August 25th: Power + Beauty = Femsport

The boundary between "sport" and "art" has always been a little hazy, perhaps more so than the practitioners of either would like to admit. There are sports that are evaluated for artistic expression, like figure skating, and there are arts that requires intense physical discipline, like ballet or dance sport.

Somewhere in that borderland between sports contest and artistic performance is Vancouver's annual Femsport fitness and strength competition, August 25th, 11am-5:30pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews in Yaletown Robson Square, lower level.

Unlike previous years, in which the female competitors were scored both on appearance and on athletic performance in a single competition, Femsport '07 is a strength and fitness competition, with no physique round. The women test themselves in tug-of-war, box jumps, bicep curls of 30 per cent of their body weight, kettlebell lifts and a 75 foot obstacle course.

The appearance emphasis has been shifted over to the opening event, a model search with a single swimsuit round, with the two-piece suits supplied bya sponsor

When you're out on the border between sport and performance, you have to be careful. Not only are the competitors subject to drug tests, including urinalysis, polygraphs and computer voice stress analysis, they "must wear black shorts, the leg must not be any longer then 6" from inseam, must cover your buttocks completely and should be snug (spandex type) not floppy." In short, it can't go too far either way from some hypothetical spot on a woman's thigh.

Femsport is a very "both/and" event, but it's also an enjoyable competition for the spectators. The athletes give their all in what they do, and their striving is as admirable as in any other field.

Photo: Roseanne Blackburn in the tug-of-war, Femsport '06. Peter Tupper More images