Federation: NPF

The NPF Sandows was held at the Fawcett Center on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.  It was my first time being back on the OSU campus in over 20 years.  The town looked the same as it did when I attended Ohio State University but the campus itself did not.  As all colleges, there are new buildings, eateries, dormitories, and apartments. 

The 4.5 hour flight (including layovers) to Ohio was smooth.  Due to Covid-19 protocols, the check in process at BWI took a little longer than usual but it wasn't annoying by any means.  I ended up renting a really little car which to my surprise had all the amenities of mid or full size cars.  What caught me off guard is that the pint sized car had a backup camera which amused me and my sister.  The most entertaining part of renting a pint sized car is that after all of the driving I did that weekend, I only had to put $4 of gas back in it before I returned to the airport. Unbelievable.  The hotel was older but it was HUGE.  Back in its glory days I'm sure it was (and still may be) used for weddings and events.

I arrived in Ohio on a Friday and check in wasn't until the following day.  I put on my color but didn't carb up. I had already peaked a month prior so carb loading doesn't work the second time around. Instead, I just ate my normal meal consisting of 1 cup of rice and packed Salmon this time around.  My sister and I watched movies and I worked on a few projects for clients.

Check in photos and videos courtesy of my sister Rachael

athlete check in

The Competition

This is one of those shows where everything flowed well.  The classes moved as they should have, the music was good, the MC was good, and overall, the competitors seemed to be happy.  There was talent from as far as Florida and California.  The women's pro division was stacked with talent. 

The men's lineup was decent with a total of 6 athletes entered.  Personally, I was not even close to being my best and with that being said, I was still competitive, considering the fact that I was the oldest competitor in my division.  My conditioning was off and my usual hardness was not there as predicted. None of this was surprising considered that I didn't actually compete until 7 pm and travelled by plane.  Its not easy bringing in good conditioning to a competition when you travel by air and don't give your body time to adjust.

Final feedback

Class and overall winners took a urinalysis test afterwards.  Athletes were chosen at random. The judges did a good job of moving us around.  We definitely worked up there (we were onstage as a group for a total of 18 minutes) followed by our routines.

Now, I have one last show to compete in, which is the OCB Richmond Classic on December 12, 2020  Again, I have already peaked so this show will be for fun.  I have never competed in the OCB so this should be interesting.  I don't have any particular goals, but the show is a Pro qualifier so that could be something to work towards.