2010 OPA Provincial Championships update

Last night was the OPA Provincial Championships and Team Emerge had 7 girls competing (some placings I know and others I am still waiting for). We had three girls in Bikini Short, Saira, Adrianna, and Gorretti. Three competing in the Bikini Tall class, Melissa, Justine and Nikki. We also had Pam competing in Figure Short. Before getting to the break down I would like to say that every team member was ready to compete and looked the part. We had different goals for each girl, some goals were to take home hardware and others were to make top 5 to move on to nationals.

There was some wonky judging last night, at least in the categories I was watching. This isn’t a sour grapes comment, there were more than a few competitors less than happy with their placings. I even heard a judge told one of the Bikini competitors (not a Team Emerge girl) that the judges were told that the way they judge bikini is to” imagine they are on a beach and pick the competitor you would be more likely to approach”. What kind of description is this, this is nothing more than a personal preference and not a standard!? This explains some of results I guess, anyway back to the results.

Half the team was dialled in 100% and were focused on bringing back hardware this would include, Adrianna, Justine, Saira and Pam. The other half Gorretti, Nikki and Melissa were not quite at 100% physique wise but still ready to step on stage (and look competitive, if Emerge girls won’t look right on stage they don’t go on stage) and show the judges they have what it takes to make top 5 and represent Ontario at Nationals.

First person I want to talk about is Pam. Pam competed in a very tough Figure class, I’ll give credit where it is due and some of the girls looked terrific in this class. Pam looked the best she has ever looked on stage, her body has never looked as good as it did at this show. She presented very well and brought the best Pam she could to the stage. Despite looking the best she ever has she just missed out on the top 5 placing coming in 6th. We heard from OPA reps later that night that they thought she should have been in the top 5 and that she looked great. I have been training competitors for shows long enough to know anything can happen on the judges’ score cards especially in Figure and Bikini. Regardless, Pam did very well and I know she is going to do very well going forward.



Next up is Melissa, she was competing in a very tough Bikini Tall class. I was hoping to get Melissa in the top 5 so we would have a few more weeks to improve her condition for Nationals. She looked great, especially when I think back to the struggles we faced over the year. Melissa never ceases to amaze me with her never say never take no prisoners attitude. I hadn’t seen Melissa in a bikini in a few weeks and I was very happy with how her body had changed in that time. Her stage presence was great and considering she was at about 75% ready I would still put her middle of the pack physique wise. I’m not sure where she placed yet but sadly it wasn’t in the top 5. Needless to say we weren’t over joyed with this placing and aren’t sure if it was conditioning or the edgy look Melissa is known for, who knows. I hope to find out what needs to improve or change so we can get back to the drawing board. Regardless of her placing I was very happy with how Melissa looked and performed, she is a fighter in more ways than one and I happy to have her as a part of the team.



Saira competed in a very tough Bikini Short class (obviously every class was very tough) she looked amazing and brought a better overall package to the stage this time. I was expecting Saira to bring home a trophy for sure after her second place trophy at her first show. Her new suit (thanks KHP) looked great and so did her stage presence. For her second show she did extremely well against the best in the province. I thought that Saira had the one of if not the best physique on the stage and the way the call outs were done I would have bet she would have a top 3 placing. Unfortunately she ended up in 6th place to the shock of many. I know what we need to work on going forward and Saira is ready to do whatever it takes to get to the next level. Once she gets more comfortable on stage she will be a top contender every time she steps on stage. Despite her placing she enjoyed the experience and is probably enjoying some dirty food as I type ;)



Nikki was competing hoping to place but aiming for a top 5 finish. Nikki has a great stage presence and is a real stand out on stage. Nikki wasn’t at 100% physique wise as she was unable to start training for the competition in time to get dialled in like she typically would. This was due to commitments that had her out of the country for some time. Despite not being dialled in as usual Nikki still looked great and had that wow factor when she came out on stage. One thing I will mention is Nikki did have a knack for ruining her spray tan. I have never touched anyone up as many times in one day in my life, I think I did more touch ups on her than the entire team combined;)




Gorretti was ideally shooting for a top 3 finish but realistically we were aiming for a top 5. Gorretti has had a challenging 6 months to say the least. There were many distractions that slowed down her contest prep. Like the competitor she is she pulled out all the stops to get into the best shape possible with the little time we had. When I saw her at the show in her bikini (again great job KHP) I thought she can place top 3! She looked great (not as great as I know she can and will but wow), very few girls can show themselves like Gorretti can. She knows how to show the good and hide the not so good like no other. When she came out on stage she looked glamorous and showed herself amazingly. I thought she had placed by the way the call outs were done but when the trophies her handed out Gorretti came in 4th. I can piss and moan about how she should have been at least 3rd but bottom line is she has qualified for Nationals and I plan on having the best Gorretti EVER on that National stage.



Adrianna was competing in the Bikini Short class and is coming off her win in Stratford. Adrianna brought a better overall package to the stage this time. Her conditioning was spot on for the category and her stage presence was the best and most comfortable I have seen her. Her suit was amazing looking especially considering it came off the shelf at Victoria Secret!! Due to the call outs in the morning show I had thought that Adrianna was also in the top 3 (but what do I know). When the evening show came and they called out the top 5 in her class she was one of them. As the trophies were handed out one by one I was getting pumped to see her still waiting for hers. It came down to Adrianna and a very seasoned and well conditioned Ashley Harrison. Ashley came in second and Adrianna got 1st, I was so happy for her and couldn’t wait to see who she would be facing in the overall!!



Finally we get to Justine. Obviously I had high hopes for Justine after her overall win in Mississauga, there was a huge response to her in Mississauga when she came out on stage first in her category. She was on stage first again this time and once again there was a huge response. She wore a new KHP suit and looked stunning. During prejudging she was on stage for quite a long time during comparisons against some great bodies. In the evening show when the top 5 were called she was included in the group. You never know what’s going to happen and after hearing the description for Bikini judging criteria I was hoping the judges liked blondes more than brunettes;) Like in the short class as the trophies were being handed out I was getting more nervous than pumped. I honestly expected Justine to win this class before the show even started so anything other than a win would have been unacceptable for me. Luckily a win is what we got!! I was very happy for Justine and her mom who was texting me every few seconds for updates;)




When the bikini overall came I felt a sense of relief and pride as both my girls were standing on stage together going for the overall. It was a win win for Team Emerge regardless of the outcome but I was also great to see two team mates up there that would be extremely happy for the other person if they won. I have to say before I go on that we had a hell of a team at the show, everyone was very supportive of each other. From helping each other with their suits, colour, food and posing. It really felt like a team environment, great job girls! Anyway, the overall winner is.....Justine Munro! Once again she takes the overall and once again no one could argue with that result. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Justine after her win as she had to rush home and I was occupied at the other end of the building. We spoke on the phone and reminded each other about how good of a team we are.



All in all an event filled with ups and downs and everything in between. I am obviously happy with the domination of the bikini class (which I called in November and ensured it became a reality) but I expected more of the team to be standing on the national stage this year. I guess we have a little more work to do but at the end of the day the team made me proud to stand with them back stage. We showed every other competitor what it’s like to be a real team, hell Justine even asked me to touch up the colour on a girl competing against her. If us helping the competition don’t speak volumes about the type of people I work with I don’t know what does. Great job guys!!!!!

As far as Nationals goes we now have the following girls competing: In Figure, Emily (who had a nice write up in Muscle Mag this month picking her as a front runner to win at nationals) and Lauren (will be working with the team to ensure her stage presence is the best it can be). In Bikini we have Gorretti, Adrianna and of course Justine. The rest of the girls will not be resting on their laurels so you will see them on other stages over the course of the summer. Stay tuned.