Universe Championships

{{short description|Annual worldwide bodybuilding events}}
The '''Universe Championships''' are annual worldwide [[bodybuilding]] events organised by the British [[National Amateur Body-Builders' Association]] (NABBA). Originally promoted as the {{nowrap|'''Mr. Universe'''}} contest, the event was expanded to include women's classes in 1968. Notable previous winners include bodybuilder, actor, and former governor of California [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], and bodybuilder and actor [[Steve Reeves]] (1926–2000).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shenk|first1=Rochelle A.|title=Local gym pumped up for bodybuilding championship|url=http://lititzrecord.com/news/local-gym-pumped-bodybuilding-championship/|access-date=21 February 2017|work=Lititz Record Express|date=2 November 2016}}</ref>

The Universe Championships includes the following classes:
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" style="width: 255px;" | Men
! scope="col" style="width: 255px;" | Women
|-
|Amateur Mr. Universe || Miss Universe (Trained Figure)
|-
| Junior || Ms. Universe (Athletic Figure)
|-
|Novice
|Miss Universe (Toned Figure)
|-
| Masters Over 45 ||Professional Miss Universe (Trained)
|-
| Masters Over 55 ||Miss Bikini
|-
|Sports Shorts
|
|-
|Classic Bodybuilding
|
|-
| Professional Mr. Universe || 
|}

==History==
[[File:John Grimek - Strength and Health Sep 1945.jpg|thumb|John Grimek, the first Mr. Universe, posing for the magazine organizing the event]]
In 1948 David Johnston, then editor of Strength and Health magazine, and his team organised the Mr. Universe contest in London to coincide with the Olympic Games. The event drew great attention from bodybuilders and the general public who packed the Scala Theatre to see the spectacle. [[John Grimek]] earned the inaugural title with [[Steve Reeves]] placing second. Reeves eventually found his way to the microphone to declare, "I think that [[John Grimek]] is the greatest bodybuilder who ever lived!"

While there was no contest held in 1949, behind the scenes, members of the Strength and Health League were arranging the formation of the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association or [[National Amateur Body-Builders' Association|NABBA]]. NABBA announced that it would be hosting the Mr Universe contest again in 1950. [[Steve Reeves]] returned to England to be crowned champion that year. Despite being the first NABBA Mr Universe, [[Steve Reeves]] was not chosen as the silhouette for the NABBA logo. That distinction would go to [[John Grimek]] and his likeness is still used to this day as the emblem of the association.

When [[Oscar Heidenstam]] became the NABBA Secretary in 1955, after a highly successful competitive career, he quickly became the main driving force of not only NABBA but also the Mr Universe contest. Around the same time, a network of area shows in the UK was established to increase membership.

In 1957, the Guadeloupan-French bodybuilder [[Arthur Robin]] became the first Black man to win the Mr Universe title.<ref>[http://fitnes.lv/en/nabba-en/nabba-universe-champions/ WFF / NABBA Latvia. NABBA Universe Champions].  Retrieved 26 December 2019</ref>

The early success of the Mr Universe was underpinned by the support of many of the big names taking part such as [[John Grimek]], [[Steve Reeves]], [[Reg Park]] and [[Bill Pearl]]. Into the 1960s and 1970s the Mr Universe also became the launching pad for many of the famous bodybuilders of the day such as [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Lou Ferrigno]], [[Serge Nubret]] and many others.

These were the most influential champions, who not only took part, but encouraged others in America and Europe to support the Universe. Their inspiration still encourages many young bodybuilders today.

While the contest was initially only for amateur male bodybuilders, a professional class was added in 1952. The NABBA UK Constitution traditionally defines an amateur as someone who has "never entered and accepted prize money in an advertised professional event." Today NABBA International, the worldwide governing body, offers Pro Cards to the four male height class winners at the Universe Championships and the NABBA World Championships. Between 2011 and 2013 there was no professional Mr. Universe class held as interest had diminished. In 2013 however, following a seven-year absence from competition, [[Lee Priest]] returned and won the overall title as an amateur. Following his victory, the NABBA International Council determined that in 2014 the NABBA Professional Division would be reestablished with the inaugural professional contest being the 2014 NABBA World Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2014, Dave Titterton won the Professional Mr Universe title in Southport, England.

Women's bodybuilding classes were included from 1968 as Ms Physique and then divided in 1986 into Ms Physique and Ms Figure. The Ms Physique class was discontinued from 2010 at the Universe Championships, however Miss Trained, Athletic, and Toned Figures are now offered.

In 1985, a Junior Mr Universe class was included for men under 21 years. The class was discontinued between 1990 and 1999 but returned in 2000.

In 1991, a Masters Over 40 class was introduced. The inaugural winner was [[Graeme Lancefield]] from Australia, narrowly beating NABBA legend John Citrone for the title. A Masters Over 50 class was introduced in 2002 with Mr Universe veteran Ian Lawrence from Scotland capturing the new award.

The NABBA Universe Championships is conducted under the auspices of NABBA UK and its chairman Jim Charles.

A separate competition called ''IFBB Mr. Universe'' was organized by the [[International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness|IFBB]] however, its name was changed to the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in 1976.

==Judging==

The athletes are judged on their symmetry, proportions and the size and clarity of each muscle group. Most of the judging occurs during the day (this is called the pre-judging) before the evening show, the finals.

== Winners ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Year !! Mr. Universe (Professionals)<ref name=HallofFame/> !! Mr. Universe (Amateur)<ref name=HallofFame/> !! Miss Physique<ref name=HallofFame/> !! Miss Trained Figure<ref name=HallofFame/> !! Miss Toned Figure<ref name=HallofFame/>!! Miss Athletic Figure<ref name=HallofFame/>

|-
| 1948 ||  || {{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[John Grimek]]||  || 
|-
| 1950 ||  {{flagicon|India}} [[Monotosh Roy]]||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Steve Reeves]]|| || 
|-
| 1951 || {{flagicon|India}} [[Manohar Aich]] ||{{flagicon|England}} [[Reg Park]]||
|
|-
| 1952 ||[[Juan Ferrero]]||{{flagicon|Egypt|1922}} [[Mohammed Nasr]]||
|
|-
| 1953 || Arnold Dyson ||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Bill Pearl]]|| || 
|-
| 1954 || Jim Park ||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Enrico Thomas]]|| || 
|-
| 1955 ||[[Leo Robert]]||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Mickey Hargitay]]|| || 
|-
| 1956 ||[[Jack Delinger]]||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Ray Schaeffer]]|| || 
|-
| 1957 ||[[Arthur Robin]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[John Lees (bodybuilder)|John Lees]]|| || 
|-
| 1958 ||[[Reg Park]]||{{flagicon|United States|1948}} [[Earql Clark (bodybuilder)|Earl Clark]]|| || 
|-
| 1959 ||[[Bruce Randall]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Len Sell]]|| || 
|-
| 1960 ||[[Paul Wynter]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Henry Downs (bodybuilder)|Henry Downs]]|| || 
|-
| 1961 ||[[Bill Pearl]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Ray Routledge]]|| || 
|-
| 1962 ||[[Len Sell]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Joe Abbenda]]|| || 
|-
| 1963 ||Abd El Hamid El Gindi<ref name="sport-record.de">{{cite web | url=https://sport-record.de/bodybuilding/kulturistik-fihc-wm.html | title=Mr. Universe Competition by FIHC }}</ref>||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Tom Sansome]]|| || 
|-
| 1964 ||Abd El Hamid El Gindi<ref name="sport-record.de"/>||{{flagicon|England}} [[John Hewlett (bodybuilder)|John Hewlett]]|| || 
|-
| 1965 ||[[Reg Park]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Elmo Santiago]]|| || 
|-
| 1966 ||[[Paul Wynter]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Chester Yorton]]|| || Elizabeth Lamb
|-
| 1967 ||[[Bill Pearl]]||{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]|| || Kathleen Winstanley
|-
| 1968 ||{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Dennis Tinerino]]|| || [[Silvia Hibbert]]
|-
| 1969 ||{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Boyer Coe (bodybuilder)|Boyer Coe]]|| || [[Jean Galston]]
|-
| 1970 ||{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Frank Zane]]|| || [[Christine Zane]]
|-
| 1971 ||[[Bill Pearl]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Ken Waller]]|| || Linda Thomas
|-
| 1972 ||[[Frank Zane]]||{{flagicon|South Africa|1928}} [[Elias Petsas]]|| || Christine Charles
|-
| 1973 ||[[Boyer Coe (bodybuilder)|Boyer Coe]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Chris Dickerson (bodybuilder)|Chris Dickerson]]|| || [[Jean Galston]]
|-
| 1974 ||[[Chris Dickerson (bodybuilder)|Chris Dickerson]]|| {{flagicon|England}} Roy Duval || || [[Linda Cheesman]]
|-
| 1975 ||[[Steve Michalik]]||{{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Ian Lawrence (bodybuilder)|Ian Lawrence]]|| || [[Linda Cheesman]]
|-
| 1976 ||[[Serge Nubret]]||{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Shigeru Sugita]]|| || [[Cindy Breakspear]]
|-
| 1977 ||[[Tony Emmott|Tony Emmot]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Bertil Fox]]|| || [[Bridget Gibbons]]
|-
| 1978 ||[[Bertil Fox]]||{{flagicon|United States}} Dave Johns  || || [[Sandra Kong]]
|-
| 1979 ||[[Bertil Fox]]||{{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Ahmet Enünlü]]|| || [[Karen Griffiths]]
|-
| 1980 ||[[Tony Pearson (bodybuilder)|Tony Pearson]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Bill Richardson (bodybuilder)|Bill Richardson]]|| || [[Erika Mes]]
|-
| 1981 ||[[Robby Robinson (bodybuilder)|Robby Robinson]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[John Brown (bodybuilder)|John Brown]]|| || [[Jocelyn Pigeonneau]]
|-
| 1982 ||[[Edward Kawak]]|| {{flagicon|United States}} John Brown || || [[Jocelyn Pigeonneau]]
|-
| 1983 ||[[Edward Kawak]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Jeff King (bodybuilder)|Jeff King]]|| || Mary Scott
|-
| 1984 ||[[Edward Kawak]]|| {{flagicon|England}} Brian Buchanan || || Mary Scott
|-
| 1985 ||[[Edward Kawak]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Tim Belknap]]|| || [[Jocelyn Pigeonneau]]
|-
| 1986 ||[[Lance Dreher]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Charles Clairmonte]]||[[Monika Steiner (bodybuilder)|Monika Steiner]]|| [[Heidi Thomas (bodybuilder)|Heidi Thomas]]
|-
| 1987 ||[[Olev Annus]]||{{flagicon|England}} Basil Francis||[[Connie McClosky]]|| [[Sonia Walker]]
|-
| 1988 ||[[Charles Clairmonte]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Victor Terra]]||[[Lisa Campbell (bodybuilder)|Lisa Campbell]]|| [[Sarah Staunton]]
|-
| 1989 ||[[Charles Clairmonte]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Matt Dufresne]]||[[Tatjana Scholl]]|| [[Tracey Citrone]]
|-
| 1990 ||[[Charles Clairmonte]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Peter Reid (bodybuilder)|Peter Reid]]||[[Monika Debatin]]|| [[Browny OBrien]]
|-
| 1991 ||[[Victor Terra]]||{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Reiner Gorbracht]]||[[Ute Geisel]]|| [[Helen Maderson]]
|-
| 1992 ||[[Peter Reid (bodybuilder)|Peter Reid]]||{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Mustafa Mohammad]]||[[Bernadette Price]]|| [[Anita Lawrence]]
|-
| 1993 ||[[Edward Kawak]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Dennis Francis]]||[[Deborah Compton]]|| [[Ali Slater]]
|-
| 1994 ||[[John Terilli]]||{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[Nick van Beeck]]<ref name="GMV">[http://www.gmv.com.au/default.asp?pageid=contestResults&template=content&sid=3 Complete list of all NABBA Universe Winners] GMV.com.au. Retrieved 10 May 2021.</ref>||[[Kathy Butler-Corish]]|| [[Susana Perez]]
|-
| 1995 ||[[Brian Buchanan (bodybuilder)|Brian Buchanan]]||{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Grant Clemesha]]<ref name="GMV"/>||[[Kathy Butler-Corish]]|| [[Susana Perez]]
|-
| 1996 ||[[Shaun Davis]]||{{flagicon|United States}} Chris Hoshi||[[Billie Kaine]]|| [[Pina Theodoridis]]
|-
| 1997 ||[[Eddy Ellwood]]||{{flagicon|England}} Grant Thomas||[[Patricia Veldmann]]|| [[Jasraj Bhadana Gujjar]]
|-
| 1998 ||[[Eddy Ellwood]]||{{flagicon|England}} [[Gary Lister]]||[[Julia Abel]]|| [[Pina Theodoridis]]
|-
| 1999 ||[[Eddy Ellwood]]||{{flagicon|Italy}} [[Franco Malè]]||Taylor Young || [[Giovanna Rosa]]
|-
| 2000 ||[[Eddy Ellwood]]||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Sergei Ogorodnikov (bodybuilder)|Sergei Ogorodnikov]]||[[Olga Tikhonova]] || [[Giovanna Rosa]]
|-
| 2001 ||[[Eddy Ellwood]]||{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Steffen Müller]]||[[Anja Timmer]]|| [[Giovanna Rosa]]
|-
| 2002 ||[[Gary Lister]]||{{flagicon|Italy}} [[Costantino Galeazzo]]||[[Claudia Bianchi]]|| [[Giovanna Rosa]]
|-
| 2003 ||[[Gary Lister]]|| {{flagicon|Syria}} Hassan Al Saka||[[Olga Tikhonova]] || [[Cherie Loomes]]
|-
| 2004 || Hassan Al Saka ||{{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Steve Sinton]]||[[Sandra Waterschoot]]|| [[Lorena Bucci]]
|-
| 2005 ||[[Sergei Ogorodnikov (bodybuilder)|Sergei Ogorodnikov]]||{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Charles Mario]]||[[Desiree Dumpel]]|| [[Andrea Carvalho]]
|-
| 2006 ||[[Steve Sinton]]|| {{flagicon|Czechia}} Tomáš Bureš ||[[Olga Tikhonova]] || [[Silvia Finocchi Ferreira]]
|-
| 2007 ||[[Orazio Salvatori]]||{{flagicon|Italy}} [[Orazio Salvatori]]||[[Alina Popa]] || [[Andrea Carvalho]]
|-
| 2008 ||[[Alessandro Savi]]|| {{flagicon|France}} Lionel Beyeke ||[[Vivian Hijikema]]|| [[Maria Stukova]]
|-
| 2009 || Alexey Netesanov<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juIglI0LJbA Alexey Netesanov (RUS), NABBA Universe 2009 - Pro Winner</ref> || {{flagicon|Czechia}} Martin Kasal || Larissa Cunha || Dora Rodrigues
|-
| 2010 ||Charles Mario || {{flagicon|Slovenia}} Miha Zupan || Valentyna Yefyemchuk || Flora Conte
|-
| 2011 ||[[Sangram Chougule]]|| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Paulo Lima Santos ||  || Maria Kuzmina  || {{flagicon|Brazil}} Maria Tereza Mendonca Pintya || 
|-
| 2012 ||[[Sangram Chougule]]|| {{flagicon|Scotland}} Andy Polhill ||  || Maria Kuzmina  ||{{flagicon|England}} Nicola Bentham  || 
|-
| 2013 ||{{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Lepomir Bakić]] ||{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Lee Priest]]||  || Flora Conte ||{{flagicon|England}} Nicola Bentham || 
|-
| 2014 || Dave Titterton || {{flagicon|England}} Barny Du Plessis || || Dora Rodrigues  ||{{flagicon|England}} Charlotte MacGill || 
|-
| 2015 || Tony Mount || {{flagicon|Northern Ireland}} Paul Stewart ||  || Daria Diossi || {{flagicon|England}} Alex Larkin|| 
|-
| 2016 || Tony Mount<ref>[https://www.ludlowadvertiser.co.uk/news/regional/14846157.lye-gym-bosss-mr-universe-show-brings-muscle-to-birmingham/ Lye gym boss's Mr Universe show brings muscle to Birmingham] ''Ludlow Advertiser''. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2021.</ref> || {{flagicon|Austria}} Fabian Mayr<ref>[https://www.musclememory.com/show.php?c=Mr+Universe+-+NABBA&y=2016 2916 Mr Universe - NABBA] MuscleMemory.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.</ref> ||  || Emma Gormley || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Amy Wilson || 
|-
| 2017 || Shaun Joseph-Tavernier<ref>[https://www.dna-lean.co.uk/pages/shaun-joseph-tavernier-ifbb-pro-team-dna-lean%C2%AE Shaun Joseph Tavernier IFBB Pro: Bio] DNA-Lean.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2021.</ref> || {{flagicon|South Korea}} Lee Seung Chul<ref name=HallofFame/> ||  || Gemma Lancaster || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Natasha Novak || Lee Tae Hee<ref name=HallofFame/>
|-
| 2018 || {{flagicon|South Korea}} Lee Seung Chul<ref name=HallofFame/> || {{flagicon|Ireland}} Loughlin Gannon<ref name=HallofFame/> || || Jekaterina Übelacker || {{flagicon|Wales}} Natalia Jaremko || Christine Scerri<ref name=HallofFame>{{cite web|url=https://www.nabba.at/home/hall-of-fame/nabba-universe/|title=HALL OF FAME|last=|first=|date=|website=NABBA|access-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=|archive-date=}}</ref>
|-
| 2019 || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Josh Maley<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nabba.at/home/hall-of-fame/nabba-universe/ |title=NABBA Universe |website=nabba.at |access-date=2023-03-17}}</ref> || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Jack Brooker<ref name=HallofFame/> || || Ilaria Armeni || {{flagicon|Brazil}} Gabriela Dezan || {{flagicon|Ireland}} Ana Carla Ceron 
|-
| 2020 || colspan="6" rowspan="2" align="center" | These editions of the competition were not held due to [[COVID-19 pandemic]]
|-
| 2021 
|-
| 2022 ||{{flagicon|Czechia}} Petr Kovář<ref name=HallofFame/>  || {{flagicon|Austria}} Daniel Glamm <ref name=HallofFame/> || || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Emma Thackray ||{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Lisa Capper ||{{flagicon|Northern Ireland}} Tracy Hutchinson 
|-
|2023
|{{flagicon|Czechia}} Petr Kovář
|{{flagicon|Austria}} Klaus Drescher
|
|{{flagicon|France}} Elodie Moore
|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Kelsey Yung
|{{flagicon|France}} Aurélie Moreau
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.nabba.at/home/hall-of-fame/nabba-universe/ Full Winners List] at NABBA
* [http://musclememory.com/male/contests/mr_universe_-_nabba.html Complete Results - Amateur Men]
* [http://musclememory.com/female/contests/universe_-_nabba.html Complete Results - Amateur Women]
* [http://musclememory.com/male/contests/universe_-_pro_-_nabba.html Complete Results - Pro Men]
* [http://www.nabba.co.uk www.nabba.co.uk]
* [http://www.nabba-international.com/ www.nabba-international.com/]

[[Category:Bodybuilding competitions]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1948]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in England]]