novice or not?

[FastFreddy]

can anybody tell me? if you have won a comp,in the past and looking at making a comeback after 5 years off comping or more do u have to go in open class or not? :shifty: nzfbb

[diamond]

pm mastertel. He will know. But i'm pretty sure once you go from novice to open you can't go back. No matter how much you have let yourself slip 8)

If you competed in nabba only you might be able to do nzfbb as a novice and visa versa but i'm not sure about that.

[MasterTel]

Yep - that's correct, diamond. If you have competed in an Open class at an NZFBB event, you cannot go back to Novice - even if you have not competed for 5 years.

Another option is the Classic class, or perhaps Masters (if you are 40 plus). Let me know what height you are (in cm) Mr HD NZ, and I'll tell you what your max weight would be for Classic.

[FastFreddy]

thx guys,

[FastFreddy]

lol,i havnt slipped much diemoud,only about 107kg at one stage,pulled it back to 96kg now.

anyways,so as a novice winner not open class winner,dose it still apply? :wink:

[MasterTel]

anyways,so as a novice winner not open class winner,dose it still apply?

Yep - once you win a regional title you have until that year's Nationals to compete as a Novice. After that, you are no longer able to compete as a Novice.

[michaelk]

Heres an interesting twist on it MT,

what would be the situation for a competitor who won either the Classic class or the Masters and then went on to win the Overall,

would they still be eligible to compete in Novice if they had never done so or had never won in Novice before?

[Evie]

anyways,so as a novice winner not open class winner,dose it still apply?

Yep - once you win a regional title you have until that year's Nationals to compete as a Novice. After that, you are no longer able to compete as a Novice.

There is a loop hole... of sorts, that I fell into, this year with NABBA:

I won Novice figure at a regional, it was a combined class of 1 x Short and 1 x Tall Novice, but the offical rule is you need 'three athletes' in a class; to officialy constitute a class. Therefor I could still compete in the Novice Class.

So if you had less than 3 you could be Novice... :roll:

I don't know about NZFBB

[FastFreddy]

thanks for that Evie,but there were 7 or 8 of us in the class

bugger! lol,ill just have to start in open i think

[MasterTel]

what would be the situation for a competitor who won either the Classic class or the Masters and then went on to win the Overall,

would they still be eligible to compete in Novice if they had never done so or had never won in Novice before?

Very interesting scenario, MK. This year the head judge at each NZFBB event has decreed that the Classic Class winner is not eligible to compete in the Overall lineup. Some will say this is not fair - but that's a separate issue. Until about 2003 it was only Open class competitors that could compete for the Overall title. Now, Teenage, Junior, Novice and Masters class winners can also contest this title, which I think is a great thing. Even if a Junior or Novice competitor may feel they have no chance of winning the Overall title, it is an "honour" to be in that lineup and the best way to test yourself against the "big guys". As a Masters class winner, I have been in several Overall lineups - never a serious contender to win it, but important to be there out of respect to the other competitors.

Anyone winning a Masters title is in the same boat as a Novice competitor - i.e. once that year is up (that you won the Masters or Novice title) you can't compete in a Novice class.

This doesn't apply to Teenage and Junior class winners - they are eligible to compete as a Novice competitor regardless of how many Teenage and/or Junior titles they win.

For any competitor (incl Teenagers and Juniors), once they compete in an Open class, they can't go back to Novice. They can, however, still compete in age-restricted classes (Teenage, Junior) if they are still young enough.

Sorry if I haven't explained this clearly - I'm happy to clarify specifics if anyone is not sure about where they stand with this.

[FastFreddy]

thx for the info tel!

[ngapuhi strong]

thanks master tel for clearing all that up, makes sence to me now

it does make me think twice about rushing into comps, fom what i saw at the south island champs in churchur there is a huge gap between the novices and the one guy who was in open in my weight class under 70kg

i think i'd want to fell ready for the open class just to compete as a novice

p s does anyone know how the guy that won open under 70kg at south island champs got on at nationals

[MasterTel]

it does make me think twice about rushing into comps, fom what i saw at the south island champs in churchur there is a huge gap between the novices and the one guy who was in open in my weight class under 70kg

p s does anyone know how the guy that won open under 70kg at south island champs got on at nationals

You're probably being a bit tough on yourself, ngapuhistrong. That Open Under 70kg winner you refer to is Daniel Hibbs, who won his class at Nationals (beating another exceptional competitor - Supry Sos) and was 2nd to Mike Debenham in the battle for the Overall Mr NZ title. Daniel is widely regarded as an exceptional athlete and it's understandable that there would be a large gap in quality between him and most Novice competitors. Daniel also won the Best Male Posing Routine award at Nationals, as he did at the South Island Champs.

Hey - don't get put off by someone of Dan's calibre ... make it an incentive to work to his level. There are also some excellent Under 70kg novices around, so pit yourself against them and if you're good enough to beat them, then you'll definitely be good enough to be competitve in the Open class!

[michaelk]

Daniel was scary as a junior too,

experience at any level (junior, novice, open)is invaluable, and Daniel has loads of it, and theres only one way to get it. Join the frey.

Now MT, I'm thinking of turning back to Amateur and doing the Figure class, would I be Novice or open?

[MUSCLEROIDS]

MT

this is from the NZFBB Contest Rules 1-4-2006

version 3 issued 11-04-2006

4.1 A Novice Competitor (Men or Women) is a Competitor who:

(a) Has never won a contest (regional or otherwise); or

(b) Has moved from a restricted age group (Teenagers, Juniors or Masters).

4.2 A Novice Competitor who has placed First, Second or Third in any Regional Competition shall remained as a Novice Competitor for that entire year up to & until that same year NZ National.

4.3 A Novice Competitor who has place First, Second or Third in the Nationals is an OPEN class competitor from the end of that Nationals. A Novice Competitor who has placed first second or third in a Regional Contest but does not enter or place in the top three at the Nationals in those 12 months is an OPEN Competitor.

4.4 A Master (Women or Men) who has placed in the top 3 at any Regional or National event, can no longer enter as a novice competitor. They can only enter as a Master or an Open competitor. (NATIONAL'S QUALIFING CLAUSE APPLIES).

[MasterTel]

Hey - thanks Muscleroids for reminded me of that problem with those rules.

I noticed that myself sometime ago and it was confirmed by several judges that the following rule:

'A Novice Competitor who has placed first second or third in a Regional Contest but does not enter or place in the top three at the Nationals in those 12 months is an OPEN Competitor.'

is incorrect. It has never been enforced, as only regional winners (not 2nd and 3rd placegetters) must become an Open competitor. If is was enforced that way, then almost all competitors would have to move to Open!

I'll make sure this is tidied up at our next meeting next Feb.

[MasterTel]

Now MT, I'm thinking of turning back to Amateur and doing the Figure class, would I be Novice or open?

Oh, come on MK, that's ridiculous .... with your "hour-glass" figure you are much better suited to doing Body Fitness!! :pfft:

Hey - shall I get Ali Gascoine to make you a lovely two-piece for your guest-posing stint at next April's Wellington Champs?! Something with sequins, perhaps? :wink:

[letty]

Hi All

Newbe to this site, but I do have a question in relation to the above, Last year I was a novice at the NZFBB Auckland Champs where they gave out medals down to 5th place. I see the rules say 1st, 2nd or 3rd move to open, during one of the medal presentations a comment was made on stage something along the lines of we will see you all next year in the open class,

My Question: Those placed 4th and 5th are they now only able to go open or can they go novice as rules state?

Cheers

[MUSCLEROIDS]

Hi All

Newbe to this site, but I do have a question in relation to the above, Last year I was a novice at the NZFBB Auckland Champs where they gave out medals down to 5th place. I see the rules say 1st, 2nd or 3rd move to open, during one of the medal presentations a comment was made on stage something along the lines of we will see you all next year in the open class,

My Question: Those placed 4th and 5th are they now only able to go open or can they go novice as rules state?

Cheers

You only go to open if you get a placing at the Nationals.

[MasterTel]

You only go to open if you get a placing at the Nationals.

That's only partially correct, Muscleroids. You can compete in the Open class at any time - the rules for Open qualification are there to prevent competitors staying in Novice when they should be in the Open class.

As well as placing top-3 at a previous Nationals, you also relinquish Novice status if you win a regional event in a Novice or Master/Senior class in a previous year, or choose to compete at any time as an Open competitor.

The top-5 placing issue from last year was merely to allow more competitors to qualify for Nationals - nothing to do with Open status. This rule was only in place for two events last year (Wellington and Auckland champs) then it reverted back to the regular top-3 rule for Nationals qualification.

[diamond]

it does make me think twice about rushing into comps, fom what i saw at the south island champs in churchur there is a huge gap between the novices and the one guy who was in open in my weight class under 70kg

p s does anyone know how the guy that won open under 70kg at south island champs got on at nationals

You're probably being a bit tough on yourself, ngapuhistrong. That Open Under 70kg winner you refer to is Daniel Hibbs, who won his class at Nationals (beating another exceptional competitor - Supry Sos) and was 2nd to Mike Debenham in the battle for the Overall Mr NZ title. Daniel is widely regarded as an exceptional athlete and it's understandable that there would be a large gap in quality between him and most Novice competitors. Daniel also won the Best Male Posing Routine award at Nationals, as he did at the South Island Champs.

Hey - don't get put off by someone of Dan's calibre ... make it an incentive to work to his level. There are also some excellent Under 70kg novices around, so pit yourself against them and if you're good enough to beat them, then you'll definitely be good enough to be competitve in the Open class!

I can't see anyone ever beating him in his weight class in nz if he turns up in condition. He's a freak.

[Dumbelldog]

I second that, he has a very very good overall look, one that is not totally unbeatable but very very difficult nun the less.

[MasterTel]

I second that, he has a very very good overall look, one that is not totally unbeatable but very very difficult nun the less.

I agree with you, dumbelldog, and you'd be one of the few competitors around at the moment that would have a chance of pushing Daniel. James Z is another, and of course three more of our nzbb members - diamond, badell50 and Andrew! :wink:

One Under 70kg competitor who did push Daniel at Nationals (he finished 2nd) and has a fantastic all-round physique is Supry Sos. If he nails his conditioning he can be a serious threat to any competitor, regardless of their weight class.

[michaelk]

I still rate Supri as an Overall Mr NZ in waiting, just got to nail that condition, needs to be like a rock.

[diamond]

i was in the audience when supri won the capital champs in 2006. He blew everyone away. Wicked condition. If he had been at the nationals last year in the same condition as that show in wellington he would have taken out the overall. But until he turns up in that condition again it's going to be up to someone else to try and beat daniel.