Bill Dobbins BILLDOB@aol.com

There seems to be some confusion as to the purpose and function of the various sanctioning bodies in the sport of bodybuilding.

The IFBB is the officially recognized (by the appropriate international amateur athletic organizations) sanctioning body for international amateur bodybuilding. On an amateur level, the IFBB sanctions only international events---the World Championships, the European Championships, the North America Championships and so forth.

The IFBB is a federation of federations. It is made up of national sanctioning organizations. In the United States, the organizations is the National Physique Committee of the United States. The NPC sanctions national amateur competitions, from the local level up to the USA and the Nationals.

There are other organizations that sanction bodybuilding in the United States, such as the AAU. Competing for the AAU qualifies bodybuilders for contests such as the Mr. America, or for international competition by organizations affiliated with the AAU, but only NPC competition qualifies competitors for IFBB contests.

The IFBB also sanctions professional contests, such as the Olympias, the Grand Prix events, the Arnold Classic and the Ms. International. Bodybuilders generally qualify to become IFBB professionals by winning specific national events, sanctioned by member organizations, such as the NPC USA or NPC Nationals. Neither the NPC itself, however, nor any other national sanctioning body, has any direct jurisdiction over pros or pro events.

Currently, the NPC and the IFBB have begun sanctioning amateur fitness contests and the IFBB pro events as well.

As far as Ben Weider is concerned, he is certainly the dominate figure in the IFBB, especially when it comes to pro competition. This is not the case when it comes to amateur bodybuilding. Anyone who has ever attended the World Congress of the IFBB and seen the enormous number of countries involved and the number of delegates and officials in attendance would realize that Ben is in no position to simply dictate IFBB policy. Instead, like any other political figure (such as Jim Manion at the NPC), he needs the support of the maximum number of national federations and officials as possible in order to create and execute IFBB policy.

As I've said in previous postings, Joe Weider has virtually nothing to do with the IFBB, the NPC, their rules, policies or administration. The idea that he is pulling strings behind the scenes is totally false.

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