Head judge Steve Weinberger has witnessed bodybuilding greats emerge in real-time, making his opinions of the sport highly sought after. In a recent YouTube video shared on December 6, 2024, he discussed if bribing is possible in the IFBB Pro League as well as how shape fits into judging criteria for all 11 divisions.
Wielding decades of experience, Steve Weinberger has developed a keen eye for talent. He regularly oversees prominent bodybuilding competitions including the two most influential events in the sport’s history — the Arnold Classic and the annual Mr. Olympia.
The buck stops with Steve Weinberger. Having represented judging officials at the highest levels in the sport, there’s no denying his knowledge or eye for assessing top bodybuilding contenders on stage. This has led him to discuss whether individuals can get away with illegally influencing judging officials in addition to his unfiltered thoughts on how shape is assessed at contests.
Can IFBB Pro League Judges Be Bribed? Steve Weinberger Says ‘It’s Impossible’ and Explains How to Score Shape at Contests
According to Steve Weinberger, it’s impossible to bribe judges in the IFBB Pro League. Since the judging scores are tallied as a sum, he explains that every single official would need to be bribed to affect legitimate change.
“It’s impossible to bribe, you got to bribe everybody. It just doesn’t work. Honestly, if you’re bribable, you’re not going to be a judge.
The quality of people we pick are good quality people. Even if you, let’s say you got to one, like every once in a while in the NBA you hear about a ref or something, their score wouldn’t matter anyway.”
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He adds “You couldn’t bribe me for a million dollars.”
“They couldn’t, they couldn’t convince five or seven or nine other people — there’s just no way. You couldn’t bribe me for a million dollars I have too much pride you know what I’m saying? It wouldn’t matter,” shares Steve Weinberger.
Next, Weinberger described exactly how judges look at shape in the IFBB irrespective of the division.
“By shape is your shoulders into your waist, into your thighs, the size of your hamstrings to your front thigh, your biceps, your triceps, your chest, the shape of your body, the shape of your muscles.”
“There’s also genetic shape which your mother and father gave you that you’re born with, whether it’s narrow hips and the wide shoulders or the wide waist and the narrow shoulders, which for bodybuilding, you might as well put your head through a wall. Then there’s the muscle you put on that helps improve your shape.”
Shape plays a crucial role in judging for all bodybuilding categories, not just Open Bodybuilding, says Weinberger.
“No, there’s no difference in any division, there’s no difference, honestly. It’s shape, size, and condition. Right down to Bikini right up to Open Men.”
He also touched on how Classic Physique is different from Open Bodybuilding.
“Mostly size. There are bodybuilders that are just massive and Classic Physique guys that can’t get massive. There are Classic Physique guys that don’t have the shape that they should have but they still compete and do well.
There are guys, once again, with shape that’s unbelievable that lose to guys with shape that is not as good because they are in better condition,” he explains.
“He [Nick Walker] would get killed in Classic.”
This isn’t the first time Steve Weinberger has shared his thoughts on the current state of judging in bodybuilding. Previously, Weinberger stated that he believes judges get it right about 99.9 percent of the time. However, former Mr. Olympia champion Hadi Choopan appears to disagree with that assessment after recently expressing his dissatisfaction with the results of the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
“I am cut harder than a diamond, just as I cut my path like a diamond.
Truths that the judge denied.The facts that the judge omitted🤦🏽”
In regards to judging in bodybuilding, Steve Weinberger makes it clear that it comes down to shape, size, and conditioning. As for bribery, he argues it’s impossible no matter the price. So rest assured that when a winner is crowned on any bodybuilding stage, it comes down to pure, raw talent.
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