Colette Nelson Did Her Homework - Controversy At The 2006 Europa Pro Show; Time For Women Judges

Colette Nelson, originally uploaded by genexmagazine.

It's all over the message boards from GeneX to Unrealmuscle. Observers are bashing the decisions of the judges at the Europa Pro Show.

The basic overall criticism is that the winning women, starting with Heather Foster, all lacked well-defined legs. As one poster put it:

"Originally Posted by Ally Taay

That said, if the lady bodybuilders had known that Heather Foster's thick midsection and smooth quads were going to take #1, perhaps none of them needed to diet at all. WHAT were the judges looking for? Collette has personality and beauty, but this is a BODYBUILDING contest - - not a beauty pageant.

All three of the winners lacked LEGS! I guess a top hat and cane or a slinky blue dress can overcome the lack of calves and quads (future competitors, take note!)"

And it goes from there.

The one voice no one's heard from is that of the judges themselves. As for me, I didn't attend the event, and totally object to the domination of the male in the judging ranks. Indeed, it may be time to have all women judges for female bodybuilding. More and more, we're seeing a group of men as judges that seem to be threatened by a really well-defined and muscular woman. It's almost as if there's a kind of culture war underway.

As for Colelte, I think she may have known what the judges were looking for, as her legs -- especially her thighs -- have been bigger in the past. Perhaps she did her homework, but still only got third place.

I'm going to congradulate Heather Foster on her victory. She's certainly and arguably balanced in her build, but Tazzie's a hard one to pass up in my view.

I think so.