What The Fitness Division Means to Me by C--Ray

What the Fitness Division Means to Me
By C-Ray

In the opinion of a lot of people, women’s fitness seems to be the most demanding and entertaining of all the female muscle divisions. This is not meant to spark debate amongst the divisions as to who works harder and whatnot, I’m only stating what has been said in a variety of message boards.
For those that know me, the fitness division was THE division that got me to become a fan of the entire female muscle sport in the first place. To be more specific, it was the Fitness America Pageant when it was on ESPN2, aka the “good old days” of the network, before it resulted in hot dog contests, poker, and random stuff I’ll never understand..oh yeah, and Sportscenter.
It kinda happened by accident to be honest with ya. I was bored at my mom’s home at the time (long story about that, don’t ask) and started to flip some channels until I came across ESPN2, waiting on something…I forgot what it was. The Fitness America Pageant was on at the time and decided to keep it on there. Let me remind you I had NO CLUE about the industry at this point. I was only in middle school…and going through a rough time as well. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was nothing but amazing, awe-inspiring. At the time, I just thought it was hot and kept it there because of that. (Thank God I’m out of that “boy” stage.) Women such as and its competitors such as Kelly Gignilliant, Nicole Rollolazo, Allison Either, Valerie Brown-Stephens were fun to watch. But there were two that got my attention big time: Tanya Merryman and Julie Shipley (now Julie Childs). Those two at the time represented sheer perfection. Yep, if it wasn’t for a simple flick of a TV remote, FitGems Nation, Save Fitness Now, and maybe a few other things that I’ve unknowingly seemed to have influenced over the year would not be here today.
From there, I've come to discover the NPC and IFBB fitness divisions, and eventually became a fan of female muscle as a whole, despite the federations. It didn’t matter anymore. If you competed, you had my support. To this day, you STILL have my support. As a supporter, I will keep fighting for the sport I respect and the athletes that make it possible. I’ve stated this OVER and OVER and OVER…nothing I’ve ever done for this sport is about me. It’s about YOU, the female athletes. I’m in debt to all the female competitors, especially those that compete in the fitness division. You have my undying respect, forever and always.