Disappointing turnout of amateur athletes at the 2023 Arnold Classic USA.
The 2023 Arnold Amateur Classic, suffered one of the lowest turnouts of athletes in the history of the competition.
Since 2007, the Arnold Amateur USA, was one of the biggest bodybuilding and fitness amateur events in the world.
Some of the most successful bodybuilding stars earned their pro status at this event.
The Arnold Amateur USA was regarded as one of the most prestigious amateur events in the world.
Unfortunately, after 2020, the number of athletes that register to compete at this event is on a sharp decline.
Even after the split between Jim Manion and Rafael Santonja in 2017, the number of registered athletes was still impressive up to 2020.
After 2021, Arnold Schwarzenegger took total control of the Arnold Sports Festival, starting World Championship Events, Inc, the new company that would run the Arnold Sports Festival.
With the change of management, there was a complete reshuffle of employees at the Arnold Sports Festival headquarters. The Lorimer family would no longer be involved with the Arnold Sports Festival.
Number of registered athletes on the decline
Unfortunately, the number of athletes registering to compete at the Arnold Amateur USA, is on a decline.
From 2007 to 2020, approximately 1000 athletes from all division combined, registered to compete at this prestigious event.
The pandemic between 2020 and 2022, was possibly one of the main factors of a low turnout of athletes. Even with international athletes refusing to travel, it was expected that a healthy number of athletes would register from the USA and Canada. The Arnold Amateur was excluded from the 2021 event.
Even during the pandemic, the numbered of registered amateur athletes was very high in 2020, but the same cannot be said for the 2022 and the 2023 version of the amateur event.
2022 was not successful with only 242 amateurs, this is one of the main reasons the organizers removed Mike Davies, and replaced him with Gary Udit.
156 athletes registered for the 2023 Arnold Amateur, with 60 athletes crossing over to other divisions or categories.
The preparation for the 2023 Arnold Amateur did not get off to a good start, with the event being cancelled In December, 2022, to then be reinstated by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself just a few days later.
Read More: 2023 NPC Arnold Amateur has been postponed indefinitely
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Gary Udit was in charge of the promotion of the 2023 Arnold Amateur. Udit’s goal was to get as many athletes as possible for this event.
The very low turnout of athletes will allegedly disappoint Arnold Schwarzenegger, which in return will not look good for NPC president Jim Manion.
When comparing the 2023 Arnold Amateur’s registered athletes with previous years, this edition was a total failure. It remains to be seen if Gary Udit will in charge of the event in 2024.
To add more pressure on Jim Manion and Gary Udit, the Arnold Amateur Europe, that is organized by IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja, is much more successful, with approximately 1000 amateur athletes competing each year.
Rival federation event puts pressure on Jim Manion and his promoters
Wayne DeMilia, the president of IFBB Physique America, and the promoter of the mega event to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, 4-6 August, 2023, will be putting a lot of pressure on Jim Manion and his team of promoters.
The Bodybuilding event in Las Vegas, the Pan Am International, is being promoted by Physique America and the IFBB. Rafael Santonja, the IFBB President and Wayne DeMilia, the Physique America President, are working together to produce a mega Bodybuilding competition that will be part of the Entertainment Weekend. They have set a goal of having over 1000 athletes.
The IFBB Pan-AM International and Federation Championships, that is to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be an huge multi-sport event.
IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja along with Wayne DeMilia and his team, will be under a lot of pressure to be successful. IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja, will want to convince the new promoters, and competitors in America, of what the IFBB is capable of producing at a high standard.
A number of experienced promoters, have recently switched over to IFBB Physique America from the NPC and Pro League. With the experience of the veteran promoters, IFBB Physique America will have no problem building a team to tackle such an event.
After the split in 2017, between Jim Manion and Dr. Rafael Santonja, Jim Manion continued to dominate the events organized in the USA and Canada, while IFBB president Dr. Rafael Santonja, continued to dominate the majority of events all over the world.
Jim Manion’s NPC Worldwide, started to expand in Europe, with some success, but Manion never expected to have direct competition from a rival federation on his home turf in the USA.
It will be interesting to see what NPC athletes decide to do, with the pending the investigation by legal authorities of the NPC, the Pro League, Jim Manion, and his family.
The 2023 bodybuilding and fitness season is expected to be a very exciting one, with new events being organized all across the USA and Canada.
