Part 21 - Ontario Championships, Finals

John Scott and Sue

When we returned to the John W.H. Bassett Theatre for the finals, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. The pressure was off. The judging was done. When the Figure Short division was called onto the stage, I had no idea how it would turn out. The only hope I had to bring home a trophy today was to make the top 3 in this small division. I felt that I had a shot at 1st or 2nd, but I've been wrong before.

The statistician handed the results to the Master of Ceremonies, Mike Pierron. He looked down at the sheet of paper and paused before making the announcements. In 4th place, Laura Finocchi....whew! In 3rd place, Teresa Heron....whew again! Left standing with Vicky, I was beaming. Could I possibly win? My heart was pounding. In 2nd place, Sue Champagne. I stepped forward and proudly took my position in the appropriate spot next to centre stage. The winner of Figure Short, Vicky Robitaille. We posed for the cameras and left the stage. Backstage, I held my trophy high and yelled "happy, happy, happy". Never was anyone so pleased with a 2nd. At least I was going home as a runner up. My goal had been achieved. This old gal still has it in her and stood tall with the young ones.

Sue and Vicky

Waiting for placings to be announced in Figure Short
Teresa Heron, Laura Finocchi, Vicky Robitaille, Sue Champagne

I was still beaming as I re-entered the stage with the Grandmasters. This was one tough division, filled with regional winners and two defending champions. Judy Doughty won this event in 2009. Lynda Jager won it in 2010 and 2011. The rest of us were mostly winners from various regional events over the past two years. There's no height or weight division for the Grandmasters. The only requirement other than qualifying through a regional is that you must be over 45 years of age. Even with my big shoes, I was by far the shortest and therefore the tiniest. I'm not saying that I can't fair well because of that, but it sure as heck doesn't help.

The results are in, but this time I didn't anticipate hearing my name or number over the microphone. In 5th place, Carole De Silva Piques. In 4th place, Sharon Knox. In 3rd place, Sheila Tibbo. In 2nd place, Lynda Jager. And the winner of the 2012 Ontario Grandmasters, Judy Doughty. As expected, I didn't make the top 5. Better luck next time!

As I stood on the stage listening to the top 5 announcements, I scanned the judging panel and noticed a gentleman gazing up at me with a look of recognition. It was Chuck Matton, a friend from the old days that I hadn't seen in decades. I love how these events bring long lost friends back together. It was so nice to see you Chuck!

Here's a video of the Figure Short division, as well as a partial video of the Grandmasters. I guess Ed must have stopped recording after 4th place was announced because we for certain knew I wasn't in the top 3.

After my divisions were completed, I changed into normal clothing and sat in an unsold seat in the theatre to watch the remainder of the show. The bikini models were up next. When I saw my first show that included figure and bikini after being away for a number of years, I found the bikini portion to be a bit cheesy. I couldn't see myself going up there wiggling my butt and doing shimmies the way they do. I get nervous enough as it is doing figure which doesn't require quite as much walking across the stage in high heels. However, now that I've learned to appreciate it, I'm quite enamored by it. Though they're not as sculpted as the figure ladies, they have gorgeous bodies. Hmmm, could I possibly even consider making a switch? It's difficult to build muscle mass at my age and I'm not willing to take anything to boost my hormones, so perhaps it's time to change my focus. Body beautiful instead of hard as nail isn't such a bad thing. Something to consider.

At the end of the finals, we met up with John and Renee Scott and Cori Slaughter for dinner at East Side Mario's. I never did find out where I placed in the Grandmasters because I simply didn't want to know just yet. I could have asked the statistician or head judge, but decided to stay away from the judges' table due to the fiasco that occurred at registration. I'll wait until the results are posted on-line.

So that concludes the 2012 Ontario Championships, but there's much more to see and do at the Toronto Pro SuperShow. More stories and thoughts still to come..........