Having officiated bodybuilding contests for decades, head judge Steve Weinberger understands what he is looking for on stage. In a recent interview, Weinberger opened up on the current state of judging in 2024, highlighting that contests are scored correctly 99.9 percent of the time.
Unlike other professional sports, bodybuilding is unique for several reasons. In disciplines like soccer, baseball, or basketball, scoring points and goals drives a team to victory. However, in bodybuilding, individual athletes are tasked with earning them based on the judges’ impressions of their respective physiques.
Assessing someone’s body on stage can seem subjective, but head judge Steve Weinberger is confident in the criteria laid out by the IFBB Pro League. Although many shows have been deemed controversial such as 2023 Mr. Olympia, Weinberger is adamant that more often than not, judges get it right.
Steve Weinberger Says Bodybuilding Judges Get It Right ‘99.9 Percent’ of the Time
Even though shows are closely contested, Steve Weinberger believes judges arrive at the correct result ‘99.9’ percent of the time.
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“There are contests that were close and I could have seen it go either way but I mean for the most part the judges get it right. The right person wins and you know there’s always comments of this guy could have won and that guy could have won but when you sit down and look at the pictures and see what happened, they get it right.”
“For the most part, 99.9 percent of the time, they get it right,” said Steve Weinberger.
To resolve judging disagreements, Weinberger explains that low and high scores are removed from the tally. This system prevents favoritism and unfair officiating.
“There are times where judges see it different but remember, depending on how many judges there are. There’s either two highs or two lows that get kicked out. Someone could have had two ones or four ones and got kicked out.”
“Depends on the show, there can be five judges, there can be seven judges, there can be nine judges, there can be 11 judges, yes [at Olympia there are 11 judges]. Yes [seven scores get judged].”
In the IFBB Pro League, Weinberger underlined that there ‘really are no bad judges.’
“Someone liking someone and giving them a high score, it kicks that out and honestly, the judges are so good that if there was a bad judge that did that they wouldn’t be judging anymore. Our judges are very good. They are all very good and they have been judging for a long time. There really are no bad judges, not on a Pro level. Even at a local level, we have good judges.”
“He’s the Vice President and he’s also a head judge [Tyler Manion]. He is doing a great job.”
Aside from Weinberger, other bodybuilding voices have given their verdict on the current state of judging. Most notably, former 1983 Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout discussed it and believes some judges ignore symmetry for size and detail and vice-versa.
With head judges like Weinberger and IFBB Vice President Tyler Manion overseeing contests, it appears the sport is in good hands as we head into the next quarter of 2024. Do you agree with Weinberger’s statement? Are judges scoring bodybuilding shows correctly 99.9 percent of the time?
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