2010 FitGems Sponsorship

It's been a long time coming, but FINALLY, all the pieces are put together. FitGems is proud to announce that in 2010, we will be sponsoring someone for the 2010 season! Believe it or not, I understand how hard it is to compete, with the purchasing of suits, tickets, hotel rooms, etc. Yep, it's more to it than training day in and day out. You have to take care of your business getting to the stage, before you take care of your business ON the stage.

This sponsorship will take care of most or all of your expenses for the contest of your choice (depending on how much money is raised) Depending on how big the fund gets, more than one sponsorship award may be given away next year. The FitGems sponsorship will be awarded during Arnold Weekend 2010 to a deserving individual chosen by a secret panel. To be fair, I will NOT be on the panel.

Rules:

1. Participants must be a member of the site by no later than January 31, 2010 to be eligible for the sponsorship. Once you join the site, either send me a PM (private message) or leave a comment on my page saying that you are submitting your name into the competition. When I reply to you via PM, you are officially entered into the contest.

2. The competition the participants are competing in sometime within the 2010 season, between the Arnold 2010 and Olympia 2010.
3. Participants can be either pro or amateur competitors, and they can compete in any division and any federation. This is not limited to just IFBB and/or NPC competitors.
4. Participants must provide a MINIMUM of an introduction Journal Entry, (which can be posted on the blogs), and at least two more entries, chronicling their contest journey. for a total of three entries that the participants MUST have for the contest. The winner will then need to post a blog entry on the final week before the contest, and a Aftershow blog entry. All particiants are more than welcome to do so, but the winner HAS to do this.
5. Participants are encourage to be as active over the entire site as they can, whether it be to post content, engage in various discussions,invite members to check out FitGems Nation, etc.
6. The winner will be awarded via PayPal. If there are other parts to the sponsorship that need to be awarded to the winner, it will be mailed on Arnold Weekend, and the winner should receive their other winnings (hopefully) no later then 4-6 weeks after the contest has ended.

The fund as of September 27th, 2009 is at $151 USD (United States Dollars), begun by Carl Burkins (dallas3 on FitGems, and various boards) and myself. If you would like to contribute to the FitGems Sponsorship Fund, click on the donate button on the right side of the blog. If you have any questions about the sponsorship and how your site/company/organization can get involved, email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net and put FitGems Sponsorship on the subject line of your email. Donations (money, photoshoots opportunities, products, etc.) will be accepted until February 28, 2010.
Thank you in advance for participating in the first of hopefully many sponsorship opportunities from the FitGems Nation!!!

Song of the Week-Queen "We Are the Champions"

This Song of the Week is dedicated to every competitor that stepped on the Olympia stage this past weekend. Regardless of your placing, you made it on the biggest stage of them all.



No time for losers, cause YOU are the champions....OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 2009 Olympia Predictions

We are mere hours away from the start of prejugding, and all the women (Fitness, Figure, Ms. Olympia) will be performing today, with the Fitness Olympia and Ms. Olympia finals being tonight. I'm about as lost as a needle in a haystack when it comes to predictions, but I'll post them anyways:

Ms. Olympia

1. Iris Kyle
2. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
3. Heather Armbrust
4. Betty Adkins
5. Dayana Cadeau
6. Lisa Aukland

Fitness Olympia

1. Adela Garcia
2. Tracey Greenwood
3. Julie Palmer
4. Tina Durkin
5. Shannon Meteraud
6. Trish Warren

Figure Olympia

1. Gina Aliotti
2. Jenny Lynn
3. Heather Mae French
4. Kristal Richardson
5. Jessica Putnam
6. Felicia Romero

I would absoultely flip out if I had one of the categories right. Don't see it happening though, but we'll shall soon see. Best of luck to everyone this weekend!!!

Is it worth it?

Well...

Today I was planning on having this FitChat dedicated to the Olympia. I had the format down, and sent word about it to several people over the last few days, as early as last week to be honest with you. Apparently, this turned into that, and well..due to multiple circumstances, The Olympia FitChat was stopped and will not be rescheduled. But I'm not writing this blog piece mainly because of the failure of the FitChat (I can live with that), but more on the lines of something I've realize lately.

I'm beginning to think I'm not well-liked, even hated...and I don't understand why.

I've done what I can with the limited resouces I have to help make this sport better. I've been a fan ever since middle school (I'm a college graduate student now, so do the math). I've seen the sport evolve so much since then. Yet it seems like, I feel as of lately, there's a circle, and I'm not part of the loop. I try to get involved however I can, whether it's giving out money that I needed (not wanted) for myself to help with a sponsorship (I've done it twice), give money to a mother who's providing an example for not only her fellow competitors but all mothers out there (done that this year, will do it again next year), give those that ask me advice for bettering themselves or a fellow competitor (recently done that)... Okay, I think you get the point.

I'm hoping I'm not coming across as a baby, but I'm...I'm just really confused as to what I'm doing wrong that I feel like I'm a hated individual. Is it because I'm black? No, doubt it, as I know of several supporters who are my color and they are respected individuals. Is it because I don't look like a bodybuilder. No, doubt it's that either, as there are those that are no where NEAR the bodybuilder-type look and they are respected individuals. It is my age? Well...I DO think my age is a part of why people might not like me. See, being a 22-year-old competitor is different from being a 22 year-old fan/supporter. The competitor is viewed as the future of the sport, with limitless potential, while the fan/supporter is more likely viewed as a creep. Young boys/men have that stereotype on them, like all black people listen and like rap. Trust me, not all of them don't. Some like a good country song. :)

All I'm saying to all of you is if I'm doing something wrong, if I'm coming across as something uncomfortable, let me know. I know this may sound crazy, but I'm not an awful human being. I care for and respect the sport of female muscle and want to see if flourish. I want to one day be a voice that leads the next generation of message board leaders, contest promoters, website designers, fans/supporters, etc.

So yes, I do feel like I have a hate target on me by a few, I feel at times that all my work means nothing. So seriously...it it worth it?

You bet it does...

2009 Olympia FitChat Reminder

Just a reminder that TOMORROW AFTERNOON, FitGems will be hosting an Olympia FitChat at Noon Eastern/11 Central. This chat is to get everyone amped up for what is looking to be an historic event. Look for the event to last about an hour to an hour and a half, two hours at the most, as I know most of you have others things to do.

So what will be discuss? Here's a general look at what will be brought up:

• Breakdown of every female competitor in each division
• Favorites for Ms. Olympia, Fitness Olympia, and Figure Olympia
• Who could be "dark horses" in each division
• Possiblities of hosting the Olympia in a different location
• The possiblity of recording the Olympia with HD technology
• Whether or not the Olympia should be broadcasted on PPV or a TV network in the future, and much more.

I can't make any promised, but I'm hoping to have someone from the Olympia past and present as a special guest on the FitChat.

Any questions about the Olympia that we can ask during the FitChat, please email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net.

Here's the link to the Olympia FitChat
http://www.fitgemsnation.net/page/olympia-fitchat

Spread the word around, and I'll (hopefully) see you on the FitChat tomorrow afternoon at 12PM Eastern/11 AM Central! :)

Song of the Week-John Cena "The Time is Now"

In a mere few days, one man (Ms. Olympia) and three women (Ms. Olympia, Figure Olympia, Fitness Olympia) will say...THE CHAMP IS HEERRRRRRRRRRREE!!!!!!!!!!!!



Your time is up, my time is now
You can't see me, my time is now
It's the franchise, boy I'm shinin' now
You can't see me, my time is now!

Whose franchise will be shining this weekend?!

The 2009 Olympia is set!

For those that are unsure about who's competing, here's the FINAL list of competitors from the biggest event of the year:

Ms. Olympia
Iris Floyd Kyle (defending champion)
Betty Adkins
Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
Lisa Aukland
Dayana Cadeau
Debi Laszewski
Heather Armbrust
Betty Pariso
Rosemary Jennings
Gale Frankie
Tina Chandler
Nicole Ball
Kristy Hawkins

Fitness Olympia
Tracey Greenwood
Julie Palmer
Tanji Johnson
Regaine Da Silva
Tina Durkin
Shannon Meteraud
Trish Warren
Mindi O'Brien
Myriam Capes
Adela Garcia
Nicole Duncan
Bethany Wagner

Figure Olympia
Gina Aliotti
Jenny Lynn
Sonia Gonzales
Brenda Smith
Teresa Anthony
Huong Arcinas
April Roundtree
Felicia Romero
Monica Brant
Kristal Richardson
Nicole Wilkins-Lee
Heather Mae French
Kristi Tauti
Jessica Putnam
Erin Stern
Krissy Chin
Meriza DeGuzman
Amy Fry
Patricia Mello
Larissa Reis
Alicia Harris
Sherlyn Roy

Who will make history and become a legend this weekend? We shall soon see, won't we!?

Follow HDPhysiques on Twitter!

Yep, HDPhysiques is now in the Twitter universe!

For everything up-to-date on everything that's a part of the HDP world (HDPhysiques.com, HDPhysiques.net, and the official blog, as well as exclusive content and sneak peaks of upcoming HDP models for Twitter followers only), follow them here:

http://twitter.com/hdphysiques

FBBFan.com Relaunched...Whole new look!!!

For those that are unaware, I take part in more message boards and sites about female muscle than I dare to even talk about right now. One of my favorites is FBBFan.com. It was a social network site, like FitGems Nation, created using Ning in order to help support the sport of female muscle. Mark, the founder of FBBFan.com, was very influential in molding what my site is today, and I thank him for that.

The site was down for a while to make changes to better suit the female muscle community. I'm happy to say that the site is back, and it's better than ever! FBBFan.com now has an forum, gallery, video section (coming soon), calender of events, and tons more materia exclusive to FBBFan.com membersl. I highly recommend you check out the site when you get the chance. It's run by a great person who believes in the sport and wants it to flourish.

Here's the link to the NEW FBBFan.com:
http://www.fbbfan.com

Hope you enjoy it! :)

Olympia FitChat set for Next Tuesday

I'm aware that many people will be boarding the planes or driving to Viva Las Vegas probably Tuesday night or sometime Wednsday (depending on your location), so next Tuesday, FitGems will be hosting an Olympia FitChat at Noon Eastern/11 Central. For those that were part of the FitGems Q and A Chat last month, it will be similar to that, but this time, it's strickly Olympia talk. We'll discuss topics such as:

• Breakdown of every female competitor in each division
• Favorites for Ms. Olympia, Fitness Olympia, and Figure Olympia
• Who could be "dark horses"
• Hosting the Olympia in a different location
• The possiblity of recording the Olympia with HD technology
• Whether the Olympia should be broadcasted on PPV or a TV network
• And more...

I'm in the process of talking to a few past Olympia competitors, and hoping they will join us as special guests.

Any questions about the Olympia that we can ask during the FitChat, please email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net.

Here's the link to the Olympia FitChat:
http://www.fitgemsnation.net/page/olympia-fitchat

Hope to see many of you on the FitChat next week!