - Class winners
· Men Physique Open, Over 35 and Over 40 - Top 2 in each Height Class
· Women Physique Open, Over 35 and Over 45 - Top 2 in each Height Class
· Women BB Open and Over 35 - Overall winners
· Men BB Open - Top 3 placings in the Overall
· Men BB Over 35, Over 40, Over 50 and Over 60 - Overall winners
One highlight of the night had to be seeing competitor Barbie Thomas in Fitness/Figure take to the stage. While many would see not having arms as a disability, Barbie dispelled by stepping on stage and competing her "able" bodied competitors. It was a moment of pride and accomplishment, as well as an eye-opener for those who feel that they cannot do it or don’t have what it takes to compete.
This event, with the record number of competitors, all the judges, sponsors, media, fans and supports, proved that promoter Gary Udit had done it again. As with any event, there will be hiccups along the way, but all in all, it can be said that Gary Udit runs a great show and it will only get better and bigger in years to come.
Monday, September 2, Gary Udit had posted on his social media the following:
"The 2013 IFBB GNC NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS was the biggest EVER! Today's task is to start working on the 2014 edition. We've already made changes to take it up another notch! Thank you to all of the 845 athletes, sponsors, judges and fans who chose to make the trip to Pittsburgh!"
Overall, the IFBB North American Championships brought out many familiar faces that have graced that stage numerous times, as well as many that were competing for the first time. Well known coaches became competitors, well known competitors were back to hold their title, all with the hopes of winning an IFBB Pro Card. After all the smiles, glitter, crystals, posing routines and mandatories were done, the judges awarded IFBB Pro Cards to the following:
Men's Bodybuilding:
Earned Pro Card:
Alejandro Cambronero
Akim Williams
Julius Page
Brad Davis
Doug Dolphin
Anthony Costa
Overall:
Akim Williams
Alejandro Cambronero
Julius Page
Women's Bodybuilding:
Earned Pro Card:
GleneseMarkes
Christine Sabo
Overall:
Glenese Markes
Women's - Masters Over 35 Overall:
Christine Sabo
Men's Physique:
Earned Pro Card Men - Overall:
Tyler Stines
Master Over 35 - Overall:
Willie Spencer
Master Over 40 - Overall:
Willie Spencer
Men's Physique (Top 2 in each height class):
Class A:
Ronald Boyden
Mike Bala
Class B:
Tyler Stines
Phillip Williams
Class C:
Robert Ortiz
Derrick Yuvienco
Class D:
George Brown
Emmanuel Banks
Class E:
Anthony Perez
Brian Hay
Class F:
Joe Canta
Jacques Lewis
Women's Physique:
Earned Pro Card Women - Overall:
Desunka Dawson
Women - Masters Over 35 - Overall:
Holly Chambliss
Women - Masters Over 45 - Overall:
Lisa Grass
Women's Physique (Top 2 in each height class):
Class A:
Tish Shelton
RoselaJoseph
Class B:
Natasha Marks
Lisa Grasso
Class C:
Desunka Dawson
Shelly Yakimchuck
Class D:
Kiim Kosmas
Shannon Byers
Fitness:
Earned Pro Card:
Kimberly Stroup
Natalie Graziano
Fitness - Overall:
Kimberly Stroup
Figure:
Earned Pro Card:
Susana Rivas
Meg Kruse
Kristine Wilkes
Melissa Transou
Lisa Tanker-Potts
Tamen 
Stuve
Holly Mitchell
Erin Ehrlich
Silvia Grant
Christina Reed
Angela Jorge
Kimberly Moore
Veronica Jackson
Samantha Rioux
Lisandra McGrath
Jacqueline Timerlake
Rebecca Eger
GeranysVillalona
Renee Lyman
Figure - Overall:
Erin Ehrlich
Figure Masters Over 35 - Overall:
Holly Mitchell
Figure Masters Over 45 - Overall:
Jacqueline Timerlake
Figure Masters Over 55 - Overall:
Meg Kruse
Crystal Nelson
Jennifer Burger
Kat Ciresi
Lisa Kelly
Jessica Landry
Lisa Perry
Terri Krevitz
Michelle Mein
Jessica James
ShernikaSpeights
Erika Rivera Barbara Gonzales
Ronda Porter
Cheryl Band
Overall:
Barbara Gonzales
Masters Over 35 - Overall:
Ronda Porter
Masters Over 45 - Overall:
Jennifer Burger
Bikini:
Earned Pro Card:
Crystal Nelson
Jennifer Burger
Kat Ciresi
Lisa Kelly
Jessica Landry
Lisa Perry
Terri Krevitz
Michelle Mein
Jessica James
ShernikaSpeights
Erika Rivera
Barbara Gonzales
Ronda Porter
Cheryl Band
Overall:
Barbara Gonzales
Masters Over 35 - Overall:
Ronda Porter
Masters Over 45 - Overall:
Jennifer Burger
Congratulations to all of the competitors from Canada, Mexico and the United States on their efforts and for representing their country in their chosen class. You are seen as the best of the best and you stepped on stage with the best of North America.
Also, congratulations to all of the new IFBB Pros on their win and earning the coveted IFBB Pro Card. You are now joining a group of elite international competitors and embarking on the next chapter of your competitive career. No matter what the outcome was of this weekend and what the final results were, all of the competitors that took to the North American Championships stage earned their place on that stage and hopefully will take this as another opportunity for growth and as motivation to keep striving to be better than before.
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