Unity for the Betterment of the Sport

NATURAL BODYBUILDING ORGANIZATIONS working TOGETHER to GROW A BETTER SPORT FOR THE ATHLETES

The Unity for the Betterment of the Sport group was created in 2021 when 5 separate organization heads began to recognize and discuss key areas of breakdown that were eroding our beloved sport. They discussed and developed a way to come together, not to simply create another organization, but to truly work together as a unit to meet the needs for quality assurance standardization for the customers - the competing athletes. These 5 founding organizations, NPF, ICN, AAU, ANBF, and Mr. America have created standards in areas such as drug testing, judging, recognizing & accepting pro's, and coordinating scheduling, and it is just the beginning to not only speaking to serving athletes first, but to actually demonstrating that each participating organization is fully committed to making drug tested bodybuilding a rewarding experience for all participating natural athletes. Each individual organization will continue operating autonomously in their own rights, but will additionally work contemporaneously, hand-in-hand to give athletes an ability to move seamlessly and freely between participating organizations without confusion or unexpected and unpleasant inconsistencies.

All organizations who seek to participate/join the Unity for the Betterment of the Sport group must go through the following 3 step process:

1. APPLIED - Organization officially applies through the JOIN OUR GROUP on this page

2. PENDING - Consideration for acceptance and auditing by founding group review

3. CERTIFIED - All member organizations require annual certification of compliance

All organizations in the Unity for the Betterment of the Sport group must be annually audited (an in person interview and observance process conducted by one of the founding organization's lead officials that demonstrates compliance and provides evidence-based data to support adherence to the stated standard (aka, Pillars of Unity and Betterment). Once an organization passes their annual audit, they will receive an official USB:2021 (current year) certificate and official certified seal to proudly display on their website, social medial pages, show flyers, banners, etc. Each participating organization must be audited annually (per calendar year) in order to maintain certification.

UPDATES:

12/20/2021 - NPF LATEST TO ACHIEVE UBS:2021 CERTIFIED STATUS

6/20/2021 -Congratulations to AAU and ICN/USA who have become our first UBS:2021 Certified organizations!

THE PILLARS OF UNITY & BETTERMENT

1.0 Drug Testing:

1.1 FULL PANEL URINALYSIS TESTING (MUST INCLUDE ANABOLIC STEROIDS, STIMULANTS, DIURETICS/MASKING AGENTS)

1.2 EVIDENCE-BASED (ATHLETES PROVIDING URINE SAMPLES MUST HAVE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE THAT THEIR SAMPLE WENT TO THE DESIGNATED LAB. EVIDENCE CAN BE IN THE FORM OF A DISTRIBUTED LAB REPORT, ACCESS TO A LAB REPORT, OR SOME OTHER ACCEPTABLE MEANS OF VISUAL EVIDENCE OR RECEIPT THAT CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THAT LAB WORK WAS PERFORMED ON THEIR SAMPLE). UNACCEPTABLE FORMS OF EVIDENCE WOULD INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, EMAILS, TEXTS, DM’S, ETC. THAT SIMPLY STATES, “YOU PASSED” OR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS THAT ADDRESS, “ALL ATHLETES HAVE PASSED.”

1.3 DRUG TESTING RESULTING IN BOTH NEGATIVE AS WELL AS POSITIVE ADVERSE ANALYTICAL FINDING(S) WILL BE SHARED VIA A COMMON DATABASE IN CONFIDENCE WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THIS UNITY GROUP.

1.4 WHERE ADVERSE ANALYTICAL FINDING(S) AND SUBSEQUENT PENALTIES ARE IMPOSED, EACH MEMBER OF THIS UNITY GROUP AGREES TO SHARE WITH ALL MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS OF THE GROUP AND FULLY COOPERATE WITH THE PENALTIES SET FORTH BY THE IMPOSING ORGANIZATION.

2.0 COMMON JUDGING CRITERIA:

2.1 FOR CLASSES SUCH AS BODYBUILDING AND CLASSIC BODYBUILDING (CLASSIC PHYSIQUE) THE JUDGING CRITERIA SHALL BE SUCH AS TO REWARD ATHLETES THAT HAVE DEVELOPED AESTHETIC, SYMMETRICAL, PROPORTIONED PHYSIQUES WHICH DISPLAY THE APPLICABLE AMOUNT OF MUSCULATURE FOR THE SPECIFIED DIVISION. CONDITIONING IS CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF DISPLAYING ONE’S PHYSIQUE, BUT EXCESSIVE CONDITIONING OFTEN DEFINED WITH TERMS SUCH AS SHREDDED, RIPPED OR PEELED IS NOT TO BE VALUED ANY MORE SO THAN A BALANCED AND DEVELOPED PHYSIQUE.

2.2 IN CLASSES SUCH AS BIKINI, CRITERIA SHOULD BE MAInTAINED THAT DOES NOT REWARD EXCESSIVE LEANNESS AND/OR MUSCULARITY.

2.3 IN ALL CLASSES/DIVISIONS A CLEAR DELINEATION IS DRAWN PROVIDING THE ATHLETES, OFFICIALS AND AUDIENCE TO ASCERTAIN THE DESIRED LOOK.

2.4 THE CRITERIA PLACES APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT/DIVISION AND ATHLETE SAFETY AT THE FOREFRONT.

2.5 THE CRITERIA ESTABLISHED ALLOWS ATHLETES TO MOVE BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS IN A SEAMLESS FASHION AND WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXPECTATIONS FOR SUCCESS.

2.6 POSING CRITERIA FOR DIVISIONS SUCH AS BIKINI SHALL BE SUCH AS TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION ACCEPTABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES. POSES THAT OVER-SEXUALIZE THE ATHLETES SHOULD BE RESTRICTED AND/OR PENALIZED.

3.0 Honoring & accepting Pro Athletes across organizations:

3.1 ALL MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS WILL CONSIDER PRO STATUS AS BEING RESERVED FOR THE BEST ATHLETES.

3.2 MEMBER ORGS. WILL HONOR THE PRO STATUS OF THESE ATHLETES AND WILL ALLOW THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THEIR PRO SHOWS. THE RECEIVING ORGANIZATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO IMPLEMENT A PRO MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT (FEE).

3.3 WE WILL STRIVE TO DEVELOP MUTUAL CRITERIA FOR PRO SELECTION.

4.0 COORDINATION OF SCHEDULING ACROSS MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS:

4.1 WHERE PRACTICAL, EACH ORGANIZATION WILL BE MINDFUL OF LONG-TERM EVENTS, ESTABLISHED DATES OR EARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS AND ENDEAVOR TO WORK AROUND SAME.

4.2 ALL REASONABLE SUPPORT OF EACH PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATION'S EVENTS SHOULD OCCUR IN SUCH A FASHION AS TO DEMONSTRATE UNITY.