New Olympia Qualifications for 2012 and Beyond

For those unaware, the 2012 Olympia is aiming to be more elite with some new changes. Here's the official IFBB Advisory Notice on Olympia qualifications, beginning next year:

Photo credit: IFBB Pro

When you stop to think about it, it's a great way to make the Olympia more special then it already is. Yes, this does mean there will be LESS competitors on the Olympia stage from this point forward, but the Olympia is supposed to represent the absolute BEST of this industry, right? I have no problem with it. Besides, For those divisions that might lack a few competitors, invites could be issued. So placing in the top 3 in ANY competition is still important, as it can do a long way in possibly seeing yourself on the Olympia stage beginning next year and the years to come. Also, there's men's and women's physique that's going to be part of the Olympia soon. The rest of this year's shows are NOT affected by this rule. This will take place at the start of the 2012 season.

What are YOUR thoughts on the new Olympia qualifications? Post your responses below or send us a tweet to our Twitter at FitGemsNation.

2011 Olympia Webcast Details

The good folks at Bodybuilding.com will once again be providing a free webcast of the Olympia, taking place this weekend. Here's the direct link to the Olympia webcast:

http://streaming.bodybuilding.com/2011-olympia-webcast/

Mr Olympia prejudging, Ms Olympia Finals, Fitness Olympia Finals & Bikini Olympia Finals will take place on Friday evening. with the finals of Mr Olympia & Figure Olympia taking place on Saturday evening.Women's prejudging will not be live via Webcast, however the prejudging is usually taped by Bodybuilding.com, so they will probably post the video a few days after the Olympia has concluded.

Current WWE Diva To Return to Her Roots

For weeks and weeks, Gaspari Nutrition  has been promoting their first-ever live broadcast from the 2011 Olympia, and with good reason. It's a big event in itself because Gaspari Nurtition is among the biggest supplement companies on the planet (and a former FitGems award winner, FYI). But it's also a major big deal because of who's hosting the event...Current WWE Diva Kaitlyn!

Photo credit: WWE.com

Kaitlyn, a former NPC Figure competitor, will be returning to her fitness roots as she will be interviewing some of the biggest names in the fitness industry, including Felicia Romero, Ava Cowan, Krissy Chin, Jaime Baird, Justine Munro, Marzia Prince, Laura Prestin, and others. We at FitGems Nation are stoked to see Kaitlyn tearing it up and joking it out (and being part of the coolest Diva tag team EVER, the Chickbusters, with AJ) on Friday Night Smackdown, so we are excited to see her give back to the industry that made her a star in the first place.

The interviews can be viewed from anywhere in the world that has Internet connection. The live feed will take place from 10AM to 5PM Pacific Time on both Friday and Saturday on the company's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GaspariNutrition. No doubt the Gaspari booth will be among the most popular attractions of the Olympia weekend, especially with one of the top rising stars in WWE as part of their team.