Rich Shea speaks of the “IFOCE” as though it ranks in popularity with the NFL or NBA. As every professional sport perpetuates its national champions, so does the International Federation of Competitive Eating, a New York City-based organization Shea co-founded with his brother and presides over as president.

“We are the governing body of stomach-centric sports,” he says, referring to the 70-plus eating competitions held annually throughout the U.S. and other countries. “The bulk of our events are domestic, but we do things in Canada, Germany and Thailand as well.”

The contests, he adds, involve “players” oddly blessed with stomachs that are both highly expandable and ironclad. Take Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, VA, for example. She’s the 110-pound IFOCE starlet who shattered records after shoveling down 65 hardboiled eggs in just over six minutes — and 23 pulled-pork sandwiches in 10 minutes. In other belly-bending competitions, she successfully funneled down 43 soft tacos in 11 minutes and 134 chicken wings in only 12 minutes.

And then there’s Ed “Cookie” Jarvis, an IFOCE hero of sorts who grabbed the prize for consuming six 11-ounce chicken fried steaks after his competitor suffered a reversal of fortune in the final minutes by vomiting.

“It’s an unfortunate occurrence when that happens,” says Shea. “But the contestants know that regurgitation results in automatic disqualification.”

As many question the safety of the events, Shea assures that all matches take place in “controlled environments with emergency medical technicians in place.” Prospective contestants also “train” in advance by taking part in qualifying tournaments that could eventually usher them into “the finals,” where they stand to win prizes ranging from trophies to large amounts of cash, depending on the level of outside sponsorships. Ironically, some end up winning a year’s supply of the food that they so skillfully ingested.

When asked about the girth of most contestants, Shea points out that many of them are surprisingly average or petite in size. “The layman’s view of a competitive eater is that they are large people. But we’ve had thin competitors beat out the big ones.” The reason, he speculates, centers on the so-called scientific “belt of fat” theory, which suggests that excess fat in the midsection inhibits the stomach from stretching. “A lot of people believe that the future of competitive eating will be played mostly by thin people.”

Many of the competitions are linked to food drives and social causes, such as the upcoming fruitcake-eating contest, scheduled at the end of December in Buffalo, N.Y. That event was planned in an effort to restore the city’s ball drop on New Year’s Eve.

“Our matches attract a good deal of media attention because they provide entertainment and interest,” adds Shea.

When asked if the organization will wend its way through San Diego next year, maybe for a tofu or burrito-eating contest, Shea cites that the only Southern California competition planned so far will take place on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles. “It’ll be a low-carb hamburger-eating match sponsored by Carl’s Jr.”

He adds, however, that the 2004 tour has yet to be finalized — and that interested spectators and participants should begin checking the web site next month for a complete listing of nearby “gurgitator” events. Visit this story at www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the website.