Politics

I've been hearing about "politics" within bodybuilding competitions ever since I dedicated myself to this activity. I really didn't understand it at first. We're all a bunch of strangers who don't know the judges, so how could the notion of politics come into play? I've since learned how it works. The competition promoters, the ones putting up the money to stage a show, have some influence over the judges and they can let their opinions be known. According to this theory, let's say that the promoter of the Oct. show I'll be competing in wants the clients from his gym to be favored, then...maybe those girls move up in the rankings. Of course, if his people take all the top spots, then this would become obvious and no one from other gyms would bother competing in his show. But other entities have interests in the show including product sponsors, etc. Glenn told me a story about first-hand experience with this issue back in the early 90s which, granted, was a long time ago, but still. He hung out with a promoter and this person told him, without equivocation, that he wanted a certain girl to win because that's the look he wanted to represent the show. So she won and it was her very first show. Therefore, a competitor such as myself must wonder about all of this. I can't say that it alters my approach in any way, but it does make me a little suspicious. All I do can, in the face of it, is work hard, look my best and give Miss Favored Status a run for her money.