The Price
of
Competing
By Claire Lawlor
Cassidy Thompson strutted to my treadmill, sun-golden ponytail high and bouncing. The Warrior Recreation Center gym opened at 5:30 a.m., a few minutes earlier. Thompson – 5-5 , toned and dressed in tight, all-black athletic wear – had something important to tell me. Her eyes sparkled. Her voice rose to a high pitch.
“Claire! Guess what I’m doing?” the 19-year-old biochemistry major blurted. “A bikini competition.”
This competition, the Stingray Classic, attracts hundreds of competitors from throughout the state of Hawai’i each year, as a stepping stone to a national competition that separates the amateurs from the professionals. From that moment on the treadmill, Thompson treated me as a confidante for the next 12 weeks, while she counted her nutritional intake, attended the gym twice a day, worked two jobs and continued her studies.
Thompson studies for an Organic Chemistry exam at the library while also indulging on one of her nutrient packed meals she prepared during her weekly food prep.
The Stingrey Classic is a National Psyche Committee (NPC) qualifier competition. The winners from the divisions of the competition are sent to the mainland to compete overall to get their International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) Pro card. The IFBB Pro level qualifies competitors to compete in IFBB shows only. The most recent NPC Legends Classic show happened on February 11, 2017 and qualified one representative from Hawaii, Mikella Dragna. Dragna competed in the NPC Stingrey Classic in 2016 and is considered a IFBB Legend according to NPC News. Out of the 17 competitors, 13 were from the United States and 1 from Hawai’i.
“We have a lot of quality competitors here for as small as our state is, ratio wise,” Rey Ronquilio, President of the Stingrey Classic stated.
After a long day filled with the gym, class and one of her two jobs, Thompson got home, looking down she walked past her roommates without saying a word and through her bedroom door. She slumped on her bed, began to cry while simultaneously grabbing at her wrist to put her hair up into a bun. As she pulled her hair back, she noticed a clump of hair come out of her head and into her hands. Hair loss is common for women who are not eating enough specific nutrients.
The US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health Menopause Review stated that “low consumption of linoleic and linolenic acids and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are important ingredients of the outermost layer of epidermis, causes to lose hair.”
The hair loss, hostile home environment, hectic schedule, and low caloric intake was not enough for Thompson to give up on competition. Although she was sluggish and tired, her voice still filled with determination to finish competition.
“The competition itself is not even the important part of it,” Thompson said. “It’s the process that makes you a better woman. Once you realize how much you can beat yourself down, you're never going to want to beat anyone else down. One big thing I've learned so far about this competition is that even if a girl doesn't win the competition or she's not the best on stage, she worked so hard to get where she is and it is so much perseverance and pressure.”
One Monday morning Thompson was alone at the UH Manoa Campus Center Starbucks, where she’d normally be seen conversing with friends. She had her gaze deep in a Organic Chemistry book, studying for an exam. The previous day had been considered a normal schedule for Thompson since the beginning of her prep. She woke up at 5:00 a.m., arrived at the gym at 5:30 a.m., worked out until 7:30 a.m., went to class until 3:00 p.m. and then went to one of her two jobs either at DaSpot on University Avenue or Honolulu Coffee Company, leaving little time to prepare for school, have good communication with friends and even sleep.
“I don’t know how to describe it. You literally stare at yourself and beat yourself down. I slept no hours Thursday or Friday night, one hour during Saturday and then 4 hours Sunday night and two hours last night,” Thompson said.
Stated in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010- Office of Disease and Prevention study women ages 19-30 who are moderate to active should be eating about 2,000 to 2,400 calories but during prep Thompson was eating around 1,600 calories a day to shed fat and put on muscle faster.
Initially she aimed for the glory of winning, but the physical and mental toll on her led to physical exhaustion, broken friendships and failed tests. She gave up on the idea of winning a few weeks into the training; then it became about finishing.
Thompson walked past the outdoor fitness equipment and into the red building of Kakaako gym to find that Noah, her personal trainer, had moved out of the state for personal reasons and was no longer able to train her. She was disappointed but was not going to let this be a factor in her failing. Within a week, Thompson began being trained by Olivia Hersey. Hersey is around 5’1, wears athletic wear without sleeves to reveal her extremely fit biceps, has bleach blonde hair, tan skin, speaks with bright eyes and an inviting voice. If you saw her and Thompson training together, you’d want them on your team. Having previously had conversations at Kakaako gym, they became close friends. Because of her past in fitness competitions, Hersey understood how hectic being a student, working and preparing for a show can be, therefore she helped train Thompson twice a week when she was available.
“Putting the visual aspect aside, Cassidy is obviously a very cute girl, but her work ethic is what sets her apart from a lot of the people I see come in here. She had 2 jobs at the time, she's a full time student, and she was trying to not only do, but fund the entire competition herself … A lot of people her age would not be able to handle that,” Hersey said.
Obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. William McKenzie: “The bodybuilders are on a really very very strict diet before and it seems like when they go through the competitions, then they go crazy the other way. I had one she ate 13 cheeseburgers a day after competition. I said I don't think that's too good for you. They're going to extremes they're going to good at one time and go crazy to catch up. That up and down is not good. Not at 19 for sure.”
A week later on March 15th, Thompson walked into her Organic Chemistry class. Thompson finds her way into her seat and her teacher begins handing out exam grades. She learns she received her very first ‘F’.
“That was my first ‘F’ in school, ever but yesterday I took a Organic Chemistry test and already saw I did super well because I now have the time to study around 8 hours a day as opposed to either working out or working to benefit me for competition.”
The next day I received a text from Thompson stating that she did not think she could continue on with the prep because it was not worth failing a class but with hope, she had made plans to speak with Hersey during training that evening to go over her options. Around 6:25 p.m., my iPhone illuminated with a text message from Thompson stating she was not going to quit the show.
The days following the text messages consisted of Thompson weighing her options to see if it was the right time for her to compete. Essentially, Thompson was living in Hawai’i to attend school, make friends and live the ‘college’ lifestyle, not prep for a bikini competition.
On April 11th, the smell of freshly baked chicken and vegetables filled the two bedroom apartment that’s home to Thompson and her two roommates, Sarah Phillips and Bella Espiritu. Laughter echoed the room and could be heard from outside. Thompson now has the time to teach her roommates how to prepare her favorite food.
“We’re all three always on the same page,” Phillips stated, “and when we were out people would ask Bella and I how Cass was doing and why she wouldn’t come out… We didn’t want people to see an image of Cass that was bad, but we knew how much she was struggling. We didn’t want other people to know her personal stuff so we had to lie about it or divert the question which was really hard.” Sarah said.
“I would not talk,” Thompson laughed because she has a naturally outgoing personality.
“She would come home, close the door, and just not talk to us at all,” Phillips said.
Although quitting the competition has taken some of the weight off Thompson’s life both mentally and physically, she is still suffering months later.
“Going into the prep without a plan and budget really put me behind academically. My classmates know the information more than me because they have been proactive in their studies whereas I was consumed with the competition,” Thompson stated.
Academics aside, Thompson's hair has gotten thicker, she sleeps 6 or more hours a night, her relationships have improved and with finals coming up, she is confident her grades will increase putting her back in her track for her future dreams of becoming a doctor.
Although the rise for bikini competitors from Hawai’i is rising, Cassidy will not be contributing to those numbers… at least not yet. She still has plans to compete sooner than expected.
"This August I want start prepping for a show in November. I’m going to go into it with more balance and save money beforehand so I won’t have to work a job, be a student and also worry about the competition… I decided four days before the start of prep that I was doing the Stingrey Classic and that's not logical," Thompson said.
“I feel that life is all about experiences and now that I know how to do it, I can do it better in the future. You learn from your mistakes, you pick yourself back up, and you move on to find a better way to go about it,” Thompson said with a smile on her face.
Video above of Thompson: "You will convince yourself that like every girl is getting there already, but I don’t even know other girls that are doing this, that are in the same position I am or have the same body type that I am. We have no idea if they are getting there or not."
Above: Gallery of Thompson practicing her stage poses a few weeks into prep.
Photo above: Thompson taking a break from posing and enjoying the day at Cromwell's Beach.
Although extreme dieting and exercising is not recommended for a lifestyle, being active daily is. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease states that weight lifting activities are important. “These activities are important because older adults -especially women- tend to lose muscle and bone every year. Activities to strengthen your muscles may help prevent or reduce this loss.”
