Classic Bodybuilding for women, as for men, responds to the increasing demand for competitions for women who prefer, unlike today’s current bodybuilders, to develop a less muscular, yet athletic and aesthetically pleasing physique.
Categories
In Classic Bodybuilding, there are two categories as follows:
Up to and including 163 cm:
Maximum weight (in kg) = height (in cm) – 108
e.g. a competitor who is 162 cm in height may weigh a maximum of 54 kg.
Over 163 cm:
For competitors with a body height of over 163 cm:
Maximum weight (in kg) = height (in cm) – 106
e.g. a competitor who is 170 cm in height may weight a maximum of 64 kg, a competitor who is 175 cm in height may weigh a maximum of 69 kg.
*Note: If a competitor does not meet the height/weight requirement, she is disqualified.
Rounds
Womens Classic Bodybuilding consists of the following three rounds:
1. Prejudging: Round 1 - Quarter Turns and Mandatory Poses.
2. Finals: Round 2 - Posing Routine
3. Finals: Round 3 - Mandatory Poses and Posedown
Preliminary Assessment
A Preliminary Assessment is held when there are more than 15 competitors in a category and is carried out as follows, under the direction of the Chief Judge/Expediter:
1. The entire line-up is brought onstage, in numerical order and in a single line.
2. The line-up is divided into two equal-size groups and is positioned onstage so that one group is to the left of the stage; the other group is to the right of the stage. The centre portion of the stage is left open for comparison purposes.
3. In numerical order, and in groups of not more than five competitors at a time, each group is directed to the centre-stage area to perform the following four Mandatory Poses:
a. Front Double Biceps
b. Side Chest
c. Back Double Biceps
d. Side triceps
e. Abdominals and Thighs
4. On completion of the Mandatory Poses, the entire line-up is reformed into a single line, in numerical order, before exiting the stage.
Scoring of the Preliminary Assessment:
The scoring for the Preliminary Assessment is carried out as follows:
1. If there are more than 21 competitors, the judges shall select the top 15 competitors by placing an “X” beside their numbers.
2. If there are 16 to 21 competitors, the judges shall eliminate 1 to 6 competitors by placing an “X” beside their numbers.
3. Only the top 15 competitors advance to Round 1.
Attire:
Female competitors will wear bikinis of a solid, non-distracting colour which must conform to accepted standards of taste and decency. The bikini will reveal the abdominal muscles as well as the lower back muscles. The bikini bottom must cover at least one-half of the gluteus maximus. The fastenings of the bikini will be plain, with no attached ornamentation. Metallic materials, such as gold or silver lamé, may not be used to make up the bikini. The use of padding anywhere in the bikini is prohibited.
Attire for Round 1 (Quarter Turns and Mandatory Poses):
The attire for Round 1 is a bikini, which must conform to the following criteria:
1. Plain opaque in style.
2. Solid black in colour.
3. Cloth fabric in material (no plastic, rubberized, or similar material).
4. Matt in texture (no shiny material).
5. No ornamentation, frills, lacework edges and/or borders.
6. At least 2 cm high on the sides and covering a minimum of one-half of the gluteus maximus and all of the frontal area.
7. No footwear.
8. No jewellery or other accessories, except for a wedding ring.
Presentation of Round 1 (Quarter Turns and Mandatory Poses):
Round 1 is carried out as follows, under the direction of the Chief
Judge/Expediter:
1. The entire line-up is called onstage, in a single line and in numerical order.
2. The line-up is divided into two equal-size groups and is positioned onstage so that one group is to the left of the stage; the other group is to the right of the stage. The centre portion of the stage is left open for comparison purposes.
3. In numerical order, and in groups of no more than five competitors at a time, each group is directed to the centre-stage area to perform the following four Quarter Turns and four Mandatory Poses:
a. Quarter Turn Right
b. Quarter Turn Back
c. Quarter Turn Right
d. Quarter Turn Front
4. This initial grouping of competitors, and performance of the four Quarter Turns, is intended to assist the judges in determining which competitors take part in the comparisons of the Mandatory Poses.
5. Judges may now submit individual requests for comparisons of the Mandatory Poses to the Chief Judge/Expediter. No less than three and no more than five competitors are to be compared at any one time. The Chief Judge/Expediter has the discretion to discard or amend a judge’s individual request for comparisons if warranted.
6. All individual comparisons are to be carried out centre-stage and in the order, from left to right, as requested by the judge.
7. All judges are given the opportunity to submit at least one request for comparisons. Any additional requests are at the discretion of the Chief Judge/Expediter.
8. All competitors undergo at least one comparison.
9. On completion of the last comparison, the entire line-up is reformed into a single line, in numerical order, before exiting the stage.
10. The five Mandatory Poses are as follows:
a. Front Double Biceps
b. Side Chest
c. Back Double Biceps
d. Side Triceps
e. Abdominals and Thighs
Scoring of Round 1 (Quarter Turns and Mandatory Poses):
The scoring of Round 1 is carried out as follows:
1. Each judge awards each competitor an individual placing, ensuring that no two or more competitors receive the same placing.
2. With nine judges, two high and two low scores are discarded. The remaining scores are summed to produce a “Round 1 Subscore” and a “Round 1 Placing”.
3. Ties in the “Round 1 Subscore” are broken using the Relative Placement method.
4. The top 6 competitors advance to the Finals (Round 2 and Round 3).
Assessing Round 1 (Quarter Turns and Mandatory Poses):
Round 1 is assessed using the following criteria:
1. The judge should first assess the overall female athletic appearance of the physique. This assessment should begin at the head and extend downwards, taking the whole physique into account. The assessment, beginning with the general impression of the physique, should take into consideration the hair and facial features; the overall athletic development of the musculature; the presentation of a balanced, symmetrically developed physique; the condition of the skin and the skin tone; and the athlete’s ability to present onstage with confidence.
2. During the comparisons of the Mandatory Poses, the judge should first look at the primary muscle group being displayed. The judge should then survey the whole physique, starting from the head, and looking at every part of the physique in a downward sequence, beginning with general impressions, and looking for muscular bulk, balanced development, muscular density and definition. The downward survey should take in the head, neck, shoulders, chest, all of the arm muscles, front of the trunk for pectorals, pec-delt tie-in, abdominals, waist, thighs, legs, calves and feet. The same procedure for back poses will also take in the upper and lower trapezius, teres and infraspinatus, erector spinae, the gluteus group, the leg biceps group at the back of the thighs, calves, and feet. A detailed assessment of the various muscle groups should be made during the comparisons, at which time the judge has to compare muscle shape, density, and definition while still bearing in mind the competitor’s overall balanced development. The comparisons of the compulsory poses cannot be over-emphasized as these comparisons will help the judge to decide which competitor has the superior physique from the standpoint of athletic balanced development, muscular density and definition.
3. The physique should be assessed as to the level of overall muscle tone, achieved through athletic endeavours. The muscle groups should have a round and firm appearance with a small amount of body fat.
4. The assessment should also take into consideration the tightness and tone of the skin. The skin tone should be smooth and healthy in appearance.
5. The judge’s assessment of the athlete’s physique should include the athlete’s entire presentation, from the moment she walks onstage until the moment she walks offstage. At all times the competitor must be viewed with the emphasis on a “healthy, fit, athletic-looking muscular physique, in an attractively presented total package”.
Attire for Round 2 (Posing Routines):
The attire for Round 2 is a bikini, which must conform to the following criteria:
1. Colour, material, texture at the discretion of the competitor.
2. No ornamentation, frills, lacework edges and/or borders.
3. At least 2 cm high on the sides and covering a minimum of one-half of the gluteus maximus and all of the frontal area.
4. No footwear.
5. No jewellery or other accessories, except for a wedding ring.
6. No props.
Presentation of Round 2 (Posing Routines):
Only the top 6 competitors from Round 1 advance to Round 2.
Round 2 is carried out as follows, under the direction of the Chief
Judge/Expediter:
1. The top 6 finalists are brought onstage, in a single line and in numerical order. Each competitor is introduced by number, name and country. The competitors then exit the stage to prepare for their posing routines.
2. Each competitor is called onstage, individually and in numerical order, to perform a posing routine to music of her own choice. The maximum length of the routine is 60 seconds.
Scoring of Round 2 (Posing Routines):
The scores for Round 1 are used only to place the competitors from 1st to 15th and to determine the top 6 finalists who then advance to Round 2 and Round 3. The top 6 finalists start the finals with zero points. The scoring of Round 2 is carried out as follows:
1. Each judge awards each competitor an individual placing, ensuring that no two or more competitors receive the same placing.
2. With nine judges, two high and two low scores are discarded. The remaining scores are summed to produce the “Round 2 Subscore”.
3. Round 2 shall have a weight of one-third of the final score, or 33%.
*Note: there is no need to immediately resolve ties in the “Round 2 Subscore” as this must be added to the “Round 3 Subscore” to produce a “Final Score”.
Assessing Round 2 (Posing Routines):
Round 2 is assessed using the following criteria:
1. Each judge assesses the posing routine with a view towards the display of muscularity, definition, style, personality, athletic coordination and overall performance. Judges look for a smooth, artistic, and well-choreographed routine, which may include any number of poses; however, the Mandatory Poses must be included. The competitor must also include intermittent poses so as to display the muscular development of his physique. Lying flat on the posing platform, “moon” poses, and pulling the posing attire so as to display the top inside of the quadriceps or the gluteus maximus is prohibited.
2. The use of props is prohibited. The judges are reminded that, during this round, they are judging the routine and the physique.
Attire for the Round 3 (Mandatory Poses and Posedown):
The attire for Round 3 is the same as Round 2.
Presentation of Round 3 (Mandatory Poses and Posedown):
Round 3 is carried out as follows, under the direction of the Chief
Judge/Expediter:
1. The top 6 finalists are brought onstage, in a single line and in numerical order, and are directed to perform the five Mandatory Poses, as a group and at the same time, in the middle, left and right stage areas.
2. The top 6 finalists then perform a 60-second Posedown to music of the Organizer’s own choice.
3. After the Posedown, the top 6 finalists are reformed into a single line, in numerical order, before exiting the stage.
Scoring of Round 3 (Mandatory Poses and Posedown):
The scoring of Round 3 is carried out as follows:
1. Only the Mandatory Poses are scored; the Posedown is not scored.
2. Each judge awards each competitor an individual placing, ensuring that no two or more competitors receive the same placing.
3. With nine judges, two high and two low scores are discarded. The remaining scores are summed to produce a “Round 3 Subscore”.
4. The “Round 3 Subscore” is added to the “Round 2 Subscore”
to produce a “Final Score” and “Final Placing”.
5. Should a tie occur in the “FINAL SCORE”, the tie shall be broken in favor of the competitor with the better “RD3 SUBSCORE”. If the “RD3 SUBSCORE” is tied, the tie shall be broken using the “Relative Placement” method and using the athlete’s Round 3 scores.
6. Round 3 shall have a weight of two-thirds of the final score, or 67%. To achieve this, the Round 3 scores shall be doubled by the statistician.
Assessing Round 3 (Mandatory Poses and Posedown):
Round 3 is assessed using the same criteria as detailed in “Assessing Round 1”.
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