Does age matter at Nationals?

I am debating as to competing at Nationals or Masters. Would age hinder me at nationals vs the younger competitors. I am 42 and not interested in a trophy hunt, I want to win. I know their will be alot of great figure ladies their, I just want to make sure if I get beat by some one it's because they look better than me not younger than me.

What do you thinK?:dizzy:

My ex wife is a Pro figure competitor and from what I've seen unless you bring a package that blows the other compeitors away or your a hot name, its going to be all whimsical judging and the judges are partial to whomever they like.
I know Nuk is more hardcore than I am, but if you are going with the sole intention of winning a pro card or some kind of career as opposed to fun, you WILL come away disappointed. I can ellaborate if you'd like.
That being said if you can't do both then choose the one you think you can be most compeitive in.
As far as judges preference in age, its really just who is more pleasing to their eyes

You don't know how you're going to place until you show up and do it... unless you wait for Masters Nationals which is almost a year away, you're going to be in the same boat (so to speak) regardless of which national show you decide to do.

The advice that was given to me was that the more shows you do, the more the judges get to see you so if you want to continue dieting and hit Nationals, go for it. The best thing that can happen is that you win your pro card. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't win, BUT you can obtain feedback from the judges to find out what they're looking for and come back next year and blow them away! In my opinion, that's a win-win!

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

PS: For the record, I think that physiques tend to win shows and age doesn't have anything to do with it. There are plenty of "masters" who win their pro cards at shows other than Masters so I wouldn't view that as a negative for you whatsoever.

First Off I think Stephs advice is spot on! And I would say with conviction that age isnt a real factor. Just the physique you bring to the stage is all that should matter and I do believe that is how the judged view it as well.