OPA Mississauga Championships Update

Last November when Team Emerge member Nikki took the Bikini overall trophy for the first time in the OPA I said that we would dominate Bikini going forward. So far it looks like I am quite the fortune teller.

Last month (April) Team Emerge member Adrianna competed in the OPA show in Stratford in the bikini short class. She was originally planning on competing in Figure but I felt that Figure was going back to the harder more muscular look of a few years back. She had the muscle to do figure but in the time we had she wouldn’t be lean and hard enough to be competitive. Despite never competing in bikini before I told her she should compete in bikini instead and we adjusted our focus to bikini. This was obviously a good decision as not only did Adrianna look the part but she placed first in the short class (Sadly only 2 people in her class but she looked the part regardless). She didn’t win the overall mainly due to presentation in my opinion. Adrianna didn’t have the stage presence of the tall class winner as we didn’t have a lot of time to work on posing prior to the show. Despite that Adrianna did very well for her first time out and I know she will look and present even better at the Provincials Championships next month.





Last night at the OPA show in Mississauga Team Emerge members Saira, Pam and Justine competed in bikini. Saira and Pam were in the short class and Justine in the tall class. This was the first competition for Saira ever, Pam has competed in the past in Figure but never Bikini and Justine has competed in Fitness model competitions but never in the OPA or Bikini. We were all excited about the show and this time the girls were ready to step on stage weeks before the show. We did no prep or anything special for the show, the girls walked on stage eating and drinking like a regular day. They felt great and it showed, no drawn tired faces back stage.

Even though you never know what will happen on the judge’s score cards I had a feeling (as usual) the girls were going to do well. All it took to confirm my feeling was the reaction of many other competitors in the pump up room as our girls got into their suits and started strutting. Justine took off her track suit to reveal her red bikini (nice work KHP) and her new and improved Emerge physique. She started walking back and there was an instant change for the worse in the mood of many bikini competitors and trainers watching. I looked around and soaked it all in, ahhhhhh.




The short class had 8 girls in competing and they were all shapes and sizes, Saira and Pam both came in with lean feminine athletic physiques. They both did extremely well despite not being as comfortable with presentation as some of the other girls. The goal was to place top 5 so they qualified for the Provincial Championships which would give us a few more weeks to work on stage presence. Pam ended up in 4th place, this placing came down to presentation as the description given that night by the OPA for a bikini competitor was as follows. A bikini competitor should look like a Victoria Secret model but with a more athletic body, they still should have some muscle shape and tone. The third place girl was very thin and didn’t have an athletic side at all. She was a pretty girl with good stage presence and that edged her past Pam. Pam still did great for her first time in bikini against some quality girls. Mission accomplished, she now qualifies in both Bikini and Figure Short at the Provincial Championships. We will decide which to compete in this week.

Saira looked amazing and had her routine down, for her first time on stage she did very well. I knew after prejudging she was going to be 1st or 2nd, depending on how important stage presentation was to the judges. Like Pam, Saira needs just a little more time to get more comfortable with bikini stage presence. I felt Saira had the best physique on stage but was edged out by a girl that also had a good physique (not as good, especially from the back pose) and was very comfortable on the stage. I am sure if Saira could have smiled bigger and looked a little more confident she would have won, but earning second place against some of those girls was terrific . She did an awesome job for her first time on stage and I expect to see big improvements in both Saira and Pam for the Provincials; they will look like they were born on stage by then.




When it was time for the tall class in bikini Justine was the first one to come out on stage. When she walked out it reminded me of the reaction Team Emerge member and IFBB Pro Silvana Simioni had walking out for the first time. There was a reaction from the crowd, the judges and the photographers that was different from other competitors. Everyone that came on stage after her couldn’t hold a candle even though there was some decent competition.


Despite some of the competitor’s best efforts to steal the spot light (by going overboard with posing or trying to block Justine from the judges) Justine remained composed and stuck to her game plan. After being crowded with her front pose and transitioning into her back pose she gave her bikini bottom’s crystal tassel a spin with her hand getting a huge pop from the crowd. Every pose she hit was a great photo op for anyone with a camera, Justine moves around the stage as comfortably as she walks around her house! No surprise to anyone in the auditorium Justine was awarded the first place trophy for the tall class.





Then it was time for the overall. The winner of the short class had great stage presence as I mentioned earlier but Justine had amazing stage presence and a physique that matches the standard to the tee. As the two girls we put through the comparisons there was no question in my mind (and the minds of many) that Justine was the complete package. The short class winner looked and presented very well and depending on if the judges liked a thinner or curvier toned look it could have went either way. The girls left the stage and I was hoping that the direction I went with Justine’s physique was the right one. “And the overall Bikini champion is, Justine Munro!” She came out to a huge response from the crowd and took that big trophy off the stage.

As usual I was approached by photographers and industry peers congratulating me on bringing another group of top notch physiques to the stage. Out in the lobby I hugged Saira and Pam and told them how well they did, Justine’s hug left Jan Tanna all over my kick ass white shirt. The overall win was totally worth the orange stains!! Another great show for the team and the Team Emerge domination continues.


The following Team Emerge members (so far) are qualified for Provincials in bikini: Justine(Tall bikini), Pam(Short bikini and/or short figure), Saira(Short bikini), Adrianna(Short bikini), Gorretti(Short bikini) and Nikki(Tall bikini). I expect to see the majority if not all of the girls stepping on the National stage right after Provincials. They will be joining Team Emerge member and Figure Tall National level competitor Emily Zelinka. Emily is coming off her successful appearance at the 2010 Arnold’s where she placed second in the Figure tall class and is aiming for her IFBB pro card at Nationals or the North Americans.

Great job team we are setting the bar again.

D