genextras - news from the world of female muscle

If you all haven't seen the latest on Amanda, check out her blog for some insane pix!

Former British pro bodybuilder Kimberley-Anne Jones has rounded up just about all of England’s top female muscle for a “Female Extravaganza”, which will take place in Gravesend, Kent, England, in conjunction with the Gravesend Classic show, on August 28.

The show will feature a unique all-female judging panel of Britain’s top female bodybuilders and fitness athletes, many of whom will themselves be just weeks away from the British championships or pro shows. Guest posing, as well as judging, will be Wendy McCready, who will be making her pro debut at Betty Pariso’s pro show in Dallas in September. Wendy got her pro card after winning the heavyweight and overall at the British championships (with Kimberly-Anne’s help) last fall.

The judging panel will also include IFBB pro figure competitor Ronnie Blewitt; heavyweight pro bodybuilders Karen Marillier and Sarah Bridges; 2004 British middleweight champion Simona Evans; former British middleweight champion Dionne Dixon; two-time British lightweight champion Marina Cornwall; heavyweight former competitor Emma James; and up-and-coming British female bodybuilders Aggi Koumas Dulson and Angie Roche and fitness girls Liz Kinsella, Gemma Miller and Shelley Hinds. All of the star judges will be available after judging to meet fans and pose for photos.

Kimberley-Anne, who competed in the Ms Olympia back in 1993 and is virtually synonymous with female bodybuilding in the UK, hopes the event will get British women some exposure in the bodybuilding media in the US. “Brit girls hardly register in the bodybuilding mags,” she says. She is also on a mission to help change mainstream attitudes to female bodybuilders in the UK. “I want the general public - because most of the audience will be just that - to go away and say, “Y'know wot, them bodybuildin’ women ain’t ‘arf as bad as you think they're gonna be.’”

Gravesend Classic, Woodville Hall, Gravesend , Kent, August 28, 2005.

Contact Kimberley-Anne on 07950 732 093 or co-promoter Steve Avery on 07812 710 820 for more information.

Follow Joanna's prep for the Olympia on TLC. This is probably the same thing the BBC was supposed to show in Europe.

Check out shots from our shoots and from the show in this thread on our new message boards.

Check out Bill Dobbins' insightful commentary on this travesty!

Yes it's true, Tara told us at the Cal's that she's going to be doing a taping of the hit show soon with her brother. She's made the news public now too so we're able to release it as well. Find out more about it on her site.

Oh yeah! Check out these shots that Michelle Berger aka Buff Mother sent us. She looks fantastic and is the perfect example of how weight training is beneficial, especially for moms. Now if my friends had moms like Michelle, I think I'd always want to hang out at their place. See more of her at: www.buffmother.com