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ELECTRICITY WAS IN THE AIR
When I was called to cover the 2006 Shannon Dey fitness & figure classic, I thought to myself oh great another competition. Reluctantly I pack my laptop with care and threw a few clothes and my note pad in a bag and off I went on my eight hour journey to Panama City, Florida.. I arrived in Panama City at my hotel and from the start I knew the show had been put together correctly. The hotel was perfect, right on the beautiful gulf of Mexico and literally five minutes from the auditorium where the show was to take place. I checked in and met the photographer I was to cover the show with, much to my surprise it was Walt Ostarly one of the hottest new photographers to come on the seen in a long time, and let me tell you he seems to have his mark on a bit of everything these days, American Curves Mag, Planet Muscle Mag as well as his images appearing in various major supplement company ads. Walt was the next thing that made me realize that covering this show was going to be a bit of fun.
Walt and I head over to the check-in and meet Shannon Dey, this girl is a pleasure to speak with personality plus. Shannon introduces us to a few of the girls checking in and now the fun begins…Walt and I picked out a few competitors (Elisha Archibold, Stephanie Larkin, Jamie Gunn, Gina Ostarly & Christine Mascia) at the check-in, we will watch these girls from start to finish to see how our selections would fare with the judges. The next morning off to pre-judging we go ready to see the rest of the competitors and meet the judges. While waiting for the pre-judging to begin we interview
Robin Tesuich a beautiful lady that with her New Orleans accent made me long to visit the French Quarter. Robin an NPC Judge, Promoter of the Greater Gulf States and USA Wheelchair Shows in Metarie, Louisiana held in late June, the show was canceled this year due to the Hurricane but I am sure it will be back next year stronger than ever. Robin was a total pleasure to speak with and gave us a bit of in sight on NPC figure judging, she says when two competitors are close she goes for the total package including confidence and beauty on stage.
(info: www.NPCGGS.com)
As the competitors file out onto the stage for class A figure I noticed very quickly we had a very diverse group from seasoned to beginners but none the less a good group of girls. At first glance Cheryl Spinose #26 is a complete standout in this group and as we expected goes on the win first place in the A division.
Rounding out the top three:
1st place Cheryl Spinose
2nd place Misty Tidmore
3rd place Lisa Brown
As class B one of the larger classes of this show made their way onto the stage we noticed this group was a bit tighter than the A class, the definite standouts were Gina Ostarly #29 a veteran to this sport but her heart lies in fitness which we have some inside info that Gina will be going back to fitness in the very near future, Eulla Coen #30 and how fitting Christine Mascia #31 a newcomer trained by Gina Ostarly.
Of the 12 competitors in this class these three had aura that just screamed to the audience. The judges obviously knew this as the girls finished 1 2 3.
Top three finishers:
1st place Gina Ostarly
2nd place Eulla Coen
3rd place Chris Mascia
As we awaited the class C to take the stage we had time to talk briefly with competitor #19 Stephanie Larkin competing in both the open class D and the masters over 30. Stephanie told us this was her second time competing in the NPC figure and she truly enjoyed the quality time for herself, competing she says makes her more relaxed about house work and playing with her children. When asked Stephanie says her favorite body part is her smile and laughing she goes on to tell us her least favorite is her feet. Although we didn't check out her feet, Stephanie's smile is what drew her to us in the beginning and yes she does have a lovely smile. She has a message for our troops, she feels very blessed for the sacrifice they are making for us and she wishes all of them a safe journey home.
Class C is on stage now, as I glance across the gallery of faces I spot our
With the largest class waiting to take the stage class C, we had some time choice early on #40 Elisha Archibold with her wide shoulders standing almost statue like in the line up. The only competition she has from our vantage point is #1 Jamie Gunn, although Jamie is not as muscular Jamie possess a very nice overall look and will make the top 3 no doubt.
Top three finishers:
1st place Elisha Archibold *also overall winner
2nd place Jan Horn
3rd place Jamie Gunn *also 1st place winner MS. Panama City
As we awaited the final group class D to emerge from the curtain we had a chance to observe head judge Peter Potter, with his undying passion for helping others Mr. Potter is one heck of a judge. We watch as he keeps things in check and as always he is the picture of organization. As I am sure most of you know Mr. Potter promotes his own show, the NPC Southern States in Ft. Lauderdale Florida a level five national qualifier to be held July 14-15… for info check out
www.npcsouthernstates.com .
On to the class D…well this group posed the most problems when it came to selecting a winner simply because it was the most diverse group. Our choice for this group as mentioned earlier on was #19 Stephanie Larkin, her outcome was actually a bit interesting. Stephanie also competed in the masters over 30 and placed 4th in much lesser competition but here in the open class D amongst much stiffer competition she takes a well deserved 2nd we actually had her pegged for the win of the class D.
Top three finishers:
1st place Nancy Grangse
2nd place Stephanie Larkin
3rd place Deidra Garcia
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