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2000 NPC Jr. Nationals Information By Jim Manion - NPC President |
Of course there were plenty of Texas competitors in the 1999 contest, but the two who garnered the most attention were Prince Fontenot and Robert Washington. Both Fontenot and Washington are former NPC Team Universe weight class winners, with Washington also a former overall champion of that event too. Both of these athlete's lived up to their expectations by winning the middleweight and super-heavyweight classes respectively. Washington took the overall by a unanimous decision. So I would expect many Texas competitors will be preparing for this contest again. Although no stranger to contest promotion, this was DeShay's first step up to the national level and she more than succeeded with the venture. This should bode well for her this year with one notch on her belt already. With 1999 as a "testing of the waters", she has gone full speed ahead for the Houston show. The last time an NPC national event was held in Houston was a little over a decade ago, so the city is primed for a return. Ebert doesn't plan to disappoint. To that end, she's secured the guest posing services of Texas' own two-time IFBB Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. With the bodybuilding enthusiasts satisfied on the guest posing level, DeShay made sure to touch base with the increasing fitness contingent by having 1999 IFBB World Pro Fitness overall champion Mandy Blank as the second guest poser. As if the celebrity factor wasn't already raised a notch with these two champions, Ebert is pouring on even more. In 1999, she had WWF superstar Shawn Michaels as the co-emcee of the event. This year, she's scheduling two sharp dudes to appear and handle the emcee duties, if their schedules permit - Sterling Sharpe of ESPN Sports Center/former Green Bay Packer along with his brother Shannon Sharpe of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos! Already signed on as sponsors are Biochem Sports and Fitness Systems as the Title Sponsor, MET-Rx is the Host Sponsor and Co-Sponsors are G.N.C. and Iron-Tek. The festivities begin on Friday, June 16, at the host hotel, the Hilton at the University of Houston with the men's weigh-in's from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., while the women's bodybuilding and fitness weigh-in's/check-in's immediately follow from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Up next is an NPC Judges Clinic from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. For those that can't make the early weigh-in's, Ebert has scheduled a Friday final weigh-in from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, June 17, get ready to rise with the roosters as things begin sharply at 7:30 a.m. for the Fitness competitors mandatory meeting. This will all take place in the contests venue, the Cullen Auditorium at the University of Houston. At 8:00 a.m. will be the men and women Bodybuilders mandatory meeting, plus the doors open to the public. The pre-judging for all three portions of the contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. That evening, the top 15 fitness competitors from the three height classes, (i.e., top 5 in each class), have their mandatory meeting at 5:30 p.m. Then at 6:00 p.m., the top 15 men and women bodybuilding competitors have their mandatory meeting, plus the doors open to the public. The finals for all three events starts at 7:00 p.m. Some important information to take note of include the competitors entry deadline of May 26, 2000. (Please complete and mail your entry early as you can not sign up to compete on the day of the contest.) The Hilton at the University of Houston's reservation number is (713) 741-2447. Hotel rates for competitors are; Single - $85.00, Double - $95.00, Triple - $105.00 and a Quad - $115.00. Ticket prices for pre-judging are a very reasonable $15.00. Finals tickets range in price from $45.00 - $35.00 - $25.00. Not one to rest on her laurels, Ebert will be back promoting the 2000 NPC Texas State Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in San Antonio. Her goals are to top last years competitor and audience attendance, and make it a show to live up to the size of the state of Texas. Considering last year's contest had close to sixty competitors, Ebert is setting her sights high, but not unattainable to her. "Texas is the largest state in the continental United States, and I want to live up to that reputation," she stated. "To that end, I really want to build up the women's fitness division of the state, and to do that, I am bringing in the overall 1999 NPC USA Fitness Champion Adela Friedmansky to guest pose and spice up the event with her Latin flavored fitness routine." The contest will be held at the Lila Cockerell Auditorium on August 19, just two weeks after the NPC USA Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, and one week after the NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships. The NPC Texas State Championships is a national-qualifier and can be used as a starting point in a competitor preparing for the NPC National Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in November. And even though the sub-title of last years NPC Junior National Championships was "Battle At The Alamo", that claim could be made for the state championships too. Besides promoting these two outstanding NPC events, and handling the every day duties as the chairperson for the state, Ebert has been keeping busy in the capacity of an NPC national judge. To that end, she was appointed as an IFBB pro judge in 2000, and judged her first event in February, the IFBB Fitness International. She also keeps herself occupied as a personal trainer and writer for the South Texas Fitness and Health News Magazine. As you can tell, DeShay is quite a busy individual. But as she stated, "I'm never too busy to help out one of our athlete's, or answer any of their questions." For more NPC information, along with fliers, booth spaces and sponsorship information for both contests, contact DeShay Ebert at P.O. Box 171221, San Antonio, TX, 78217; call (210) 654-1432, fax (210) 654-1253 or e-mail at debert@texas.net. |