BNBF BRITISH FINALS 2007- REPORT by KERRY NAPIER

As September comes to a close and October begins each year, the final chapter of the BNBF season takes place, the Grand Final and the pinnacle of Natural Bodybuilding in Britain. A pro card is up for grabs for the top male and female competitor, along with that a place on the plane next to the other BNBF pro’s flying out to this years INBA Natural Olympia. 71 hopefuls arrived in Edinburgh this year, the lucky few from the 5 qualifiers held through the year plus some former and defending champions. Some were feeling more hopeful than others but they were all here to do their best, and forever more they will always have the honour of saying that they contested the British Championships at their chosen sport.
As I made my way to the University Theatre (the Spiritual home of the BNBF!!) I reflected, as I always do when I walk that route, on the year I won, certainly one of my life’s prouder moments. On the trials and tribulations of dieting, the rigours of hair removal and tanning, the complete nervous exhaustion of competing on the day but mostly on the GLORY of VICTORY!! Two fortunate people would get to share that feeling today and darn but if I wasn’t nervous and excited in the anticipation of finding out whom they were going to be!

So this is my account of what happened on that day.

PREJUDGING

For me this is the fun part of the show. This is when everyone has to show their true physique, there are no hiding places during prejudging!! If your back is weak the judges will see it, and if you can’t hit your mandatories well this is where it will hurt you. It wouldn’t be true to say that the show is won during prejudging but as evidenced yesterday and at many other shows it can very well be lost. The evening show is the ‘fun’ part, this is the serious bit, and unfortunately yesterday to many contenders forgot to bring there A game to part one.

The show began with the Over 60’s. Two veteran campaigners took to the stage, Eric Dowey from Bangor in Northern Ireland and David Brice from West Sussex.
These 2 guys’ are an inspiration. Both these men had physiques your average 40 year old in this country would give his right arm to possess. Both were very muscular with thick powerful physiques, no doubt the product of many years gym labour. On top of that they were both in great condition and as pre-judging progressed, and as these 2 skilled competitors posed superbly it became difficult to split them. Eric had the better shape and symmetry, whilst David had the clearer musculature. As I made my choices I concluded that in this class we would need the evening to decide the winner.

Not much younger, the next on board were the Over 50’s. Three ‘young’ men took to the stage all of whom were in immaculate condition. Looking at them I recalled an article I had read recently, where in America 50 men who had just turned 100 were interviewed and with one exception all these men had stated that their 50’s were their best years. Apparently by then you have the optimum of knowledge, wisdom, experience, health and wealth to actually find life easy and enjoyable. These 3 guys certainly hadn’t been finding bodybuilding or dieting hard. Each of them was top quality. George Kerr aka ‘the razor’ was his usual shredded self, a nicer guy than George you will never meet, and I was delighted to see him up on the stage in the British Finals looking his best. Denton Wilson was the best he has ever been, he was and dry with tons of quality muscle, plus this time he posed with conviction, all the better displaying the mass of quality muscle he had. Rick Water’s, a former champion in the over 40’s category, presented the physique that had won him those titles, fantastic condition, chiselled quadriceps (amongst the best in show) plus plenty of experience at hitting those all important poses. The judges moved them around plenty, trying to gauge which athlete had the edge. Another one for the evening show where Rick would find himself up against two of the most entertaining posers in Natural bodybuilding.

Continuing our journey down through the ages of men, next onstage came the first large class of the day, the Over 40’s. Nine men took to the stage, minus one guy who had journeyed up trying to bluff the polygraph and found you couldn’t, shame, NOT!! The real Naturals wandered onstage and immediately had the look of a very tricky class. However as the athletes went through their compulsories in groups it became apparent that 2-3 had improved on their showing in the qualifying but most were lacking the size and condition to be competitive today. A top two quickly established themselves Richard Bannaghan and Roger Waters a further 4 guys put themselves in the mix for a top 5 trophy and this was where the real head scratching began. The top 2 were pretty much settled but determining 3rd, 4th and 5th was going to be tricky. Mark Houghton had a great X-frame but not the condition of his previous outing, Ian Parker had great condition and muscle mass but wasn’t displaying it well, Tim Sharp was in good nick and had big legs, Charlie McKee had the best upper half but his leg development wasn’t good enough. Across the board the judges probably went for someone different in each place they were that hard to split. Of the main two protagonists Roger had the most mass, including some great wheels, and was in terrific condition, but his posing wasn’t as polished as Richard’s who had excellent symmetry and a well balanced muscular physique. Neither was sporting a particularly good tan but the gloss/oil on Richard would hinder him the most, blurring some of his fine detail helping to give Roger the edge in this battle going into the evening.

The BNBF like to mix things up so from the veterans we dropped right down to the rookies, so the Teen’s were up next. Five guys trotted out on stage. First impressions were that it was a 3 horse race but none of the athletes had really nailed their condition so it was going to be hard to separate them. Daley Fords’ extra mass, Ritchie Hoppers’ natural GQ shape or Michael Goodwin who was the best conditioned of the 3 and had an excellent X-frame. There was a definite argument for having these 3 tied at the end of the pre-judging. If Daley had been better conditioned he would probably have edged them out but as it was it was 1 from 3 come evening time. The other 2 in the class Luke Seabrook and Calum Macauley both had good shape and a decent amount of mass, but weren’t big enough or conditioned enough to contest for the top spots.

From the teen class we progressed to the Juniors which this year moved from an under 21 category to under 23’s. This had an immediate positive effect on the quality of the classes at the qualifiers as a lot of athletes who might of found their selves having to enter the novices were able to hang around for another year at the junior level. Two young men that fell into this category were Andrew Chappell and Mark Claxton, in fact Mark had contested the Novice Final at last years British final but due to the new ruling was able to compete as a Junior again. It’s a big step for a Junior to move to the adult rank’s and can be a bit demoralising so I think this has been a great move by the BNBF allowing young athletes more chance for their physiques to mature.
Andrew and Mark immediately came to the fore in prejudging and unfortunately in a class of 8 guys this was just a 2 horse race. The other guys just hadn’t gotten themselves into the condition required to do well at this level, and the younger guys in the class just didn’t have the mass yet to challenge the top 2. With the new under 23 ruling they will have more time to progress and next year hopefully they will be the guys at the fore of the field.
As for Andrew and Mark, well both these guys were exceptional. Like all physique comparisons they both had their strengths and their weaknesses. Andrew had the greater mass with deep thick lats, large quads and powerful shoulders and arms, but the detail in his muscles weren’t as sharp and clear as Mark’s. Mark was shredded with incredible cuts and truly phenomenal legs for a man of his years; he though lacked the upper body thickness and mass of Andrew. It was going to be a very close call and whoever prevailed was really going to have to work for it in the evening.

In a nice juxtaposition we were then taken from the heaving sweating grunting mass of the male competitors to the toned beauty and elegant grace of the Miss Figure class. When I first started judging I was totally unsure and uncomfortable with judging this class but since then it has definitely become one of my favourites. All these ladies are excellent on stage, they all pose effortlessly and they all look like they are actually enjoying being onstage. It does make it very difficult to judge though!!
But in fitting with today’s trend 2 girls were duelling for top spot from the beginning. Alex Fowler and Jenny Garside were in fantastic shape, all across all the classes these two girls were probably 2 of the best competitors in the show. To have both of them in one class was a shame as neither deserved to go home without a first place trophy. Jenny was in great condition and was very symmetrical, she had well toned legs and wide square shoulders, which tapered down into a very neat waist with a wonderfully conditioned mid section. Alex was in slightly softer condition but that only emphasised her well toned feminine lines, with shapely legs and an excellent shoulder to waist ratio, which she emphasised best when turned slightly side on. The girls fighting for the remaining 3 trophies were the delicate but surprisingly wide backed Ingrid Charvet, superbly conditioned Deborah Francis, shapely Wendy Newman and the very symmetrical Flick Williams. It was going to take the evening to separate and like all in attendance I was looking forward to those routines.

Back to the men with the Novice class. Traditionally one of the hardest classes to judge, these are the guys on the way up, or the first timers to old for the Junior classes. It’s a mixture of different standards of physiques but by finals time the cream has risen to the top and the BNBF Novice final usually contains the most evenly matched competitors. This year it was tight across the board except for 1st place. When Prince Ayemere Odeh stepped onstage the audience knew they not only had the Novice winner before them but an athlete that could challenge for the Pro Card. He has amazing shape and symmetry with some of the fullest and clearest muscle parts I have ever seen. His Hamstring/Glutes tie-ins were nothing short of phenomenal all the better emphasised by his spot on condition. Huge arms, deep abs, separated quads, in short the total package!!
So we had a clear winner but the judging wasn’t over. 4 more trophies were up for grabs and there was plenty of competition. The best conditioned Iain winter with his amazing most muscular shot, Christian Bolger with his superb symmetry, Pete Samson with his thickness and super back development, Frank Mensah wide back and the greatest swagger of all time and Tim Griffins’ size and shape. Very little separated them over the prejudging.

Now it was time for the men’s weight categories, starting with the Mr. Lightweight Under 72kgs class. With neither of last years top 2 returning to compete this year a very open class was anticipated. It turned out to be just that with the top 5 guys all contesting for that top place, each brought their own qualities and flaws to the table and the judges had the hard task of separating them. Glen Danbury brought great legs, a decent x-frame a very detailed back and his trademark abs and thighs shot, unfortunately his efforts to make the weight class had left him very flat so he struggled to keep the detail in his shots. Barry Cunliffe was the most massively muscled, great quads and calves, excellent condition and a super wide back but he can’t pose, would the judges be able to see his physique through his amateur posing? Richard Grattan had a superb X-frame, decent condition and insanely well developed calf muscles but he lacked the thickness of the others. Steve Morris had great quads and freaky big arms, he was hard and dry from the front but wasn’t as conditioned when he turned to the rear. Jason Barnett was extremely muscular with a great back, biceps and chest, he is also the master poser; his legs though lagged a little behind the others. Through both the rounds each guy scored points over the other, come the evening they would have one last try to make their point.
The other 4 guys were good enough to keep the top guys on their toes. Felix McAlinden brought rock hard conditioning to the stage, Clive West a great shape and professional posing, David Bloch plenty of thick muscle and Adam Andrews displayed impressive wheels.

The assumption before the show was that the Mr. Middleweight Under 80kgs would be the most difficult class to judge. It was made a little easier when one of the competitors weighed in with his suitcase so he didn’t have to compete against these guys. Still it did turn out to be really hard for the judges as pre contest favourite Raymond James suffered a severe attack of nerves and posed so badly that he was thrown into the mix with the other 4 guys all hungry for the title. The symmetry round became almost impossible to split the guys up Darren Cooper, Darren Vernon, Michael Hannam and Peter Grassner all raised their game and fought tooth and nail to come out on top, with Raymond suffering from stage fright it was neck and neck going into the muscularity round.
Finally Raymond relaxed and showed his class. His incredible structure, amazing quads which would later secure him the Best wheels Award, cannonball arms and delts and now some exemplary posing edged him in front. This was the round where the others let themselves down. Darren Cooper has a huge, grainy, thick physique but his posing wasn’t bringing his qualities out his legs are very big but so often he failed to bring their cuts out. Darren Vernon has great shape with fantastic upper body development showing crisp clear muscle separation but his legs lag behind. Michael Hannam so competitive in the symmetry round just wasn’t in good enough condition to bring his muscularity out his shape is excellent he just needed to be harder. Peter Grassner was also a touch short of the necessary condition which was unfortunate because he has the shape, size and thickness to be very, very competitive.
Still Raymond’s round one hiccup had left this class well and truly in the balance. The ball was still in his court but would his nerve hold up to the pressures of the evening show?

The final male category was the Mr Heavyweight over 80kg class. Unfortunately light on numbers this year, with the top 3 heavyweights in 2005 all now holding pro cards, the depth of the heavyweight class has suffered. The original 3 guys competing were swelled by our suitcase carrying middleweight Sean Ferguson. Sean considered himself a challenger for the Overall Title so tactically weighed in to the heavyweights so he would be fresher to contest the Overall later in the day. Clearly he didn’t rate his fellow heavyweight competitors and some would argue about the cowardliness of this but on the other hand Sean did qualify as a heavyweight so theoretically one could also argue that he should have had to compete as a heavyweight anyway.
It wasn’t a great class unfortunately. Its very hard for tall Naturals to fill out their physiques and today’s class demonstrated this. Dan Lampard has a great structure and was in good condition but as yet doesn’t have enough mass to fill out his large frame fully, which affects his symmetry and balance. I do feel though that with perseverance and dedication to his training once he is fully filled out he will be a ‘proper’ heavyweight and very hard to beat. Tygoli Ano wasn’t in condition today, that didn’t stop his upper body looking very impressive unfortunately his legs are very poor, add decent legs to his upper body though and he will be massive and a threat to anyone. Steve Knight was another in the wrong class, Steve has amazing shape and thick well defined muscles but he wasn’t in condition. In condition Steve would be a very competitive middleweight as a heavy he looks really good but doesn’t do his physique justice. So Sean was right an easy class for him, a tactical decision but would it pay off. We’d find out come the evening.

The final class in the pre-judging is the Miss Physique the winner of which will receive the coveted pro card. A very strong class of 8 quality girls, however just like the majority of classes today there was a clear split and only 3 of the girls were in the running for the top spot.
Jane Carter , of all the physiques on display today she was the only one you could honestly say wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Pro stage. For starters she was dry as a bone, with phenomenal condition. She had a great X frame with cannon ball delts and big guns too. Her back was a detailed V and her midsection was hard and tight!! Her legs were large and defined with cuts in her hamstrings too and large shapely calves!! A standout physique!! Dawn Roberts immediately caught my eye of all the competitors onstage today, in any class, she was definitely the one who had improved the most since her qualifier!! She has a great natural shape but today she complemented it with great condition that allowed all her well developed muscles to show through, she had excellent legs, wide shoulders that tapered down to a tight mid section. Fighting it out with Jane and Dawn for top spot was Annabel Ottey, she had fantastic symmetry with a wide back and flaring quads, her legs were well separated and she was in good condition. Jane’s extra hardness and muscle shape would edge her ahead in the muscularity round but the other two girls were close enough to keep her on her toes in the evening.
Splitting the other girls for the remaining trophies would be hard. Anita Albrecht had a great top half with a very wide back but was a little to soft in the lower body to show her large quads off. Sarah Meek was in excellent condition and was very toned, she just didn’t have enough mass to break into the top 3. Jane Millar was also in excellent condition top half but a little too soft in the legs. Lyn Sneddon was perhaps the biggest girl on stage but her shape wasn’t as balanced as the others. Laura Young was also in good condition with a wide back and a tight mid section.

With the finish of the Miss Physique class, so concluded the prejudging. A lot of questions had been answered but enough were left unanswered that the evening show would be very interesting.

THE EVENING SHOW

The highlight of the day for many people is the evening show, when the athletes get to entertain the audience individually onstage with a routine they have practiced that hopefully shows off their physiques strongest points. This chance to entertain is the athletes reward for all the hard months of diet and training they have endured to get up onstage. Only one round is judged in the evening but in close decisions how each athlete is looking come the evening can determine whether they win or lose. So entertaining or not, a lot still rests on these routines.

Before the athletes had their turn the evenings entertainment was started by the irrepressible Chris ‘Big Fifty’ Nsubuga. Chris is a PNBA pro and will be making his pro debut at this years Natural Olympia and tonight he stepped onstage to highlight for the audience how each athlete is judged over the course of the competition. Chris looked fantastic and as usual posed magnificently, he totally dominates every stage he steps on to and reminded me that I’d be better off choosing a number well away from him in the line up at the Olympia. I think a lot of PNBA pros bubbles are going to be burst when he steps onstage in Greece!!

So on with the show, the running order stays the same from the prejudging so first up were the Over 60’s. Beginning this year the BNBF present this class in honour of Eric Morris. Eric was a great ambassador for Natural Bodybuilding in Britain and was a regular competitor at many of the BNBF shows and was a previous winner of this class at the British Finals. Unfortunately since last year’s event, Eric passed away after a long illness. His presence was greatly missed at the shows this year!!!
After two entertaining routines the decision went to David Brice. His superior definition just giving him the nod in what was a very tight class. In 2nd Eric Dowey posed excellently in the evening, let’s not forget that Eric is not only over 60, he is over 70 as well. A fantastic showing by both guys.

Next up we would find out who would prevail in the really close battle for the Over 50’s title. Rick Waters was up against it in this round as in George Kerr and Denton Wilson he was up against 2 of the best entertainers in Natural Bodybuilding. George wowed the crowd was his trademark headstand and Denton surpassed himself with a fantastically choreographed routine, a routine that would surely win him the evening show but would it be enough to take the title. After another entertaining posedown, MC Vicky McCann gathered the competitors at the back of the stage. Who would win? 3rd went to…. George Kerr, a great showing by the razor!! 2nd…Denton Wilson, in the shape of his life, oh so close to victory. Which left in 1st place the inaugural BNBF Over 50’s champion Rick Waters!!! His killer quads and excellent condition enough to see him home in what was a highly competitive class. Congratulations Rick!!

The years continued to fall off as we headed down to the Over 40’s. Plenty of positions were still to be decided this evening. Roger or Richard for 1st place and who from 4- Tim, Ian, Mark and Charlie would grab the remaining positions? Roger and Richard both posed their best and went head to head in the posedown, battling it out for that top spot. Richard had lost the gloss that had blurred his detail in the prejudging and looked much better for it, but Roger was just so darn big he seemed to fill up most of the front of the stage during the posedown. It was a close call but in the end 1st went to the massive Roger Waters and Richard Bannaghan had to settle for an excellent 2nd place. Everyone posed hard and gave it their all desperate to get their hands on one of the remaining in the end Mark Houghtons excellent balance and shape netted him 3rd. Tim Sharp with great condition, big legs and sharp back detail took 4th and securing 5th place and the final trophy was Ian Parker with his shredded mid section and superb guns.
Rob Carey, Charlie McKee, Tom O’Neill and Jonathan Travers rounded out what had been an excellent class.

The Teens took to the stage next. Only 5 guys so everyone would be getting a trophy but which of the 3 main protagonists would come away with top spot? Of the 3 it was Michael Goodwin who put on the best display in the evening, performing a cool routine complete with black tie and shades to the tune of men in black. Calum Mccauley and Luke Seabrook also posed with gusto as they battled it out for 4th and 5th.
I’d made my choice of the 3 but wouldn’t have been too surprised if it had been someone different, so I waited with interest to see who Vicky would call in 1st.
5th went to Calum Mccauley, 4th to Luke Seabrook and in 3rd…… Michael Goodwin his well balanced physique and excellent routine just not quite enough to place him higher. In 2nd place….. Daley Ford his muscle mass just to blurred by his lack of condition. Which left Mr.GQ Ritchie Hopper in 1st place. Ritchie has shape to die for and as the years add more mass he is going to find himself winning many more trophies in the future.
As MC Vicky McCann said at the time with teens like these the long term future of Natural bodybuilding in Britain looks secure.

A little older but still young the Under 23’s were up next. Definitely one of the most eagerly awaited results of the night was who was going to come out on top between Andrew Chappell and Mark Claxton. When they performed their routines all it did was underline how close it was between these 2 cracking physiques. Perhaps Andrew had gotten that little bit drier and more detail was coming through, but Mark was still shredded and showing fabulous detail. Choosing between 2 such quality physiques is what makes the Judges earn their corn, it wasn’t easy and whoever came 2nd was going to rightfully feel very disappointed. So Vicky broke the bad news, in 2nd place…. Mark Claxton!! Hard luck Mark, but you have an exceptionally bright future in this sport. So the 1st place trophy was Andrew Chappell’s! A great combination of mass and condition and an excellently balanced physique, which he would further prove when holding his own in the Overall later in the evening. Well done Andrew!! Will it be the Novices or the Mr classes for these 2 next year, whichever they choose they will both be very competitive.
Pete Bullard took home the 5th place trophy, Pete has fantastic legs but he wasn’t able to hold the fantastic condition he had when winning his qualifier but I’m sure he will be back bigger and stronger next year.
Flavio Mendoca grabbed 4th great legs, wide shoulders and some quality posing throughout the day.
3rd went to Lawrence King. Lawrence has a very powerful physique with big bodyparts all over, he just wasn’t in good enough condition today. With his muscle mass better condition could easily have seen him break into the top two.

Next on stage to perform their routines were the Miss Figure ladies. Without exception every one of these girls performed magnificently!! Even better although most of the routines very sassy and sensual they didn’t go to far, I always find it hard to judge a girl when I’m not sure where to look. Congratulations to you all this was the most entertaining class of the evening.
The two ladies in contention were both still at their best and the both performed exceptionally and in the case of Alex Fowler so well that she received the Best Female Presentation Award at the end of the night. Both ladies deserved top honours for their efforts but as usual there can only be one winner, and to her delight 1st place went to Jenny Garside. I remember concluding after the Scottish qualifier that she was exactly how a figure girl should look. She cemented that thought today with excellent condition , great symmetry and a fantastically toned and defined figure, immaculately presented. Well done Jenny!!! Alex looked disappointed with 2nd but she should be pleased with herself as she also looked the part, with just a slight twist of her waist she was the most elegant girl in her class. I wrote in my report book sinuous, slender, elegant, graceful, toned and well conditioned adjectives that sum her up perfectly.
3rd went to the superbly conditioned Deborah Francis whose condition was the best in the class, maintaining that condition and adding more size will have Deborah pushing for top spots.
4th went to Ingrid Charvet. She looks petite and dainty but when she poses lots of width and detail springs forth. Very well toned and very proportional.
The last of the trophies went to Wendy Newman in 5th place. Wendy was in good condition and had great shape and balance. She perhaps needs a little more mass in her upper body to place higher.
The other ladies in the class Ellouise Hempstead, Anne Rice, Annie Uelese and Flick Williams all performed wonderfully well on the night too.

Before the Interval arrived the BNBF awarded two surprise trophies. For a Male and Female who had they felt Best Supported Natural bodybuilding throughout the year. First up was a stunned Annie Uelese. Annie has been a wonderful addition to the BNBF crew, she attends every show helping competitors tan up and get ready to go out onstage, she is so encouraging to everyone that the BNBF were inundated with emails from people asking that she received some recognition for her efforts, that’s the impact she has made on the BNBF members.
Even more stunned was male winner Davy Jay. Davy has been a tireless worker for the BNBF, this year and many more in the past. He travels 1000’s of miles to help set up qualifiers, ensure they run smoothly, perform the drug tests that make the BNBF the top Natural federation that it is. He does all this in his own time and at no cost. And if he does sometimes come across as a gruff Scotsman, I can assure you that he is also one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. A reward well over due Davy and much deserved.

After the Interval the crowd were treated to an amazing spectacle as WNBF pro and 3xProWorld Heavyweight Champion Ben Tenneson performed an inspiring guest spot. Ben was 6 weeks out from this years WNBF worlds and looked unbelievable. Gargantuan size, freaky legs, great separation and by a mile the best posing routine I have ever seen. His opening appearance as a Spartan warrior was truly gobsmacking and had the crowd stunned by how amazing he looked. A true inspiration and definitely one , if not the, best Natural Bodybuilders in the World.

Follow that, well up next and having to were the Novices. The prejudging had given us our class winner in the form of the extremely talented Prince Aymere and 1st out he proceeded to confirm for all in attendance that this class was him, plus he also clearly loves being onstage, congratulations Prince on a comprehensive 1st place finish.
1st may have been settled but a big fight was on for 2nd place. First to pose was Christian Bolger, he posed was grace and assurance showing off his strengths made more impressive by the fact his music was broken and he posed to an unusual tune. Tim Griffin suffered the same problem and performed his routine to an unknown track, perhaps not as hard as the prejudging, he would miss out on a top spot. Frank Mensah was next and the scowl he had sported throughout the prejudging vanished to be replaced with a beaming smile, which suited him much better. Of course nothing to do with his physique, he posed well and showed off his super wide back and big guns to their best advantage. Peter Samson came out dressed like a roman gladiator, a good plan but unfortunately for him Ben Tenneson had just owned that look with his Spartan warrior routine. Still Peter is a great entertainer plus he has a tremendously thick well developed physique, added to that he was in great condition so the crowd really enjoyed his performance. The last of the contenders on stage was Iain Winter. Iain posed with a lot of style and grace, belie his limited onstage experience, it was certainly one of the best routines of the evening. His best in class condition had improved even more by the evening, displaying great muscle size and separation he was certainly a favourite for that 2nd place trophy. This was an incredibly difficult class to judge and with all the judges opting for someone different for second it was going to be a really close count to find out who had secured it. 5th.. Frank Mensah, 4th Iain Winter (my choice for 2nd!!) 3rd…. Peter Samson which left 2nd place to Christian Bolger. Prince took his 1st place trophy and the acknowledgement that he would be a serious threat in the overall.

It was proving to be a night full of tough decisions for the judges and a big lightweight class was going to make us all work hard again. 5 guys fighting for the top spot but unfortunately none of them, except Jason Barnett really inspired the judges with their routines. Jason however is and was tonight as ever, a fantastic poser. I really appreciate the grace and professionalism he presented his physique with, alas it wasn’t enough to push him into a higher position and he was awarded with the 5th place trophy. Steve Morris took 4th spot his condition and crazy arms not enough to impress the judges more tonight, he has had a good season though and will certainly be a challenger for next years title. Richard Grattan seemed to have faded a little condition wise since the prejudging and could only secure himself a very creditable 3rd spot at the end of t6he evening show, a little more thickness to his upper body will push him higher next year, and he does have the consolation of sporting the best set of calves onstage tonight. So just Barry and Glen left who would secure the top spot? In the end Glen’s physique was too complete and he was awarded a straight 1st victory by all the judges. An excellent physique and very deserving victor. Barry took home the 2nd place trophy, he has an excellent physique and gets into terrific condition but if he ever wants to take home the top prize he really needs to work very hard on his posing. Particularly the symmetry round.
In the evening show an honourable mention must go to Clive West for his fantastic routine and wig.

The evening was moving on a pace, with only 3 classes remaining the anticipation in the audience was really building up. The hardest class to judge in the prejudging was up next those Middleweights. Darren Cooper, Peter Grassner, Mike Hannam, Raymond James and Darren Vernon were all fantastic competitors displaying fantastic physiques, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Certainly on my sheet it would require the evening round to find the winner.
Darren Cooper was on 1st and he posed fantastically, displaying his thick powerful physique to its outmost, he also looked slightly harder than he did during the prejudging. Would it be enough?
Peter Grassner posed well but his conditioned had faded a bit too much, and after a strong showing he was finally out of the running. As stated before though with improved condition he will be a serious contender.
Mike Hannam had also faded condition wise, he posed well and has fantastic symmetry but his lack of top condition was hindering his ability to clearly display his muscles to the judges.
Raymond James was a tour de force in this round. He posed gracefully and with his excellent condition allowing all his details to show through he was putting himself into serious contention for top spot, he completed his routine with an excellent back flip. And his performance had really made him almost uncatchable.
Darren Vernon also gave it his all, with a very committed routine that the audience loved. His condition was excellent, and his upper body massive just his front leg detail that was letting him down.
With only 5 guys fortunately all these guys got a trophy which they all richly deserved. 5th went to Peter Grassner. 4th to Mike Hannam, 3rd went to a visibly disappointed Darren Vernon. 2nd place was… Darren Cooper. Which left Raymond James in 1st and the deserved winner. His 1st round hiccup not enough to de-rail him and he won the title his truly impressive physique merited!!!

The last of the men were the Heavyweights. 4 guys and 3 pretty memorable routines in there. Tygoli Ano’s jaunty ‘Macho man’number. Steve Knight’s strutting stripper performance that was so good and so fun that it won him the Male Best Presentation Award, and Sean Ferguson’s attempt to play to the Scottish audience, a tartan dish cloth for a kilt? I have really seen it all.
Sean Ferguson won the top spot, his gamble that the Heavyweights wouldn’t be conditioned so his ripped but smaller physique would prevail paying off. A place in the Overall was his would he make an impact?
Steve Knight took 2nd and must wonder what could have been if he had pushed himself harder and dieted for longer as his Natural shape and size would have made him hard to beat.
Dan Lampard took 3rd and Tygoli Ano took home the final place.

The last class onstage were the ladies of the Miss Physique class. Some great physiques and as you’d expect from the Ladies some great routines. Anita Albrecht with her usual high energy number, love that most muscular, girl!!! Dawn Roberts posed fantastically further cementing her chase for a top spot. And best of them all was Lyn Sneddon with a marvellous James Bond cameo complete with pistol, really enjoyable.
After the dust had settled and the last routine of a colourful evening was completed so the Ladies gathered at the back of the stage waiting to hear their fate.
5th went to Anita Albrecht but she is certainly one for the future. 4th went to Sarah Meek with her excellent balance. The top 3 contenders awaited their fate 3rd… Annabel Ottey, great potential and another lady to watch out for next year. 2nd went to Dawn Roberts, a fantastic turn around since her qualifier and a great result for her!!! And in 1st and in truth never really in doubt was Jane Carter!! She will now have the opportunity to test herself in the pro ranks and with the tools she has at her disposal she will do very well indeed.

So only one thing was left to resolve who out of all the male class winners would be crowned Overall British Champion and new PNBA Pro? All the class winners (except our over 60’s champ) filed onto stage and it became pretty clear that this was going to be a battle between Raymond James and Prince Aymere. Prince or Raymond? Raymond or Prince? Hmm. Raymond’s condition, balance and size versus Prince’s crisp full muscularity? In the end the judge’s decision was fairly unanimous. Raymond James was the winner of the 2007 British title!!!! Prince’s time will come but for now the glory was Raymond’s!! His fantastic physique will not look out of place on the Pro stage and I am certainly looking forward to testing myself against a man of his standard in the near future.
So concluded a wonderful day’s entertainment. Perhaps some of the Physiques weren’t as good as previous years but the depth of people in contention in every class made for some cracking competition and a great spectacle for the audience. Hopefully those that didn’t win will take it on the chin and come back next year bigger and better. After all that’s what Bodybuilding is about, pushing yourself to improve and progress steadily and consistently through the years. I look forward to seeing everyone back onstage next year!!!
Next up the Natural Olympia , I will be distracted on the day doing my best to look my best so I will be looking forward to reading what someone else thought of me!!!