2023 Olympia - No More Points System

[danieltx]

https://www.ifbbpro.com/2023-olympia-qualification-system-rules/

If you want to qualify next year you have to win a show. The top 5 from men's open and wheelchair along with the top 3 from all other divisions at the 2022 Olympia are automatically qualified.

Tyler Manion added that if a pro wins multiple shows the qualifications won't get passed down to the second place finisher - they only go to the winner.

 

[FK86]

Good.

 

[TrippplePPP]

Such a dumb fucking idea. They just had the best Olympia in probably ten years and they decide to switch it up so less athletes show up. I feel year after year they keep fucking up and making things worse. The lighting, the timing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to draw attention, more pleasure for fans which in turn translates to more money for the business. Did anyone feel there was lack of quality from the competitors? Even in last place Blessing draws a fan base bring attention to the Olympia. I think he won a show but still he was last and still bring something to the table to draw a crowd.

 

[b-boy]

WOW! I think it's a great idea!

 

[slesh]

Such a dumb fucking idea. They just had the best Olympia in probably ten years and they decide to switch it up so less athletes show up. I feel year after year they keep fucking up and making things worse. The lighting, the timing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to draw attention, more pleasure for fans which in turn translates to more money for the business. Did anyone feel there was lack of quality from the competitors? Even in last place Blessing draws a fan base bring attention to the Olympia. I think he won a show but still he was last and still bring something to the table to draw a crowd.

Bro I 1000% agree with you. For a multi billionaire industry these guys are a fucking clown show. I loved watching the Open competitors this year but the actual overall show was completely garbage. Shocking how horribly produced this event is - like a shitty high school talent show. They need to clean house and bring someone in from the NFL, MLB or NBA to run the league and hire a legit production team for the Olympia.

PS - Jake Wood having them constantly refer to him as the owner is just so fucking weird and egomaniacial. Like call yourself the chairman or CEO. “Jake Wood owner of the Olympia.” Fucking creeper. I’d put my life savings on the line that he’s one of those dudes who used to have Sally McNeil wrestle and choke him - seems like a weird fringe fan boy with too much inherited family money…

 

[Reno911]

Such a dumb fucking idea. They just had the best Olympia in probably ten years and they decide to switch it up so less athletes show up. I feel year after year they keep fucking up and making things worse. The lighting, the timing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to draw attention, more pleasure for fans which in turn translates to more money for the business. Did anyone feel there was lack of quality from the competitors? Even in last place Blessing draws a fan base bring attention to the Olympia. I think he won a show but still he was last and still bring something to the table to draw a crowd.

What was the highest ranking guy that made it in on points? Tied for 16th?

 

[TrippplePPP]

What was the highest ranking guy that made it in on points? Tied for 16th?

So I just looked and James Hollingshead was in 16th. He has 200K+ followers on instagram alone. Lets say 10% of his followers buy the paper view just to watch because of him and the PPV is $70 then 70x20,000 = $1.4 million. How much does it effect the show to have him on stage for pre-judging and then a 3 minute routine by himself?

 

[FK86]

They just had the best Olympia in probably ten years and they decide to switch it up so less athletes show up.

There were 8,948 competitors in Classic this year. It was ridiculous. They also can't claim the Olympia has the best in the world when a bunch of also-rans and Instagram bodybuilders show up that get there on technicalities. If you can't win a show, you shouldn't be on the Olympia stage.

Even in last place Blessing draws a fan base bring attention to the Olympia.

Did that fan base buy tickets or the PPV to the actual show? Or did they just go to the expo to get a picture with the fool they follow on Instagram? Guys like Blessing, Hollingshead, and Antoine Vaillant are just internet bodybuilders. Heavily active online and can never get it together when it really matters.

 

[TrippplePPP]

There were 8,948 competitors in Classic this year. It was ridiculous. They also can't claim the Olympia has the best in the world when a bunch of also-rans and Instagram bodybuilders show up that get there on technicalities. If you can't win a show, you shouldn't be on the Olympia stage.


Did that fan base buy tickets or the PPV to the actual show? Or did they just go to the expo to get a picture with the fool they follow on Instagram? Guys like Blessing, Hollingshead, and Antoine Vaillant are just internet bodybuilders. Heavily active online and can never get it together when it really matters.

Both Blessing and Antoine won shows this year if you are not aware. And you are saying 9k entered the Classic Olypmia or just Classic in any show throughout the year? Yeah, in Classic if 100 people show up then there is definitely something wrong with that and their point system should be adjusted. But with the Open having about 20 competitors does it really matter if 5 extra guys show up and this adds to the overall revenue generated for the business? The top person still wins wether "internet bodybuilders" show up or not.

 

[mytreefiddy]

Its the way it SHOULD be.

 

[FK86]

Both Blessing and Antoine won shows this year if you are not aware. And you are saying 9k entered the Classic Olypmia or just Classic in any show throughout the year? Yeah, in Classic if 100 people show up then there is definitely something wrong with that and their point system should be adjusted. But with the Open having about 20 competitors does it really matter if 5 extra guys show up and this adds to the overall revenue generated for the business? The top person still wins wether "internet bodybuilders" show up or not.

If they won shows that got them a qualification then they belong there. I was not aware as any time I see those names mentioned it's usually related to social media.

The 8,948 figure I listed was just hyperbole because there were so many. When I was looking through the pictures online the list just kept going on and on.

 

[slesh]

Obviously there’s a balance to what y’all are saying and also why they have “special invitations.” Agree that guys should earn a spot on that stage but also think in a niche sub culture type sport you want big social media guys like Blessing there even if they aren’t top 10 quality. It just brings more fun and awareness to the sport - and further proves my point that these fuck heads need to get their shit together with the production quality. I’m a die hard fan - I would pay $70 for some high school kid to live steam from his phone - but a casual observer - no way they pay $70 again next year after that shit show…

 

[TrippplePPP]

I would be more willing to drop $70 for the PPV if I knew they would compare Blessing to Nic Walker, Kris’s to Ian. And have call outs just for fun and entertainment compared to shoving Ramy to the side and confusing everyone wtf is going on. I also know every Olympia im up to 3am to watch what I want to see.

Doesn’t everyone want to see Nic next to Blessing to shut him up? Love Blessing or hate him that would be great. How cool would it be if athletes could request side by sides in front of the crowd.

Ok, I had a bit of coffee and was off work this AM. I’ll shut up now.

 

[Fit2Serve]

prob wont make a difference in top placings by any means.
reduces entries tho which seems counter intuitive but also maybe makes sense if they want to cut down on competitors in that division. not the most popular division anymore is my guess. my nephew knows bout everything about Cbum. yet, hes never heard of Hadi Choopan...

 

[Reno911]

So I just looked and James Hollingshead was in 16th. He has 200K+ followers on instagram alone. Lets say 10% of his followers buy the paper view just to watch because of him and the PPV is $70 then 70x20,000 = $1.4 million. How much does it effect the show to have him on stage for pre-judging and then a 3 minute routine by himself?

So "tied" for 16th- essentially last place.

I think it's a stretch to think 1 out of 10 of his followers ordered the live stream.

 

[TrippplePPP]

So "tied" for 16th- essentially last place.

I think it's a stretch to think 1 out of 10 of his followers ordered the live stream.

I think so too but you know what I mean. More competitors more revenue. Which is a good thing within reason.

 

[fisther69]

Such a dumb fucking idea. They just had the best Olympia in probably ten years and they decide to switch it up so less athletes show up. I feel year after year they keep fucking up and making things worse. The lighting, the timing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to draw attention, more pleasure for fans which in turn translates to more money for the business. Did anyone feel there was lack of quality from the competitors? Even in last place Blessing draws a fan base bring attention to the Olympia. I think he won a show but still he was last and still bring something to the table to draw a crowd.

Dude, people stopped watching it and waited until the next day to see the results..no one watched all that shit

 

[slesh]

Dude, people stopped watching it and waited until the next day to see the results..no one watched all that shit

Lol I watched every minute and my skin was crawling

Another thing I should have mentioned - I know he’s the “voice of bodybuilding” but it’s time for Bob Chic to go. He’s so fucking awkward up there that even 3000 miles away in my living room I was uncomfortable…

 

[FK86]

it’s time for Bob Chic to go.

He never should have been there in the first place. The stupid sideburns and pleather suits. Like you said, he's downright awful and cringe. I always thought he was a goof and would facepalm when I watched clips of either the show or press conference. Somewhere along the way the production really shit the bed. If you watch old shows on YouTube channels like Muscle Monarchs the shows look way better. The stage, lighting, commentary, and overall presentation was better. I watched Vince Taylor's routine from the '92 Arnold Classic and was amazed at the size of the crowd. They also looked like normal people too. The same type of people that would tune in to the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the audience today is almost only muscle freaks and workout enthusiasts.

 

[Elvia1023]

I understand both sides. Forgetting about revenue this is the way it should be. Although if one of the higher tier guys decides to compete in multiple shows this year it would mean many miss out on the O. Although these days very few who win shows usually compete in more than 3 at most. Now if a few guys win 2-3 each it will mean quite a few missing out. To combat this they could have a set min number of competitors (15 for example) and if there are less (13 for example) then they pick two 2nd place guys who would have won if the same person hadn't competed in multiple shows. Although I suppose if they can't win a show they shouldn't be at the O and even if it means just 10 guys (for example) competing then so be it. I am just referring to the open division btw because the others divisions need to massively lower the number of competitors qualifying because it's ridiculous having 50+ people turn up for the Olympia in certain classes.

No division should have more than 20 people qualifying and even that number is high and even 12-15 sounds about right. The best 12-15 (approx) people in each class to win the biggest show in the world. It would make running the show so much easier and it would be much smoother and give each athlete/class more time. It would still probably be all over the place because they need a complete revamp in multiple areas. I agree it's like a poorly run school talent show at times and this will help with the time keeping and scheduling but at the very least they also need a new host and better lighting.