Click on class name to view photos - photos by Calum MacKenzie

 

Edinburgh’s University Theatre was once again the venue for the opening qualifier of the BNBF season. This year, the Scottish attracted 38 competitors, and, as has come to be expected, the standard was high, with some very tight judging decisions made. On this occasion, the judging panel comprised WNBF Pro’s Vicky McCann, David Hannah, Chris Nsbuga, Cheryl Myers and double WNBF World Champion Rob Hope, with Scottish bodybuilding and powerlifting champion Mike Duffy assuming the role of head judge for the first time. WNBF Pro Rachael Hayes did a fine job as compere for the evening.

 

JUNIORS – sponsored by Gracemount Gym

 

Five juniors opened the show, receiving a great reception from the capacity crowd. All the lads were well up for this, and battled to the very end, and the judges’ decision was accepted sportingly.

1st: Andrew Chappell – Andrew was confident (without being OTT) from the outset. Smiling throughout, he had the most complete and balanced development in the class, and his condition was bang-on, with deep cuts and striations, particularly in the upper body. With posing, he became extremely vascular across his thickly-developed pecs and shoulders. With a competent routine, Andrew was the obvious winner from the moment he took the stage.
2nd: David Harper – David was tall and lean, with a deeply chiselled midsection and a strong upper body, which matched Andrew’s for condition. His quads were well separated, but his legs, particularly hamstrings, needed a little more size to bring up his symmetry. Otherwise, a very strong performance from David.
3rd: Jonathan Mortimer – Jonathan had a lovely shape, with wide lats and shoulders and narrow hips, which gave him a natural taper. His condition was fair, although not enough to challenge the top two, and like David, he needs to bring up his legs to balance his symmetry. Although not the biggest in the line-up, he had very good stage presence, which drew the eye.
4th: Robbie Bell – Robbie was huge, with good depth to his upper body in particular. Unfortunately, his condition was well off today, particularly in his legs, which detracted from his physique. If Robbie can work hard on that, he will place top three for certain in the not-too-distant future.
5th: - Leigh McNiven – Leigh was tall with a fair level of development, particularly his pecs. Leigh just needs a bit more of everything (size, condition) to be more competitive in future.

 

MASTERS - sponsored by Pronutrition

 

Seven Masters lined up to contest this prize, two of whom were classed as Over 60’s. Again, it was a very strong line-up, a perfect demonstration that bodybuilding can be a lifelong sport.

1st: David Reid – Davy presented a much improved physique today. He has always had tremendous condition, but today looked to have added depth and thickness to his frame without losing any of the said condition. His shoulders were wide and full, pecs shredded, his biceps well peaked and the detail in his back was outstanding. To be picky, although Davy’s legs have come on a lot, he could still add a little more size, particularly hamstring development, to balance his physique further, but a great return to competition after taking a year out.
2nd: John Chalmers – John must have worked hard to bring about the improvements he showed today. Ripped to the bone from head to toe, he also looked much fuller than on previous occasions, which benefited his shape and symmetry. His condition was as good as anyone’s on the stage today, with his hamstrings particularly remarkable. John could still afford to fill out his delts and triceps a little more, but he thoroughly deserved his placing today, and was delighted.
3rd: Charlie McKee – Charlie looked impressive from the outset. The most thickly-muscled of all, his shoulders, arms and pecs were extremely rounded and dense, and his tan was bang-on. However, Charlie, in his lat poses, tends to round his shoulders and back forwards, to the extent that he looks narrow, and his legs were not a match for his upper body, which threw out his symmetry. Charlie has a good stage persona, and if he can work on these details will place higher.
4th: Samuel Meikle – Sam has a very good basic shape, with strong quads, pecs, traps and biceps, however his condition let him down today, although he was tighter at the night show than during the afternoon judging, and he came through the more he posed.
5th: Jim Richardson – Jim had a reasonable level of development, and showed agility and originality in his routine, but he too needs to work hard on his condition to place higher in future.

 

MASTERS OVER-60

 

This class saw a good-natured re-match of the battle between last year’s winner and current British champion Eric Dowey and Ted Clifton, who possibly competes more than anyone else in the country. Incredibly, both men continue to make gains with each successive year. Both men continue to show an enthusiasm for their sport that belies their years.
1st: Eric Dowey – Eric, who turns 70 later this year, has an enviable shape; wide shoulders and lats, with a narrow waist, give him a V-shape the envy of many a younger man, and his legs remain full and cut. His journey from Bangor was rewarded with the title.
2nd: Ted Clifton – Ted was as good as I’ve seen him today, having achieved a good balance between size and condition. His routine was, as ever, lively and rousing. Well done Ted.

 

NOVICE – sponsored by Bodytek Gym

 

As ever, the largest class of the day, with 10 entrants. The usual contrast of heights, shapes and sizes ensured that the judges were kept on their toes.
1st: Tissot Regis – from the outset, Tissot looked like the winner. He presented the most complete, balanced physique in the line-up, with wide, full shoulders and lats tapering to a tiny midsection, and flared thighs. His back was phenomenally thick, and his skintone was perfect. If Tissot can come in around 7lb lighter for the final, he should place very highly indeed.
2nd: Jim Blyth – Jim has a big frame with plenty of dense muscle, and a good shape, although at times, he looked ever-so-slightly narrow across the front delts. He was in good condition, with striated pecs and very good detail in his back (very prominent “Christmas tree” in his lower back), and by the night show, he had tightened further to the extent that his glutes were striated, although his quads were just a tad lacking in detail by comparison.
3rd: Mikey Craig – Mikey demonstrated very strong proportions, with a good over-all level of development and condition, with cuts and separations evident. His presentation and conduct on stage throughout the day were exemplary, and earned him the “Best Presentation “ award for male competitors today. Mikey could still add a little more depth to his pecs and tighten the hamstrings, but otherwise, a very good debut performance.
4th: Allan Barbour – Tall and lean, Allan had the best condition in the class (without becoming “stringy”), particularly across the shoulders and arms. To improve his proportions, he just needs to add a little more leg size. Allan really fought on stage, and looked like he was enjoying himself.
Also competing today: Steven Black (reasonable size, needs to improve condition); Richard Connelly (good shape and thickness, again needs to work on condition); Paul Gardner (strong pecs, delts and legs, needs more lat width to improve taper); Bernard Hume (very wide with a good taper and density and big legs, needs to work on pecs, hamstrings, condition and tan. Good potential); Narash Kumar (deceptively slight at first, came out with posing, with good shoulders and arms, needs to bring up legs to match upper body); Felix McAlinden (continues to improve with each contest, deep cuts to abs and quads, still needs more over-all size). Well done to all the novices, many of whom were first-time competitors today.

 

MISS PHYSIQUE – sponsored by Udo’s Choice Blended Oil

 

Two ladies in the line-up; could last year’s winner retain her title? Both ladies gave a strong performance on the day.

1st: Hazel Kidd – Hazel took this class last year, and subsequently went on to an excellent third place in the Britain. She has a very wide back, hence a natural V-taper, and her legs are very good, particularly her quads, which are full and cut. Her routines are always entertaining and well-thought-out, and her preparation was bang-on. I’d still like to see Hazel add muscle to her arms, chest and shoulders, and improve her condition further, which will nip in her waist and give her even more taper, but she had done enough to win the class and retain her title today.
2nd: Crow Dillon-Parkin – making her bodybuilding debut, Crow was lean and tight in the upper body, with a tiny waist, defined pecs and well-developed biceps. She had very commanding stage presence, and performed an entertaining routine with some difficult moves. Crow needs to work on tighteninig her legs, glutes and hips to the level of her upper body, and adding size to her upper body will give her a more balanced look, but nonetheless, a very promising debut.

 

GUEST STAR

 

Today saw the return of Chris Nsbuga to the stage where he finally won his Pro card at his third attempt in the autumn of 2005. Since then, Chris has thrown himself wholeheartedly into the BNBF, and he did not let the expectant crowd down. His shape is without parallel: huge, rounded delts and flared lats tapering to the smallest of waists; muscular full thighs…
Chris began his guest spot with a graceful, classic routine, showing off his lines and symmetry to full advantage. However Chris has a personality even bigger than his frame, and it is when this is allowed to shine through that he is at his best; when he came on for the second part of his spot wearing the hugest of afro wigs, bright yellow to match his posing trunks, the entire venue went into uproar, especially when he jumped down off the stage and stormed into the crowd, hitting pose after pose as he went. Anyone who somehow happened to be looking the wrong way was tapped on the shoulder and reminded of why this guy won his Pro card. The crowd at the Scottish is always noisy, but never has a guest star captured their attention like Chris did today.
He is a great asset to the BNBF, and organised a “tightest T-shirt” competition for members of the audience. There were several willing (and some not-so-willing) participants, the winner being judged on audience response.

 

LIGHTWEIGHTS – sponsored by Pronaturalmuscle.com

 

Originally five in number, the lightweights suddenly had one more contender for the prize when a competitor originally entered in the middleweight class weighed in under the weight limit for lightweights. This was to alter the outcome of the lightweight category.
1st: Mike Battersby – a powerfully-built athlete, the most complete and densely-muscled of all, Mike dominated this class from the outset. Every muscle group was well-defined and detailed, his midsection in particular showing deep cuts. During the afternoon session, he was just a tiny tad soft in the glutes, but by the time the night show came around, he was rock-hard, tight and dry. Dropping down a weight class certainly paid off today, and a delighted Mike received his first place trophy jointly from current WNBF World Champ Rob Hope, and his own seven-year-old son, Michael Battersby Junior, a bodybuilder in the making, with the craziest ab vacuum I’ve ever seen.
2nd: Colin Richardson – Colin has a beautiful natural shape, with the best shoulder to waist taper in the class. His upper body was his best asset today, with full shoulders, good arms, those H-U-G-E lats and a miniscule waist. He was very well prepared for this, tight, full and dry, although I didn’t feel he was quite as tight for the night show. Whilst his legs were well-developed and defined, he could add a little more size to further improve his already superb proportions. I think Colin was phased slightly by the discovery that Mike had come down from middleweight, and indeed Mike did carry too much muscle to be beaten, but Colin needs to fight, fight, fight if he’s faced with such a situation again.
3rd: Phillip Bell – another competitor blessed with stunning shape and symmetry. In many ways, he was similar in shape and structure to Colin, although he was a little less dense, particularly across the pecs, and he would have benefited from a deeper tan. Come the night show, he had tightened up considerably and pushed Colin further, though not quite enough to pip him for second. He presented himself really well during all three rounds, and was a contender for the Best Presentation award.
4th: Danny O’Sullivan – a stocky lightweight, whose best features were his shoulders, striated triceps and back detail and definition. He needs a little more back width, and like many others on the day, needs to bring up his leg development to the same level as that of his upper body, notably outer thigh sweep, but otherwise, a strong performance.
Also contesting this class were: Christopher Flanagan (big arms and legs, and deep pecs, but just too soft to be a real threat today) and Craig Jefferson (very lean, tight and dry, ripped to shreds with deep cuts and separations, but lost it on size here today; good stage persona throughout the day).

 

MIDDLEWEIGHTS – sponsored by Betta Bodies Clothing

 

What this class lacked in numbers, it made up in the quality of the three athletes on stage; this class is often the most keenly-contested of all, and today was no exception.
1st: Kerry Napier – Kerry made his return to amateur competition having made a reluctant decision to relinquish his Pro card for personal reasons, and what a return it was. For muscular thickness and development, he could not be beaten today, showed off to perfection by his level of condition. Kerry’s pecs, delts and arms were full and rounded, his legs full and delineated, especially from the side, where even his iliotibial band was clearly defined. Kerry’s back is dense and full, but he could benefit from more lat width, and whilst his posing, especially during the compulsories, has improved, he can still look a little “wooden” at times, but he had done enough to claim victory in this class today.
2nd: John Rafferty – last year’s Scottish champion has a wonderful shape, a true X – frame, and every year, he has made subtle gains. His shoulders are wide and full, adding to the effect of his small waist and flared thighs, which were separated and detailed from hip to knee in the quads. His abs were, as we have come to expect from Jon, deeply carved. John still lacks a little fullness in his pecs and depth to the triceps, and during the night show, his back detail didn’t come through as it had during the afternoon, but John always presents himself immaculately on stage and, just not as dense as Kerry, took a well-deserved second.
3rd: Rob Carey – Rob has never appeared in anything less than A-1 condition, and so it was today. He is tall for a middleweight, and every bodypart is cross-cut with striations. He had gained some size during his time away from competition, especially in the legs, and his traps and pecs were particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, despite the said gains, in comparison with the two athletes who placed above him today, Rod simply didn’t carry the density to place higher, but he is nonetheless a great competitor with a quality physique, and received an invite to the Britain.

 

MISS FIGURE – sponsored by bigredshark.com

 

Since its introduction into the BNBF repertoire, this class has proved popular. Originally four in number, one girl withdrew her entry at a late stage, leaving three girls with completely different looks to vie for the title. Last year’s British BNBF Figure winner, Jo Fairbairn, was invited onto the judging panel to help out for this one.
As usual, the contrasting figures before them gave the judges a headache.

1st: Lynn Thornton – Tall and elegant, with long, slim legs, tiny waist and good back definition, Lynn was the epitome of glamour, with just the right amount of “bling” to enhance her presence without detracting or distracting from it. She was the tightest, most toned girl in the class, very lean, yet shapely, and her presentation and conduct throughout the day earned her the ladies’ Best Presentation award. I’d like to see Lynn add just a little more muscle, especially on her legs, and she certainly shouldn’t get any leaner, but on this showing, she is a good prospect for the Britain.
2nd: Julie Hind – Julie was a much stockier girl, with more muscle mass than Lynn (though not too much for the class). Her shape is good, with no bodypart really dominating or lagging. Her back was nicely detailed, as were her abs, but she was a little soft, particularly when compared with Lynn. Julie shouldn’t be afraid to glam it up a little more for the finals, whilst still remembering that less can be more.
3rd: Frances Walton – Frances looked very promising from the front, where she was tight with a good level of muscularity for the class. Her execution of the quarter turns and compulsories was exemplary, but when she turned to the rear, she was, unfortunately, very soft in the hips and glutes, which need to be tightened for the finals.

 

HEAVYWEIGHTS - sponsored by Gasp Clothing

 

Only two in number, this class still managed to cause difficulties for the judges. When two competitors are similar in shape, structure and level of development, it can be as problematic as when no two physiques are the same, and so it was today, with Jon Clark and Ian Munro. Jon was ever-so-slightly ahead in the aesthetics department, whilst Ian had a slight edge for muscularity, and was the more conditioned of the two. In an extremely close contest, the decision went as follows:
1st: Jon Clark – after a break from all the dieting that constant competing entails, Jon came back with his legs much improved and more in line with his upper body. His upper body has always had that extra something, due in no small part to his full, wide shoulders, muscular arms and pecs and tiny waist. When Jon performs lat spreads, he seems to fly. His posing as always was up there amongst the best in the show. Jon did look better from the front; he looked ever-so-slightly soft in the back by comparison, and he still needs more size on those lags, particularly the inner thigh aspect and the hamstrings, but the improvements he had made were enough to clinch the heavyweight title.
2nd: Ian Munro – Ian was similar to Jon in many ways. His level of condition was such that he was detailed in every muscle group, and, like Jon, his shaped was flared and aesthetic. Although his legs were better than Jon’s, his upper body did not carry quite the same level of shape and density, and in the end, it was a very close call between the two, for many judges, coming down to the routine to be able to split them.

 

OVERALL Mr. – sponsored by Extreme Nutrition

 

The culmination of the show saw Andrew Chappell, Davy Reid, Tissot Regis, Mike Battersby, Kerry Napier and Jon Clark take their places for what proved to be an epic battle, with many of the judges wishing they could either spilt the prize or opt out of coming down in favour of any one athlete.
With due respect to Andrew, Davy and Tissot, the real battle was between the three weight-class winners.
The main problem was that no-one had everything; whilst they were all great champions in their own right, none had the complete package that would have made them a stand-out winner. Mike was thickly-developed and in great condition, but he seemed to forget to pose his legs; Kerry was unbeatable for density and leg development, but he seemed tired, and didn’t execute his compulsories to show himself off to full advantage, and he couldn’t compete with Jon for lat width. Jon had his stupendous “wings” and aesthetic lines, yet was still a little light in the legs, but, and herein lay the difference: Jon was visibly fighting for this title.
The others might have wanted it, but Jon positively coveted it, and when the others were visibly flagging, he was still fighting; his poses were still bang-on after the umpteenth comparison, and in the end, it paid off, as the delighted heavyweight took the over-all crown.

 

OVERVIEW

 

Once again, the BNBF team pulled out all the stops to produce a superb spectacle. Chairperson Vicky McCann was quick to pay tribute to the main show sponsor, Extreme Nutrition, to the class sponsors, to the backstage and behind-the-scenes teams who worked tirelessly all day to ensure the show ran smoothly and competitors’ needs were met, and last but not least, to the audience, who were fantastic in their support throughout the day.

 

Show report: Cheryl Myers
Photography: Calum McKenzie