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Natural Contest Promoter Profiles
Featuring the those
individuals who work so hard promoting Natural
Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness competitions and who
share our enthusiasm and dedication to drug-free
bodybuilding and fitness.
Nancy
Andrews
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Nancy with husband Jim Broderick and daughter
Jamie |
Promoter Name
Nancy Andrews
Shows Promoted
INBF Northeast Classic &
WNBF Pro American - 1st week of June, INBF Monster Mash -
1st week of November
Which Organizations have you
promoted with?
INBF and WNBF currently,
I started off non-sanctioned then went to the ANBC and NGA
before the INBF was formed. I have been promoting for the
INBF since its inception.
Why do you choose to work with
this organization?
I like the
strict drug testing policies that the INBF uses. No matter
where you go in the US and abroad all of the shows use the
same standards. Competing in the INBF qualifies people to
compete in the WNBF. The WNBF is the premier pro natural
bodybuilding federation. With the WNBF, they have the
largest network of domestic and international pros. It is
really cool to compete with people from all over the
world.
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In memory of
Kevin Kelley award - Awarded to Reynolds
Shepherd |
How do
you feel about the number of shows and different
organizations that currently make up Natural Bodybuilding?
Do you ever see a day when all of the major organizations
will work together? Do you think the variety of
organizations is good or bad for the athletes?
I think if all of the
natural organizations could come together, it would be
better for everyone involved. Natural pros would have much
more recognition because there would not be so many
different titles available. If we could all come together,
winning pro titles would mean more because there would be
a lot more competition. I would like to see the day where
the top natural bodybuilders are recognized by people who
work out and more general population. Today there are a
handful of natural pros who anyone who competes in natural
bodybuilding know who they are but the majority of natural
pros are unknown to people who are not from their area and
into natural bodybuilding. There is strength in numbers so
I would love to see all of the naturals getting together
to give athletes the best opportunities. I do think it is
possible but there would have to be a compromise somewhere
and I am not sure that any of the top officials in any of
the natural organizations are willing to do that at this
time.
What is your background in
Bodybuilding and Fitness?
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Jim
Cordova
Pro Overall Winner |
I started competing in
1994. Along the way, I won a number of titles including 4
WNBF Pro Natural World Championships and WNBF Pro Ms.
Universe. For amateur titles, the first national title I
won was the ANBC USA Championship. I competed in and won
20 other amateur titles. I competed in all organizations
and I think that helped me with
promoting quite a bit because I was exposed to a lot of
different things.
I started promoting camps and offering classes in the late
90's and that has really helped get lots of new people
interesting in competing. I really enjoy helping people
prepare for the show with the posing. My camps usually
consist of a weekend camp in January and then a one day
camp in September. The posing classes are usually 8-10
weeks before the shows I promote. It is really exciting to
see people reach their goals and because of the camps and
classes, I have had the opportunity to meet and really get
to know many of the competitors.
How did you get started in
promoting shows? What made you decide to become a
promoter?
My good friend Chris
Morin of Fit Tec was the person who got me into
bodybuilding. He was actually promoting a local show for
Gold's Gym Worcester which I competed in as my first show.
After I started competing, he asked me if I would promote
a local novice show with him. We did it as a
non-sanctioned show for first time competitors. It was
lots of fun and from there we moved on to sanctioned
shows. Chris became too busy with his own personal
training business so I took it on myself.
Tell us a little bit about the
history of your shows, when it first started, how it has
grown?
The first show I promoted
was non-sanctioned and it was a Novice Only show. We had
40 people compete so that was a great turnout. The next
year, I did a sanctioned show and I ended up with 110
competitors. My Spring 2009 show had a record high 187
athletes this year and that is not counting crossovers.
With crossovers it was 280. The spring show is a Pro/AM
show and I gave away $7000 in prize money.
The INBF Monster Mash was a show I inherited from CJ
Bouchard. He used to promote it in CT. I started in
Putnam, CT and moved it to MA in 2005. I have had anywhere
from 80 - 125 competitors in that show.
Who were your mentor(s), if any when you started promoting
shows and how did they help you?
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Melissa
Kelley
Pro Figure Overall Winner |
Chris Morin played a huge
part in making me a successful promoter. He started me off
in promoting and really showed me how to take care of the
athletes. My husband, Jim Broderick used to promote AAU
shows in New England and he is a huge help. Todd Ganci is
also another person who really helped me a lot when I
first started. He has to be one of the most knowledgeable
people around regarding every part of bodybuilding whether
it is competing, promoting etc. When I started in the INBF
Charlie Carollo became a mentor for me. He has so much
experience that he has helped with lots of things
especially with drug testing problems.
What are some of the challenges
you have had to deal with as a promoter?
The biggest challenge is
not knowing how many people will compete until two weeks
before the show. So many people wait until the deadline to
sign up. People do not realize how tough it is on
promoters when you get lots of late entries. The other big
challenge is getting sponsors for the show.
What makes your show different
from the others and why should competitors choose your
shows?
The biggest difference in
my show is the drug testing, the photographers, judging
panel and back stage help. I have the best photographers
with Todd Ganci doing all of the stage shots and Reg
Bradford doing all of the backstage shots. Competitors get
the best photos here. We also offer a professional DVD of
the show. My judging panel changes every year and I do not
use any affiliated judges on the panel. Most of the judges
are not from this area and do not know the competitors. My
back stage help is the BEST. I have Michelle Cournoyer
back there as the expeditor and she makes sure everything
moves along. We are able to do shows will 120 plus
athletes and finish in 4 hours. We are very organized and
really have to be because of the number of athletes
competing. It is very very important to me that all
athletes feel they had an equal chance to win and that
they got a fair evaluation. Other pluses, I offer Niels
Andersen trophies, t-shirts and goody bags filled with all
kinds of products. On the front end of the show, I have
Laurie Rossetti helping with check in and anything else
competitors may need a hand with.
What are some of the most
memorable moments from your shows?
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Sheila
Vierra
Pro Bodybuilding Overall Winner |
There were lots of great
moments, I will break them down by category:
Women's Bodybuilding - Jody Poirier winning her pro card
and then going on to win the WNBF Universe in her Pro
debut. Laurie "Dutchy" Coe winning her pro card was very
exciting for me because she was my training partner. I
will also always remember Bonnie Le Frak's win because she
was so close in so many shows that it was great to see her
day come. For Pro women, Kathy Di Martino winning and
Sheila Vierra winning last year after taking quite a while
off.
Men's Bodybuilding - For amateur men, John McGowan winning
his pro card was very exciting. He was in a class filled
with talent and had really improved since his novice win
the year before. On the Pro side, World Champion Carmi
Smith winning the first ever Pro Master's Cup, Dave Goodin
and Dwayne Broadway winning the Pro Master's Cup, Jim
Cordova winning two WNBF Pro American titles.
Figure - My first amateur figure show I promoted my good
friend Eneida Alvarado Soloperto won her pro card. The
following year, figure grew so much and Alicia Marie came
and won her WNBF Pro card and wowed the audience. People
really learned a lot about where figure was going when
they saw Alicia up there on stage. The final very
memorable amateur moment was Melissa Kelley winning her
pro card. For pros, Angela Mraz taking the show in her
WNBF pro debut and Melissa Kelley totally dominating every
other year since Angela's win.
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Terri Morales
Pro Classic Overall Fit Body |
What
are some of the funniest moments from your shows?
Definitely the funniest
moment was when I offered fitness and I went out and
recruited some women I knew from gymnastics to compete.
They did not really totally understand the format of the
show so they brought one pair of shoes for both of them.
They did not realize they would both be on stage at the
same time! We were able to find some shoes for them but it
was very funny!
If you could do it all over
again...what, if anything, would you do differently? What
do you wish that you knew then that you know now?
I have made changes to my
show over the years as it has grown. Every year I get lots
of feedback and that is very important to me because my
goal is to make this show the best competitive experience
for all athletes. I know many promoters are more concerned
with the "show" portion but my focus is always on the
competition. We make sure all athletes get a fair look. I
have never had anyone tell me they were overlooked or did
not have a chance and that makes me very happy.
How do you drug test at your
show? Polygraph or urinalysis?
All competitors, class
winners or random. We polygraph test all competitors and
urine test the winners. We can also do random tests. For
pros, we polygraph and urine test all competitors.
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WNBF Chairman - Charlie Carollo |
Is
your show judged by weight class or by height class. Why
did you choose the method you use?
The figure classes are
split by height and the bodybuilding by weight. The
organization chooses the format. I think the weight is
okay for the men because they are more similar in
structure but I wish the women's bodybuilding was split by
height because it is much easier to judge. The structures
of women close to the same height are more similar so it
is easier to do comparisons. I think it would also help
make natural bodybuilding put more weight on muscularity
and not so much on condition. With the men, you see less
variety in shapes so the weight and height are closer.
With women, you can have someone 5 ft that weighs 115 lbs
and then someone 5'9" that weighs the same.
How do you select your judging
panel? What qualifies someone to be a judge at your show?
To judge an INBF show,
you need to first test judge at two INBF shows. To judge
the WNBF PRO shows you have to be a certified INBF judge
with experience and the WNBF board has to approve you to
judge a Pro show.
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Nancy
Andrews
Four Time WNBF Pro National Champion |
What the your contact info and website for your show?
My email is
wnbfpro@aol.com The websites for my shows are:
www.neclassic.com and
www.inbfmonstermash.com
What new ideas do you have for
your upcoming shows?
The 2010 INBF Monster
Mash will feature a class for "Rookie Pros" Winners in the
classes will be allowed to compete in the 2010 World
Championship. Since there are so many pro qualifiers, new
shows will be given ROOKIE PRO STATUS and with that they
will need to either compete in a Pro show and place in the
money or place at the ROOKIE PRO show. I think it will be
really good and should help out some of the new promoters.
When is your next show?
June 5th, 2010 is the
Northeast Classic and the WNBF Pro American and November
6th, 2010 is the Monster Mash.
Who are the folks you would like
to thank for supporting your show?
My husband Jim Broderick,
Todd Ganci, Reg Bradford, Bill Murphy, Tim Kurtz, Bonnie
Le Frak, Dr. Rick Silverman, Charlie Carollo, Steve Downs,
Michelle Cournoyer, Steve Daoust and Laurie Rossetti.
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