---

Region 5, which includes the northern provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lamphun and Phitsanoluk, held its bodybuilding and fitness pre-selection for the 38th National Games in the city of Chiang Rai. The National Games is Thailand's major multi-sport event which is going to be held in Trang province in September later this year.

The Regional Selection coincided with the 2009 Mr Thailand, resulting in 3 days of bodybuilding activities.

April 3: The Thailand Bodybuilding Association started the day with its team meeting. Mr. Sugree Supawarikul, Secretary General of the TBBA, presided over the meeting and explained the rules of the National Games. A common misunderstanding is that the athlete is able to change weight-class at the National Games. This is not the case: if an athlete competes at the Regional Selection in the 85kg class, he has to compete in the same class at the National Games and cannot change to another weigh-class. Off-season athletes are particularly affected by this rule. The meeting was followed by a weigh-in. All in all, 33 athletes from the northern provinces came to Regional Selection, including 3 women.

April 4: The morning saw the 33 athletes competing in 15 classes. Given the small scale of the competition, the pre-judging round was skipped and only a final round was performed.

April 5: An award ceremony for the top 3 winners was held in the morning. The winner and runner-up in each category will qualify for the National Games in September.

---