On Saturday, July 11, the 2009 NPC Southern States Championships concluded their 29th Annual Championships at the War Memorial Auditorium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with over 200 of the nations top sanctioned NPC (National Physique Committee) entrants competing for a spot into the nationals. The NPC Southern States Championships is the largest, regional national qualifier east of the Mississippi and included teenage, adult and senior competitors (both men and women) from ten different states and Puerto Rico. The large number of contestants in all age groups demonstrates that you can commit to be fit at any age.
Kicking things off on Friday night was the Maria Bellando Women’s Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships and the Manuel Mair Men's Fitness Championships which had the Women’s Fitness competitors performing a two-minute routine choreographed to music with dance, theater and gymnastic elements, the Women’s Figure competitors displaying their best physique poses, and the Bikini competitors showcasing their swimsuits to the judges. The Men’s Fitness competitors had a timed exercise to determine the number of push-ups each entrant could do in sixty seconds, how many pull ups could be completed and a timed obstacle course competition. The 2009 NPC Southern States Championships was one of the biggest and most successful in our 29 year history, As in the past, we anticipate many of the winners going on to win national titles and being able to turn professional.
On Saturday night, the line-up of events really heated up the stage at the War Memorial Auditorium with the different bodybuilding divisions showing off their best muscles to the audience and judges in a choreographed routine to music. This year’s Championships also included special guest appearances on Saturday night by Andre Vaughn, Vinny Galanti, Joel Stubbs, Marcus Haley, and Victor Martinez. The winners of each division were announced to conclude the evening and weekend of events, including the highly anticipated Overall winner. This year’s overall winner was Ryan Pateracki.
The Southern States Championships is open to any athlete registered by the NPC which is apart of the International Federation of Body Builders, an international amateur sports organization. For more information about the 2009 NPC Southern States Competition please visit NPCsouthernstates.com
Jay Cohen
Eddie Piedra, David
Fitness Figures
Body Builders