NANBF Competition Guidelines
Competition eligibility
NANBF competition participants must be age 13 or older, except for the Transformation division where participants must be at least 18 years of age at the time of entry.
All entry fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.
Current membership to the NANBF is required of all competitors to participate in NANBF events. You can purchase a membership online here. Membership fee's are NON-REFUNDABLE.
All NANBF shows are natural events, meaning the use of performance-enhancing substances is not permitted. Competitors must successfully pass a polygraph screening prior to events to attest to their natural status.
Drug testing
Competitors cannot have used any substances on the NANBF banned list during the specified duration periods specified on the list. All participants at each NANBF competition must submit to polygraph screening (polygraph test results from NANBF amateur shows can be honored for NANBF amateur shows held within 45 days of each other) for use of banned substances. All first and second place category winners will be asked to submit a urinalysis to test for banned substances immediately after Finals. Occasionally more competitors will be asked to submit a urinalysis based on the promotor’s discretion.
Competition Categories
Bikini, Figure, Women’s Physique, Women’s Bodybuilding, Xtreme Fit & Transformation Challenge: Crossovers are allowed between each category.
Men’s Physique, Men's Classic Physique, Men’s Bodybuilding & Transformation Challenge: Crossovers are allowed between each category.
Not all categories are offered at each competition. Please check the individual competition pages to see which categories are offered.
Divisions
Divisions are divided based on age and level of experience. Not all events offer each division, so please check the registration for each competition. The most common divisions are:
Novice: Cannot have placed first in any class, within any division, within any category, with any organization, except in cases where the first place was won in a class where the competitor was the only one in the class.
Open: Open to everyone regardless of age and level of experience.
Masters: Open to competitors age 40 and older with any level of experience. Master’s divisions are age 40+, 50+ and 60+. Please double check the age listed on the competition registration page to ensure you qualify. You must be the minimum age by the date of the competition to compete.
Collegiate: Open to competitors who are enrolled full-time in a college or University, regardless of age or level of experience.
Teen: Open to competitors between the ages of 13 and 19, at any level of experience. You must be between this age range on the date of the competition to compete.
Transformation Challenge: A self-improvement competition, combining a personal body transformation along with photos and essays.
Height Classes
If a division has a large number of competitors it will be divided into groups by height, as equally as possible. The decision to split into classes is at the promoter’s discretion and can sometimes be done using specified height or weight (for male categories only) ranges.
Scoring
A panel of judges will rank competitors in each class based on the judging criteria. These scores are totaled and the competitor with the lowest overall score wins and then placed accordingly from there.
Earning your Pro card
IPE Pro cards are awarded to the winner of each category for both Open and Master’s divisions. Open Categories must have at least 5 competitors to be Pro-card eligible, except for Women’s Physique and Women’s Bodybuilding which must have at least 3 competitors.
Master’s 40+ and 50+ categories must have at least 3 competitors to be Pro-card eligible.
If divisions are split by height or weight classes, the winner of each class will compete for an overall winner. Only the overall winner will receive a Pro card.
The one exception for this are SuperPro events. As long as the minimum number of competitors is satisfied, the winner of each height or weight class will receive their Pro card.
More information on the International Pro Elite can be found on the IPE website.