With nail competitions significantly down from years past, it seemed like everyone was looking forward to winning a medal at the Nail Olympics this year. About 200 nail competitors from around the globe showed up in Las Vegas to show off their acrylic, airbrush, nail art, wrap, and gel skills. The event was held June 1-3 during the International Hair and Nail Conference.
Now in its second year, the Nail Olympics has done a phenomenal job of breathing life back into the competition circuit – and allowing both first timers and veterans an equal chance to win. The event has gained so much recognition that it was even chronicled by a Wall Street Journal reporter and mentioned on a recent National Public Radio segment.
The event, originally conceived by principals at three major nail manufacturers – EZ Flow, ibd, and Too Much Fun – has certainly made a mark with both competitors and the nail industry in general.
“The turnout was fabulous,” says Debbie De Grummond, one of the event’s judges and a former competitor. “It says a lot about our industry. When I first started competing, there was great turnout at competitions, but then it seemed to fade.”
The turnout, in fact, was more than double that of last year’s event. About 130 competitors took part in the acrylic competitors took part in the acrylic competitors alone. The fact that many nail technicians participated in Division I competitions (which are for nail technicians who have never competed) was encouraging, says Lee Tomlinson, president of IBD and one of the event’s founders.
“We also had more people from the other countries participate,” he says, “Our whole idea is to simply get people to compete. It’s the biggest nail competition in the United States by far.”
And besides making people compete, Nail Olympics sponsors also made the event fun. A comedienne was on hand to entertain the crowd before the winners were named, and competitors were called on stage to pose for photos in country groups.
Contestants competed in five categories, including wraps, which debuted at the event this year. The competitions were also divided into three divisions: Division I (for students or newcomers who have never competed), Division II (for nail technicians who have competed but never placed in a nail competitions), and Division III (for competitors who have placed in a competition or are ranked by NAILS as a Top 25 competitor).
The incredible coming out of competitors was more than a little hard on the judges. “The competitors were so difficult to judge,” says Nadine Galli, who judged the acrylic and gel competitions and is a regional manager for OPI Products. “There were so many participants. It was a very international competition.”
This year’s judges included Dianne D’Agnolo, Tom Bachik, Lysa Comfort, Galli, Yoshio Mizuno, De Grummond, Debra Purtell, An-Li, Peggy Loden, and Theresa Pugliese.
Well-known competitor Tom Holcomb may very well be among next year’s judges, as he placed in three different competitions and was named overall Division III winner. According to Tomlinson, Holcomb will be invited back next year as a judge for his great showing at this year’s event.
At the Nail Olympics, all competitors were winners. Everyone who competed received a gift bag filled with goodies from the sponsors as well as a plaque.
2002 Nail Olympics sponsors including Backscratchers Salon Systems, Creative Nail Design, EZ Flow, ibd, Mehaz, NSI, OPI Products, Seche Inc., Star Nail Products, Toma Industries, and Too Much Fun.
Nail Olympics Winners
Division I
(never competed before)
Mixed Media Nail Art
1st Nancy Long
2nd Satorni Uchiyama
3rd Akiko Kumagai
4th Yumi Takahashi
Airbrush
1st Coco Akiyo Hayeno
2nd Dexter Do
3rd Akiko Kumagai
4th Yumi Takahashi
Wraps
1st Akiko Akui
2nd Tracy Waterman
3rd Jessica Hoel
4th Lillie Franco Romero
Gels
1st Edra Webster
2nd Camelia Nalty
3rd Monica Ardiel
4th Mina Oe
Acrylic
1st Renee Tiumbull
2nd Susan Kepner
3rd Wen Yao Wang
4th Kelly Swain
Division II
(competed before, never won)
Mixed Media Nail Art
1st Jacqui Jefferd
2nd Ellen Torchia
3rd Akiko Matsuda
4th Melle Stripp
Airbrush
1st Rhonda Weiland
2nd Jacqui Jefferd
3rd Ellen Torchia
4th Pamela Dew
Wraps
1st Fumiyo Tanimoto
2nd Kenichi Kawakami
3rd Nguyen Cao
4th Ellen Torchia
Gels
1st Nancy Marino
2nd Comelia Wolfrum
3rd Kyra Phillips
4th Heather Jessen
Acrylic
1st Hiromi Ogawa
2nd Leah Renee Pruitt
3rd Comelia Wolfrum
4th Annette Kline
Division III
(competed before and won, ranked on NAILS’ Top 25 list of competitors)
Mixed Media Nail Art
1st Laura Scott
2nd Ryoko Konashi
3rd Sanae Nojiri
4th Yuki Hada
Airbrush
1st Laura Scott
2nd Casey Raimer
3rd Chang Kyo Kim
4th Yajoi Ogasawari
Wraps
1st Tom Holcomb
2nd Salina Rush
3rd John Hauk
4th Rita Horvath
Gels
1st Karin Strom
2nd John Hauk
3rd Tom Holcomb
4th Salina Rush
Acrylic
1st Yukiyo Lida
2nd Tom Holcomb
3rd Karin Strom
4th Yuki Hada
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