The Europa Super Show & Sports Expo is to be held on the 25th and 26th of August this year. The show features IFBB Professional Bodybuilding as well as NPC competitions. Additionally, there are several other entertaining events that one can attend. They include strongman challenges, arm wrestling, swimsuit contests, world powerlifting and full submission wrestling championships. There's even a hot mom contest.

Most of the events taking place offer cash prizes for winners. However, the show focuses on IFBB Professional men and women's bodybuilding, and also women's fitness and figure competitions. The prize money for these events are as follows:

IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure:

1st - $3,000
2nd - $2,000
3rd - $1,000

IFBB Pro Men's Bodybuilding:

1st - $10,000
2nd - $5,000
3rd - $3,000
4th - $2,000
5th - $1,000

Other Awards:

A trophy for best routine will be presented in all events, except women's figure. Here, the Horizon Award is given to the competitor who does not place in the top three, but she is acknowledged as a "rising star" in light of her accomplishments.

As we can see, the main attraction of the 2006 Europa Super Show is the IFBB Men's Professional Bodybuilding contest. This event holds the biggest prize money, possibly because it features the biggest competitors. Some of the names entering this show are familiar, and others not, but the whole list is the following.

IFBB Pro Competitor List:

*Note: This list is not final and subject to change. Last updated: 8/10/06

Men:
1. Art Atwood2. Darrem Charles3. Shehab Eldin4. George Farah5. Dave Fisher6. Toney Freeman7. Roland Huff8. Johnnie Jackson9. Tricky Jackson10. King Kamali11. Frank Roberson12. Silvo Samuel Saviour13. Rodney St. Cloud14. Joel Stubbs15. Quincy Taylor16. George Turmon17. Dennis Wolf18. Nathan Wonsley

While only the top 5 positions will be granted any prize money, it's still an honor to be placed within the top 10. So without further ado, I offer my critique of each of the competitors followed by how I think the placings will go.

Art Atwood:

With Art, there's 278-287 pounds of muscle standing at 5'11." He's one of the more massive bodybuilders with good peaks in his back double biceps pose and excellent fitness in his lower back. His frame is built with a good V-taper, but his traps seem a little flat.
Otherwise, he has a wide symmetry and good sweep in his legs that will put him around the top 5. His only weakness seems to be that his massiveness gives him a more bulky look and is not as aesthetic from the front as other competitors.

Darrem Charles:

He's been participating in contests since 1989 and has the experience and muscle maturity to steal the show. He is 5'9" and around 230 pounds. This may make him sound less massive than some other competitors, but he is definitely more proportionally pleasing, with full muscle bellies that certainly make him look just as big as the others. The only gripe I have is that his traps look a little flat sometimes, but they still work well with the rest of his body.

When well conditioned, Darrem Charles has virtually no weaknesses on stage. He is consistently confident and exact in his pre-contest preparation and puts much work into creating an inspirational posing routine. He will definitely be one of the best in this show.

Shehab Eldin:

Eldin looks to have a stronger and fuller chest than most, but conditioning does not seem to come naturally to him. He could also use more sweep in the legs and work harder to bring his calves up. These downfalls would be enough to put him outside of the top 10.

George Farah:

Being 5'6" and 214 pounds, George Farah is one of the smaller participants. His abs are far from being well developed, but his stomach is controlled and flat. He is proportionally sound with a good sweep in the legs, wide lats, and big biceps peak. However, he is weak in the calves and traps departments. His weaknesses and smaller frame will likely place him outside of the top 10.

Dave Fisher:

It was difficult to find much information about him, but he does look to be toting a decent frame with much mass. His nature seems to be blocky, however, and will keep him from being one of the best. Fisher will most likely finish just shy of 10th.

Toney Freeman:

At 283 pounds and 6'2," Freeman has an excellent waist. The sweep in his legs with wide lats and shoulders create an awesome illusion of a small waistline. His traps are much more massive than found elsewhere, but he seems to have some problems with conditioning and his calves do not look very good from some viewing angles. However, during his peaks, he is ripped, yet still extremely full and could easily place around 5th.

Roland Huff:

New to the pro scene after winning 1st in the 2005 Nationals, Bantam Weight, Roland Huff is smaller and lacks somewhat in back development. With less experience, he will probably not see the top 10.

Johnnie Jackson:

He claims to be the strongest bodybuilder, pound for pound. Judges won't care how much he can lift, but still he brings around 240 pounds in good shape for contests. Most everything about him seems well developed, especially his dense chest that does not disappear with arms raised. His legs have an outer sweep and hanging hamstrings.

With a midsection that he obviously knows how to control during poses and massive traps, he has most everyone else bested. Weakness is only seen in his calves, which are not at all impressive from a side glance, but he should be able to make it to the top 5 in this lineup.

Tricky Jackson:

Starting competition as an IFBB pro last year, Tricky has a good physique, but with several lacking areas. These include his calves, awkward chest, biceps peak, and flat traps. His main strength is that his frame is in the shape of an X, and gives him a small looking waist. However, it's probably not enough to put him into the top 10.

King Kamali:

One of the more outspoken bodybuilders, King Kamali's posing routines are often very unique and bring significantly more entertainment value than others. Recently, he's stated that he's been trying to change his physique to be more proportionally pleasant. This requires him to train with a different style than he's done in the past: smarter rather than heavier.

His strength lies in the dense, massive, and confident look he brings to the stage. A few weaknesses include his calves and not having full control over his stomach. He is lean, but his waist is bigger than other competitors, giving him a completely different look. It's a strong look rather than an aesthetic look, but his experience and maturity should be able to put him near the top 5.

Frank Roberson:

He made his IFBB debut in 2004 and will bring about 240 pounds to the show, placing more emphasis on entertainment value in his routine. This, along with his dense, full physique should put him in the top 10. He actually has strong calves, unlike many others. However, in the past he could have used better definition and more lines in his legs.

Silvo Samuel Saviour:

Not much information could be found about him, except that he recently stepped up to the professional level. Because of these reasons, he can't be placed inside the top 10.

Rodney St. Cloud:

One of the more interesting bodybuilders to say the least. He is also a firefighter and professional exotic dancer, and shows much talent in putting together interesting posing routines. He has mediocre calves, but everything else is well developed. The complete package of his routine and physique should be enough to put "Hot Rod" in the top 10.

Joel Stubbs:

Joel Stubbs is proclaimed to have one of the best backs ever, and it very well could be true. It's full, complete, solid, and defined. His awesome upper body does much for his physique to make him look massive and wide, but his legs are lacking. Because of these disproportions, he has the potential to place somewhere close to 10th.

Quincy Taylor:

He's 6'4" and 290 lbs at contest. A pretty massive competitor and also the 2001 NPC USA champ. He has since been competing as an IFBB pro. Any weaknesses he might have are hidden well on his enormous frame and physique. His main focus should be on definition and conditioning which can be a downfall at his weight. He should strive for more cuts and lines in his legs than what he's had before and he'll easily place in the top 10.

George Turmon:

Having been competing in the IFBB since 2003, he seems to have a lot more weaknesses than others. Some of these would be his calves and legs which could both use more work. Also, he could learn to better control his stomach during poses, and keep it from becoming loose and rounded.

Dennis Wolf:

Competing in the IFBB since 1999, he has done exceedingly well over the years. Being the 2005 IFBB World Champion and overall winner, his success seems to be from consistently being in peak condition for shows. He presents a physique that is big, balanced and clean. There's no weakness to keep this man outside of the top 5.

Nathan Wonsley:

This former Tampa Bay running back got his pro card at the 2005 NPC Masters Nationals. To me, he seems to have a good look to his shoulders and arms, but his traps are a little flat and his chest could be more developed. He weighs around 220, but his muscles are full and carried better on his frame than most heavier competitors. However, his lack of experience in achieving a good balance between mass and definition will probably put him close to 10th place.

Sean Toh