2007 Country Classic Invitational

[Musculo]

Country Classic Invitational.

Sat. 21st July, 2007.

The Capital Theatre Bendigo

This show is IFBB affiliated and open to NZ and Australia. It is not a qualifier for anything nor do you have to qualify in NZ to compete at it.

Anyone wanting to compete at it or wanting anymore information please feel free to PM me. I am happy to organise a team to go to it if there is enough interest.

Its run by Hardcore Muscle Promotions - who are they?

"Hardcore Muscle Promotions was created to promote a variety of bodybuilding events. The first one being the 2006 Country Classic Invitational.

With so many bodybuilding Federations running shows at the present time, each with a multitude of weight and height classes for both male and female competitors, it's become too easy for the bodybuilder to pick and chose their contests, thus being able to avoid having to compete against quality competitors, therefore allowing them to win easy titles.

We have decided to run old-fashioned style contests, where bodybuilders of all shapes and sizes will be able to go head-to-head with each other, so that once again, we can find out who really is the best. To encourage you, the bodybuilder, to have a go and challenge yourself, we have put up prizes never before seen in this Country!

Prizes such as Plasma TV's, iPods, and other name brand electrical goods They won't be easy to win, but they will make dieting and training a lot more worthwhile than a cheap trophy and a meaningless title. Of course there are some great titles well worth winning in Australia and we will be supporting those as well, but they are becoming few and far between.

Please note: we are not another bodybuilding Federation. We are simply promoters trying to lift the profile of bodybuilding in Australia.Over the last 25yrs we have seen bodybuilding as a sport, simply marking time. It's about time someone did something to lift the profile of bodybuilding in this country. We intend to do it.

We believe the format of our shows, the experience of the people that are involved and of course the sensational prizes, will create a fresh interest in the sport of bodybuilding. Bodybuilding contests are not the only thing that we will be promoting. There will be seminars with guest posers and workshops In fact, if it's worthwhile and supports bodybuilding, we'll do our best to promote it!

Look for our logo. When you see it on any bodybuilding poster, you can be assured that it will be a quality event."

Thanks Lisa

[Andrew]

What classes are they running at this event?

[Musculo]

Just waiting for confirmation from my friend that runs it but this is the info from last year, including classes.

WHO CAN ENTER?

Anyone from any State in Australia or from New Zealand, and from any Federation, can enter the show, providing they qualify. We are not a new bodybuilding Federation, we are only promoters. We will not be banning competitors from any Federation from competing in our show. Anyone can compete.

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

We have 6 classes. 4 for the Men and 2 for the Women.

The women are simply divided into Bodybuilding and Figure. Both classes are Open, so it doesn't matter if it's your first comp or if you are a State or National titleholder, you will all be competing against each other.

Bodybuilding class is obviously for women who have hard muscular physiques

Figure class is for women who want to maintain a more feminine look but still have firm toned muscles.

The men have 4 classes - Open, Intermediate, Masters and Junior.

Junior class is for competitors under 21yrs of age.

Masters class is for competitors 40yrs and over.

Intermediate class is for competitors who are too old for Juniors, not old enough for Masters and not qualified for Open.

Open class is open to any competitor who has an Open State Title in any weight or height class, in any federation, from any state in Australia or New Zealand.

ONE-SHOW FORMAT.

The show will be a one-show format. Each class will be judged, after which competitors will then perform their posing routines, followed by the posedown and trophy presentation. Once that class is over, the next class will be judged and so on, until the final class, the Men's Open.

RUNNING ORDER OF SHOW.

The running order of the show will be as follows:

Show Opening.

Junior Men's.

Women's Figure.

Men's Masters.

Intermission.

Guest Poser.

Women's Bodybuilding.

Men's Intermediate.

Men's Open.

PRIZES.

Every place getter will receive both a prize and a trophy.

Prizes for all classes, except the Men's. Open, will include electrical goods such as DVD recorders, iPods, video cameras, digital cameras etc. They will be name brands and should be announced sometime after Easter 2006

Open Men's class prizes at the present time include a 42” LG Plasma TV, set top box and a complete home theatre system.

No prizes are transferable for cash. Prizes are not refundable.

IS THIS AN IFBB SHOW?

This is a Hardcore Muscle Promotion show. However, we have been sanctioned by the IFBB.

The IFBB have seen what we are doing and are supporting us by sanctioning our show. We are very please to accept their support as obviously the IFBB shows are of the highest standard in the world, with the Mr Olympia being the pinnacle of bodybuilding.

Rules and regulations will be very similar to IFBB, with IFBB officials assisting us.

Being sanctioned by the IFBB allows us the privilege of using IFBB professionals as guest posers at any of our shows. They also add credibility to our show and assist with sponsorship and judges, etc. We appreciate their support.

IS IT DRUG TESTED?

No. The CCI is open to anyone, but there will be no drug testing.

We have no problem with Natural bodybuilders and we respect their efforts and admire their dedication as we do with all bodybuilders. We believe that if you are going to drug test one competitor, then you should test them all. The logistics and expense that this would create, makes this almost impossible.

There are plenty of natural shows for those who don't wish to compete in our show, but the way some of the natural bodybuilders are coming along, we believe that they would be quite competitive if they chose to compete in the CCI.

There's only one way to find out......

[Musculo]

On a side note IFBB in Australia isn't drug tested only IFBB here (NZFBB) is.

[2guns]

how much to enter and where in australia is it?

is their a group from nz going over where u might get discounted accomodation or anyone sponsering nz competitiors or is it everyone for them selves sorta thing?

[Musculo]

I have been an official/team manager for the NZ team to Australasians for 3 years so am more than happy to get a team together if there is interest. Cost would be up to the individual however cheaper accommodation etc could be sought if we booked as a team together.

If people start seriously thinking about it now then fundraising for it will be realitively easy as its a good 6 months or so.

[waldo]

I think I may well be heading over just to watch. And maybe stop by the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Maybe.

[Outlaw53]

First of, thanks heaps to Musculo for spreading the word about the CCI.

You guys certainly sound pretty keen.

I will answer the questions that you have posted so far, but feel free to add to these.

Classes. We only have 6 & they are as follows:

MEN:

Open

Intermediate

Masters

First Timers

WOMEN:

Figure

Bodybuilding

Please note, we have changed one of the Mens classes. This year we had a Junior class, but next year we wont.

It will be replaced by a new class called "First Timers."

Unfortunately over here in Aust, Junior competitors are not supporting IFBB or NABBA shows.

The natural federations are the only ones that the Juniors are supporting.

This year, IFBB & NABBA had a total of 2 competitors each in their Junior National Championships.

INBA had 8 Teenage & 8 Juniors, while ANB had 16 Juniors in their National Championships.

Junior BBers over here seem to be of the opinion that you have to be juiced to the gills to win an IFBB or NABBA Jnr title.

I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince them otherwise, I've been trying for years, but it falls on deaf ears.

This years CCI Jnr winner, Lucky Hatzipantelis went on to win the NABBA Jnr Aust, then went on to the UK where he finished 6th, despite looking very ordinary by his standards. He is clean, so it's got me buggered why the rest of the Aussie Jrs are so hesitant to compete outside the Natty Feds?

As my show is sanction by the IFBB, the chances of me getting enough Jnrs to make it worthwhile are remote.

I have stacks of requests for a First Timers class as the Intermediate class was pretty tough.

So my apologies to the Jnrs, I am very disappointed that they are gone, but we are are still looking for the right classes & we are prepared to tweak things around until we have right.

Musculo is correct, there is no testing in IFBB shows here in Aust. My show is not tested either. Testing in Aust is shithouse IMO. There is not enough of it. Only one or two get tested, it's pointless if you ask me. At the very worst, Natty Feds should at least test all the winners & even the place getters, but barely anyone gets tested over here. It's a joke.

I love Natural BBers & BBing, but I won't be wasting my money on testing anyone. In Aust, ASADA charge $500 out-of-season & $700 on-the-day for testing. This money is better spent on prizes & after-party food IMO.

The CCI is all about fun, entertainment & rewarding the BBer.

It's a very happy & friendly show as you will all find out if any of you decide to come over & compete.

We are deadly serious about our rules & regs etc, our show is very professionally run, but our aim is for both fans, competitors & sponsor to have a great day.

Entry Fee to the show is $150.

Most comps in Aust are around $100-$150 Entry Fee, so we are at the dear end of the spectrum.

The breakdown of your fees are as follows:

$50 IFBB. If you are already a member, you don't have to pay.

$50 Promoter. All this money goes into prizes, every single cent!

$25 Copy of the DVD of the show. (It was a 3 disc set this year)

$25 CD of contest photos. You'll get between 100-230 photos of yourself over all 3 rounds & including presentation. They are all high res.

Accom: Bendigo is the 2nd biggest city next to Melb. They are beautiful people, very friendly with great nightclubs & restaurants. They don't offer any deals on rooms, or at least the ones within walking distance to the venue don't.

My best advice to anyone who is considering going is to book ASAP. The place is always booked out, I've seen nothing like it. Some places don't even take bookings, knowing full well people will just lob up on the day.

I have booked out an entire motel for next year. It's nothing flash, just a basic 3.5 star motel that has only got a football oval between it & the Capital Theatre, so it's as close as you can get. The rooms are about $85-$90. They are all around this price close to the town centre. You can grab a room for around $70 on the outskirts of Bendigo, but it's about a 10-15min drive, so you will need a car.

You are more than welcome to book a room through me. It's first in with the money, gets the room. They have no cooking facilities, just a fridge, jug & toaster. A few of the Aussie will bring microwaves, so you could always get them to cook up or heat up some food for you. They are all friendly & decent people.

That's those questions answered as honestly as I can. Keep 'em coming & I'll be happy to answer them all.

Thanks everyone for your interest.

Cheers.

Craig. (Outlaw)

[2guns]

so is this a 'natural' show or what?

u say u love natural bb and bbers but not going to test, so if someone on juice wins a class are people going to get sour like they would at a nz inba show which doesnt test but is suppose to be all natural?

bummer u are scraping the junior class , i would have thougt u would have big numbers competing as juniors

[Outlaw53]

so is this a 'natural' show or what?

u say u love natural bb and bbers but not going to test, so if someone on juice wins a class are people going to get sour like they would at a nz inba show which doesnt test but is suppose to be all natural?

bummer u are scraping the junior class , i would have thougt u would have big numbers competing as juniors

No, it's not a natural show.

I'm a huge supporter of Natural BBers, I train heaps of them & they are all disappointed with the Natural Federations over here. The lack of testing is very dishonest if you ask me.

How can you call yourself a Natural Federation, yet only test 1 out of 75 competitors. It's bullshit. They all whinge & moan about how they can't afford the cost of testing.

It would cost $7,000 to test 10 competitors. I wouldn't get so shitty on it if they put that $7,000 into some decent prizes & trophies, but they just pocket the lot & rip-off the competitors.

I am still considering running a natural show over here, I've had a lot of requests & support, but I would only consider it if I could test either every competitor or at the very least, every place getter.

For now, I am very happy with the CCI format. It is designed to be entertaining for the fans & rewarding for the competitors.

This year we gave away over $20,000 in prizes & quality trophies. For our first show, it wasn't a bad effort I thought.

The Mens Open winner received a 42" Plasma TV, DVD player, Home Theatre System, Gold Medallion & a Championship belt.........well over $5,000 worth of prizes.

To top it off, we spent over $1,500 on chicken & pizza for the after party. It would have cost me over $21,000 to test most of our competitors, which would have left me no money left for prizes.

Still, I suppose if I had've lashed out & spent $700 & tested only one competitor, I could've called my show a Natural show too. :grin:

I'm comfortable with the CCI format. Stacks of Natural competitors won anyway. Just because you take as many drugs as Ronnie Coleman, doesn't mean you'll ever be as good as him.

All our competitors were happy to compete together. There were no sour grapes, just great friendships made.

I understand your concerns 2guns, I hope my answer is O.K.

Sorry about the Juniors getting the arse too. The rip-off Natty Feds have brainwashed all the young BBers over here. I don't a Jnr BBer has even been tested over the last 2-3yrs. It sucks.

Cheers buddy.

[2guns]

All our competitors were happy to compete together. There were no sour grapes, just great friendships made.

hmmmm... maybe some nz competitors could learn from u aussies :pfft:

yeah thanks for all the info bro.

[Musculo]

If only that happened at all Aussie shows Craig!

[Outlaw53]

All our competitors were happy to compete together. There were no sour grapes, just great friendships made.

hmmmm... maybe some nz competitors could learn from u aussies :pfft:

yeah thanks for all the info bro.

No worries mate.

Trust me, we haven't got it any better over here. As Musculo says, it's not all friendly.

I go out of my way to make sure competitors, fans & sponsors have a great time.

If you enjoy your day, you will come back again, win loose or draw.

I'm on this forum to learn from you guys.

You appear to have far less politics than us.