2000 NPC Teen, Collegiate, Masters Nationals Information By Jim Manion - NPC President

Except for a one year hiatus, NPC Pennsylvania district chairman Dr. Gary Udit has been promoting the annual NPC Teenage, Collegiate, Masters National Bodybuilding Championships and NPC Pennsylvania Fitness Championships since 1995. This contest has seen quite a few changes along the way, among them, the division of the Masters Men Over 50 into two weight classes due to the high volume of competitors entered, plus affording the overall Masters Men Over 40 winner to turn professional with the IFBB! That will continue again in 2000. As the entry states, The NPC Masters Men Over 40 National Championships overall winner is eligible to turn professional and compete in the IFBB Professional Masters Division. Over 50 competitors are eligible to crossover to compete in the Masters Men Over 40. New for the millennium is the addition of a Teenage Women's National Fitness Championships. Never before has there been an event tailored specifically for the 13 to 17 year old age group of up and coming women teenage fitness athlete's. There will be one class and two rounds. The rounds will consist of a one piece bathing suit round and a two minute fitness routine. The past two years, the Teenage Men's overall winner has been honored with his own feature right here in the pages of FLEX Magazine. That will be the case again this year when FLEX will fly the overall winner of the Teenage Men's National Bodybuilding Championships to Los Angeles. He will train at Gold's Gym in Venice, visit the Weider offices in Woodland Hills and participate in a photo shoot to be run in a future issue of FLEX. Not to be outdone, sister publication Muscle & Fitness will be focusing on the collegiate competitors. They can get noticed and possibly featured in a future issue of Muscle & Fitness' "Big Muscles On Campus" annual feature. As stated in the April 2000 issue of the magazine, a handful of the winners selected for the layout were first noticed competing in the NPC Collegiate National Bodybuilding Championships. Each person selected will be treated to their own Muscle & Fitness photo shoot. The date for this year's event will be July 21 and 22 in Pittsburgh, PA. Guest posers will be IFBB pro Mike Matarazzo and IFBB pro fitness competitor Adela Friedmansky. The site will again be the Grand Ballroom, Sheraton Hotel - Station Square, which will also serve as the host hotel. Call (412) 261-2000 for reservations at the Sheraton - Station Square. Be sure to mention "NPC Bodybuilding Contest" for Special Contest rates. The deadline for the Special Contest rate is June 30, 2000. Rooms will not be available after this date. Please reserve your rooms early! Some important information is listed below; BODYBUILDING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS All contestants must be registered as athletes with the computer service of the NPC National Physique Committee as of June 23, 2000. For an application, contact the NPC at PO Box 3711, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230, (412) 276-5027. BODYBUILDERS MAY NOT REGISTER FOR AN NPC CARD ON THE DAY OF THE CONTEST. You MUST be a U.S. citizen to enter this event and proof MUST be sent with entry (copy of birth certificate, voter registration, or military discharge). You MUST NOT be currently under suspension by the NPC. In order to qualify for this event bodybuilding competitors need only to have entered a previous NPC contest, no matter the year, no matter the placement, no matter the category - Teen, Novice, Collegiate, Masters, Open, etc. ENTRY DEADLINE All entries must be post marked no later than Saturday, June 30, 2000. PENNSYLVANIA WOMEN'S FITNESS COMPETITOR'S ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS All contestants register as athletes with the NPC - National Physique Committee. For an application, contact the NPC at PO Box 3711, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230, (412) 276-5027. YOU MAY REGISTER FOR AN NPC CARD ON THE DAY OF THE CONTEST. THE FEE IS $50.00. The Pennsylvania Women's Fitness Championships is an open event. Anyone is eligible to enter. Fitness contestants are not obligated to be a US citizen to enter this event. You MUST NOT be currently under suspension by the NPC. Fitness competitors need no prior placing in contests to qualify for this event. PROOF OF AGE AND STUDENT STATUS Teenager's, (19 years of age and under as of the date of the contest for all bodybuilding events and 17 years of age and under as of the date of the contest for women's fitness), must submit proof of age with entry. Masters Men, (40 years of age or older, 50 years of age or older and 60 years of age or older as of the date of the contest), must submit proof of age with entry. Masters Women, (35 years of age or older and 50 years of age or older as of the date of the contest), must submit proof of age with entry. Proof of age is best accomplished by birth certificate or voter registration. Collegiate entrants, (there are no age limitations), must submit documentation from a university or college attesting to their student status. Collegiate's must submit documentation from a university or college that at the time of the contest they will have just finished courses, are currently taking courses or are registered to take courses in the following semester. Part-time students are eligible. ENTRY FEE: $65.00 for each bodybuilding competitor. Add $30.00 for crossovers. $30.00 for Pennsylvania Women's Fitness Championships competitor. CHECK-IN/WEIGH-IN: SHERATON HOTEL - STATION SQUARE Thursday, July 20, 2000 - Optional Early Weigh-In - Teens, Collegiate - 7:00 - 8:00 p.m., Masters - 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. Friday, July 21, 2000 - Teens: 1:00 - 1:45 p.m. Collegiate: 1:45 - 2:30 p.m. Masters: 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Women's Fitness Competitors: 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Friday, 6:00 p.m. Mandatory Competitor Meeting: Teens/Collegiate Bodybuilding and Women's Fitness. Friday, 7:00 p.m. Prejudging: Teens/Collegiate Bodybuilding and Women's Fitness. Saturday, 9:00 a.m. Mandatory Competitor Meeting: Masters. Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Prejudging: Masters. Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Mandatory Competitor Meeting: Teens/Collegiate/Masters/Women's Fitness. Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Finals: Teens/Collegiate/Masters/Women's Fitness TICKET PRICES PRE-JUDGING: Friday, 7:00 p.m. - Teens/Collegiate Bodybuilding and Women's Fitness - $15.00 (Open Seating). Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - Masters Bodybuilding - $15.00 (Open Seating). FINALS: Saturday, 6:00 p.m. - Teens/Collegiate/Masters/Women's Fitness - $20.00/$25.00 (All Seats Reserved). FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING ELIGIBILITY AND ACCEPTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT: WOMEN: Sandy Ranalli; P.O. Box 70043; Riverside, CA, 92513, phone: (909) 688-3886. MEN and FITNESS WOMEN: Dr. Gary Udit; P.O. Box 23294; Pittsburgh, Pa., 15222, phone: (412) 481-9129 or e-mail: gudit@stargate.net As if promoting this national event isn't enough, the good doctor is branching out in September to promote the first annual IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Fitness on the 29th and 30th. The contest will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in the heart of Pittsburgh's cultural district. Such top IFBB competitors as the aforementioned Friedmansky, Susie Curry, Timea Majorova and Jenny Worth have expressed interest in competing here. The catch is that it's just three weeks prior to the 2000 IFBB Fitness Olympia and is the last show to qualify for that event. But that's not all that's going to be happening. Debuting will be the first annual NPC Northeast Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, the Eastcoast Strongman Championships plus the first annual Pittsburgh Sports and Fitness Expo 2000. The trade show will have 450 available booths plus feature interactive sports to involve the entire family, including a Kids Zone. This is just a small sampling of all that will be featured. The expo will run on Friday, September 29th from 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.; Saturday, September 30th from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, October 1st from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Information about the IFBB and NPC events can be obtained from Dr. Udit, while information about the expo can be obtained from him, or by contacting Pittsburgh Sports and Fitness Expo, Inc.; P.O. Box 16008; Pittsburgh, PA, 15242, calling (412) 682-3976, fax: (412) 682-7806 or visiting their web site at www.pghsportexpo.com. It sure looks as if Dr. Udit will be keeping the city of Pittsburgh jumping with these two spectacular bodybuilding and fitness events. As the tag line on the expo flyer states, "You just gotta be here!"