How long is an OCB show?

[Flipperman2a2w]

I'm driving to New Jersey to watch an OCB show this weekend, and I can't seem to find any information on how long it lasts. I'm planning to get there at 10AM for the prejudging. I've heard that's like watching paint dry, but I'm researching to see if I actually want to enter next year. How long does the prejudging usually last? The night show starts at 4PM- any idea what time I could expect it to be over? Thanks in advance!

[pastorgbc]

I'm driving to New Jersey to watch an OCB show this weekend, and I can't seem to find any information on how long it lasts. I'm planning to get there at 10AM for the prejudging. I've heard that's like watching paint dry, but I'm researching to see if I actually want to enter next year. How long does the prejudging usually last? The night show starts at 4PM- any idea what time I could expect it to be over? Thanks in advance!

It all depends upon how many contestants there are. Do know this, though, neither session will start or end on time.

Pre-judging is more interesting if you have someone you are rooting for. Generally, the decisions are made there.

Enjoy.

Ray

[Flipperman2a2w]

Thanks! I'm planning to bring a good book to kill some down-time. I'm really looking forward to the show- I think it will be very motivating.

[DerAlta]

Thanks! I'm planning to bring a good book to kill some down-time. I'm really looking forward to the show- I think it will be very motivating.

It is motivating, but the bikini/figure/physique will drag on... You'll see the same girl 5 different times, just wearing a different suit. Bring a Pillow and a Book.

The show will likely last until near 10pm or later. Once the last competitor is done, the trophies will take another hour to distribute.

In other words, it'll be a long ass day.

[Flipperman2a2w]

It is motivating, but the bikini/figure/physique will drag on... You'll see the same girl 5 different times, just wearing a different suit. Bring a Pillow and a Book.

The show will likely last until near 10pm or later. Once the last competitor is done, the trophies will take another hour to distribute.

In other words, it'll be a long ass day.

Wow, you seriously weren't joking... I never thought I'd get tired of seeing a gal in a bikini, but I actually started checking e-mails on my phone during that part. I saw the prejudging and could only stay for about half of the night show. I wanted to stay longer, but I had to get my rental car back (not to mention the fact that the auditorium was stifling, and it had already been a very LONG day). I didn't get to see the novice men's bodybuilding routines, which was kind of disappointing. I guess those are last for a reason. I did get to see some pro routines, though, which were very inspiring. In any case, I think I got a good sense of what a competition is like, and I know what areas I really need to focus on if I want to compete next year (mainly diet and posing).

I'm sure no one probably cares about my opinion regarding competitions, but I seriously feel like it could be divided into two days. Attending the prejudging and night show obviously makes for a long day. Even for the people who just attend the night show, though, 7 hours is a long time to expect someone to sit there. Maybe they could do women's bikini and men's physique on a separate day from women's figure and men's bodybuilding (there was only one entry in the novice women's bodybuilding). I just think there's enough content to stretch the event over two days- Saturday/Sunday. Just my two cents. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to attend, though.

[kimm4]

In other words, it'll be a long ass day.

Too long of a day. I'm doing my final show in 2 weeks. I have be there at 8 a.m. Prejudging starts at 11 a.m. night show doesn't start till 6 p.m.

More than likely, I won't get out until after midnight.

It's one of the biggest reasons I'm retiring from competing. The shows have become way too long.

[nexgensupps]

This past weekend was the Empire Classic and they have started to split them in two for this one...but most were still not done till well after midnight. I look forward to it though...This year doing the Nigh of Champions for my first show...

[POrtergolf]

I just did my first show this weekend. We had to arrive at 7:30am for competitors meeting. That dragged on too long. Pre-judging was to start at 10:00am but that started closer to 10:45. I finally got out of pre-judging around 1pm (there were still the bikini division to go after us).

For the night show competitiors had to be back at 6:30pm the show was to begin at 7:30pm. It started closer to 8:15pm. I was finished around 10:10pm and I left. We received out trophies when our classes were called out, we did not have to wait until the end. I heard the show finished up around midnight. Makes for a looooong day. It would have been nice if they would have provided an order of events so my family could have come closer to when my division was supposed to go on rather than sit there for 2.5 hours.

Next time if you are just researching I would just attend pre-judging and skip the night show.

[Flipperman2a2w]

Too long of a day. I'm doing my final show in 2 weeks. I have be there at 8 a.m. Prejudging starts at 11 a.m. night show doesn't start till 6 p.m.

More than likely, I won't get out until after midnight.

It's one of the biggest reasons I'm retiring from competing. The shows have become way too long.

I can't imagine what it's like for the competitors... You get up at the crack of dawn to start revving your engine for the prejudging, and then they "put you on ice" for about 8 hours... I will say this, I respected the fact that they at least eliminated all of the introductions before the routines.

I don't quite understand the bikini, physique, and figure walks... The bodybuilders have unique routines set to their own music where they hit poses that highlight their strengths, but the others just come out and walked the same path to the same exact music that was being faded in and out. I know everyone deserves their time in the spotlight, but I don't see what the judges get from the walking that they couldn't get from the prejudging. If nothing else, maybe the walks could be done without a pause in between each one. Like I said, everyone deserves their time to shine. There were 50 ladies in the bikini division, though, so I think it was about an hour and a half of walking. After that, they all came back out in groups for photos and then awards were given for all of the individual classes within that division. I think the bikini part of the night show took about 2 1/2 hours... I hope this is helpful for someone else who has never attended a competition.

[Flipperman2a2w]

Next time if you are just researching I would just attend pre-judging and skip the night show.

Yeah- I was really hoping to see some of the novice bb routines, since I'm thinking about competing next year. The night show started at 4PM and couldn't have been over until 11 at the earliest. I stayed until about 7:30, and they were barely half-way through the women's figure division. After that, men's physique still had to go, before the bodybuilding routines (and there were A LOT of guys in the physique division).

If I compete next year, I was going to invite a few friends to cheer me on, but I could never ask them to sit there for an entire day.