2000 Red River Classic, OKC, OK, a -jabber review... Preamble: First time ever going to this show in that hotspot of tourism, Oklahoma City, OK, but hey, if I can go to Calgary the weekend before, what's 3.5 hours by car? A promoter in the Dallas area said this was a pretty fun show - so we decided to attend. Was it worth it? Hmm, kind of... Overall Atmosphere: While you may not think of Oklahoma City as a bastion of sophistication, quite frankly, the venue was very nice. The Red River Classic was held east of downtown, at Rose State College's Performance Arts Center. While these kind of shows are never that crowded, actually it drew a half-way decent audience, IMO. All seats general admission (less hassles). Celebrities? In OKC? Are you kidding? No. At the prejudging was the off-season Toni Norman, wearing a sleeveless black dress. Off-season, for Toni, simply means she looks just less "delicate". To me, dieted down, this former WSE '98 Strength Competitor, has a delicate, classy look. But this past weekend, this black FBB had a great look, replete with thick arms, but not the off-season heavy some FBB's seem to sport. Two judges were Trudy Ireland (who's name seems to be getting a bit more popularity of late), an older blonde with very defined arms, and Carrie Ledford, a brunette with short-hair, who was in the '99 Jr. Nationals (if I recall correctly). Okay, what other celebrity other than Toni Norman's from OK? Ms. McLost, er Jennifer McVicar of course. :-) The ahemwinnerahem of the '00 USA's in Vegas, she was looking quite heavy in the off-season, complete with the heavy girl with big boobs look. Sorry guys, I just don't friggin' get it. The only thing remotely interesting to me was she did have thick arms. And when she gave out some awards, they bragged about her being OK's first Pro and will be in the Ms. Olympia. I HOPE they're talking about the 2001. Sheesh! She didn't even look like an FBB. Amazing as early August wasn't THAT long ago... Oh, almost forgot, Bethani Terrell, the '00 Jr. Nationals tall and overall Fitness champion, did a guest posing routine. While she looked cute out in the lobby, I thought her routine was relatively uninspired, as was her condition. Masters: DNP - Geneva Lewis-Belle, 50 from Lawton, OK DNP - Gaye Johnson, from Plano, TX 3) - Yvonne Oglesby, from Irving, TX 2) - Jacque Charest, from Tulsa, OK 1) - Liz Rankin, from Dallas, TX The redhead from Dallas completely blew away her competition to shreds here and later on in this review. I had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Rankin for the first time at the '98 North Texas in Arlington (coincidentally Debra's first show), where Ms. Rankin got the overall there in the novice class. Since then I'd not seen her compete (wondering if she's been laying low). Unfortunately, Ms. Rankin definitely looks older in these past 2 years, but great. Novice LW: 3) - Dina M. Lee, from OKC, OK 2) - Marla Austin, from Tulsa, OK 1) - Jacque Charest, from Tulsa, OK (also in Masters) Novice MW: 2) - Thelma Ramirez, from Houston, TX 1) - Julie Fisher, from OKC, OK Ms. Ramirez, was a statuesque (sort of) looking attractive Hispanic FBB. Not much muscle maturity, but hey, it's the Novice class - pretty good balance. Ms. Fisher, obviously a fan favorite, since she's from a hometown girl, she actually sported a look a "bit" like Jennifer McVicar did at the USA's, albeit with less definition and muscle maturity. A bit chubby/not-ripped, she DID have good proportions, and especially at the finals, looked great - when she did a flamboyant routine that showed she KNOWS she looked great. Novice HW: 1) - Gaye Johnson, from Plano, TX (also in Masters) Not much drama in this class, Ms. Johnson was an attractive brunette, but had just okay symmetry. Novice Overall: O) - Jacque Charest Generally, at these shows, the judging is good, without much drama and surprises. The overall going to the slightly more ripped Ms. Charest compared to the prettier Ms. Fisher, who arguably also had much better symmetry, hmm. While Ms. Fisher could've come in in slightly more ripped condition... Oh well... Open LW: 1) - Yvonne Oglesby, from Irving, TX (also in Masters) Not much drama here... Open MW: 2) - Amy Lindsay, from Austin, TX 1) - Liz Rankin, from Dallas, TX (also in Masters) Well, Ms. Lindsay has paid her dues, kicked around for a while, lots thought this should be her show. Obviously not. I personally thought this was a personal best for Amy, she'd tried a couple different hair colors, now seeming to hone in on a reddish brown, which suits her well. Good condition, she was obviously upset when she was announced 2nd. But to me, no surprise. I was speaking to a friend of Amy's during the evening show before Amy and Liz came out, and asked the friend if she broke the news to Amy. Ms. Rankin getting the nod was a very sound decision, nothing questionable in my mind. Popularity and dues mean nothing when faced with a superior FBB. Open HW: 3) - Lillian Thomas, from Lawton, OK 2) - Deanna Willis, from OKC, OK 1) - Jennifer Turner, from Dallas, TX Okay, I "guess" this was somewhat sound decisions. Ms. Thomas, a black FBB, had undeniably the best mass, and a rousing posing routine, but lacked a bit in conditioning. Ms. Willis, to me, a "sort-of" lookalike to the Cathy LeFrancois/Roxette Lead Singer look, was most marketable looking, but a bit softish with decent symmetry. Ms. Turner, didn't look too dieted down, but had decent definition, but to this observer, looked a bit uncomfortable and awkward. Lillian Thomas, to me, had the best overall balance, stage presence, just with a bit more conditioning, she'd kick this competition where it hurts. Open Overall: O) - Liz Rankin No surprise or drama here. WAY, WAY better than the rest. I'm curious how she'll do on the National level, presumably we'll see her there next year. Overall Observations: I'd noticed at this show, that at the prejudging, they didn't have the 60 seconds free posing, NOT done to music, that I've seen at other NPC shows in the U.S. I'd spoken to a couple of folks stating that they "believe" that is now going away. I'd previously thought maybe this was an Oklahoma thing - as I'd not seen a show in Oklahoma before. Not sure if this is the wave of the future, but it sure DOES streamline the prejudging a bit - but affords less picture-taking opps. Oh well... It seems good, bad, or indifferent, guidelines imposed from above doesn't filter down this low. So in general, the novel concept here is the best FBB wins. The only questionable decision to me was Novice Julie Fisher not getting overall - but then again, part of Ms. Fisher's appeal was marketability, polish (her routine, you could TELL she knew all eyes were on her - and she liked that), and a pretty young face. Gosh, just the things I say shouldn't matter. Does that mean, horror of horrors, I'm human? :-) Nah... Until next time, I remain... -jabber P.S. Almost forgot, the expediter was none other than Sherry Smith, from Oklahoma, also a celebrity in her own right, the winner of the '99 NPC Jr. Nationals. She was the epitome of what an off-season FBB should look like, big, muscular, and cute, not to mention bigger than most of the middleweight guys she had to usher on-stage. :-)