As we are approaching the highlight of the competitive season for the largest, comprehensively tested, and most competitive Worlds event of the year, a new WNBF Pro rule has been adopted (July 2023) to help to inform natural athletes about a majority opinion regarding the best way to maintain and improve our sport. Please read more below as to why WNBF leadership, domestic event promoters, 53 World Affiliates, and many top WNBF Pro’s collaborated together in establishing a rule to continue to place value on the WNBF brand. It is fine for anyone to have a dissenting opinion; but there are details that may be overlooked, and so we have tried to outline them here.
Since the inception of the WNBF in 1989, some natural athletes have aspired to compete naturally on non-drug tested stages. To see how much they could accomplish in a David vs Goliath scenario, to have more competition as “everyone is eligible” to fill venues with hundreds of athletes, and to add to social media followers of course. However, there continue to be delusions of grandeur amongst natural athletes. The notion of “I want to show the world that natural athletes can beat people on drugs” is inspiring and wishful thinking. Yes, you can win a pro card with the non-tested league, but to actually be competitive at the top while remaining truly natural is simply not possible. We all know what is needed to win there-DRUGS. That is the ultimate sacrifice, and we all know the dark side of PED’s including that people can die as a result. Is this really something that you support? People say they really want natural bodybuilding to be the best it can be. Then, SUPPORT THE WNBF!
Below is some data of former WNBF Pro’s and WNBF Pro World Champions who moved on to turn Pro and compete non-tested.
- 2014 – USA Athlete – 1X Overall World Champion
- 12 out of 21 – 2017 – Non-Tested (Bumstead placed 2nd)
- 2014 – 2016 USA Athlete – 3X Overall World Bikini Champion
- 9 out of 20 – 2021 Non-Tested
- 17 out of 27 – 2021 Non-Tested
- 2015 – USA Athlete – HW World Champion
- 11 out of 16 – Non-Tested
- 2017 & 2018 Italian Athlete – 2X Overall World Champion
- 11 out of 16 Non-Tested
- 2021 USA Athlete – 2nd – 2019 WNBF Worlds
- 13 out 15 – Non-Tested
- 2022 USA Athlete – 2X HW World Champion, 1X Overall Title
- 9 out of 18 and 11 out of 15 – Non-Tested
- 2022 German Athlete – WNBF Hopeful – Enters WNBF Germany 2022 – takes polygraph and passes, then wins the non-tested pro card – gone from the WNBF (now restricted by the non tested)
- Non-Tested Debut – 17 out of 20 not in Bodybuilding but classic physique
- 2019 – 2023 Multiple WNBF Pro card winners in WNBF Korea and WNBF Taiwan not activating pro cards and/or competing in other organizations as amateurs or not placing in the top 10 after winning their non-tested pro card.
Many of you have said natural athletes competing against those using PED’s is inspiring. The data does not lie, and true champions want to win. That is Not going to happen against those whom are enhanced. Some will read this blog post with frustration, anger, or feel like we are trying to control athletes, but we are also trying to educate about the eventual outcome in non-tested federations. Remember, we do not have restrictions for Pro’s to compete in other federations, but the non-tested does. This rule applies ONLY to someone accepting Professional status from a non-tested federation, and then asking to return to the WNBF. Think about our newly enforced rule from our perspective. The WNBF and its promoters and international affiliates take on significant financial burden to run events for you. We take the time and effort to thoroughly drug test every single athlete from over 53 countries to ensure that you have a level playing field every single time you compete on our stages. The WNBF also spends time and money during the off-season drug testing athletes. We feature athletes on social media, on our stage banners, and paid guest posing appearances for some of our top WNBF Pro’s. 
There are natural athletes from all over the world who would die to earn WNBF Pro status and would never have aspirations to support or compete non-tested. We want our WNBF Professionals to value the WNBF and we all work hard every single day to create a foundation that involves integrity, fairness, and a positive experience for natural athletes. This overall vision is what is held by the majority of our membership, and again this rule applies to a very few. The WNBF will not be the fallback for athletes to return to when the untested route does not pan out. We won’t grant a lapsed membership renewal when hundreds of other Pros have paid to keep theirs current. We won’t allow a person to requalify and take a WNBF Pro card from another athlete. It is unfair to our Pros for a person to damage the WNBF brand by supporting the ideals of drug usage, and then come back to win prize money over those that do support our ideals. For the majority of athletes who value the WNBF as the most respected, most drug tested, and most competitive natural federation in the world, we appreciate your integrity, we are here for you, and will continue to do all we can to continue to build this great sport worldwide.
