CNP BNBF NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007- Report by the fastest reporter in town Kerry Napier

One week on from the very successful Welsh Championships, the BNBF team headed south of the border again, this time for Manchester and the 5th annual rendition of the popular Northern Championships.
37 athletes had gathered to compete, all hoping to win an invite to the British Championships later in the year, and a large crowd assembled to cheer them on to glory!!
As usual the crew had done a great job in getting everything ready for the off and a panel of 6 judges (PNBA pros Davy Hannah, Kerry Napier, Jakki Law and Vicky McCann and other Natural pros Brandon Greenwood and Cheryl Myers) were ready to determine everyone’s fate.
So without further delay here is how it all went down.

Teen Class – sponsored by Eric Guy DVD’s

5 young hopefuls turned up to contest this class and with some excellent physiques on show, 3 of whom were invited to the Britain, it was a great way to start the show.
1st Place winner Ritchie Hooper won a hard fought battle to secure top spot. He sported a wide full, very muscular physique that was excellently balanced. He was in excellent condition that allowed him to show off the detail in his muscles, particularly his upper body which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a GQ model. His legs were large and sweeping but did lack the separation of his upper body, but with 5-10% better condition will surely show the lines to complement his upper half. With a great natural shape, coupled with plenty of muscle, Ritchie has a bright future ahead of him.
2nd Place went to Lanjul Stocks. Lanjul was coming in off the back of an excellent win in the Junior class at the Welsh show, but the extra week had bit into his condition a little. He pushed Ritchie all the way but with his physique looking a little flat, he just didn’t quite have the definition required to oust Ritchie from top spot today. Lanjul shouldn’t be too downcast though. He has a lot of muscle for a young man his age and manages to get into great condition, and will likely find himself on top spot plenty of times in the future.
3rd Place winner Matthew Croft was in excellent condition, he just doesn’t yet have enough mass to challenge for the top spots. He has a well-balanced physique which will look good as he fills out through the years, and today displayed a shredded mid-section and a great front-lat spread shot. Matthew also posed very well and was rightly awarded with the ENROL-BNBF Best Junior Presentation Award.
In 4th was Daniel Longden. Daniel was also in excellent condition, but could benefit from more muscle, particularly in the leg department. But I’m sure that will all come with time, we mustn’t forget that these are all young men with many more years of growing ahead of them.
Sean Cookney took 5th place. Sean wasn’t as conditioned as the other guys but he was certainly very muscular, with an impressive most muscular shot. With a better contest prep Sean can improve his placing.

Juniors sponsored by Evolution Gym Sheffield

With the late withdrawal of Jay Hollingsworth we were left with just one Junior today. Antonio Balsamo took his trophy and Britain invite but also bravely decided to try his hand in the Novice class where we’ll discover he did very well indeed.

Novices sponsored by www.pronaturalmuscle.com

With the edition of Antonio 10 novices took to the stage in Manchester. As usual it was a very hard class to judge with so many different looking physiques. When the dust had settled 4 delighted men were invited to compete at this years British champs.

1st place went to a delighted Peter Samson. Peter took the stage with a powerful and well defined physique. With big thick arms, and a super thick spider web chest, he stood out right from the start. When he turned around he didn’t disappoint either displaying a wide, thick detailed back, shredded glutes and sharp hamstrings. He was the biggest guy onstage and really looked the part. In the evening his condition had faded a little but he thrilled the audience with an entertaining routine garbed as the Phantom of the Opera!! For which he was awarded the Best Male Presentation Award sponsored by 247 Bodybuilding/Jan Tana. In the end a clear winner
2nd went to our bold Junior Antonio Balsamo. Antonio was positively shredded. His naturally wide structure was covered head to toe in detailed, vascular muscle. Particularly well emphasised in his great most muscular pose. What Antonio lacked was quality detail when turned around, this could mostly be attributed though to his posing not to a lack of condition. If Antonio can improve his rear poses he will be a serious contender as a Junior at this years finals. As a Junior he lacked the mass of some of his much older competitors but his shredded , well balanced physique gave him a deserved 2nd place.
3rd Place went to Christian Bolger. Christian had really wide structure, with a lot of mass and excellent symmetry. He posed really well to showing his physique off to his fullest. He should have been challenging for the top spots but missed out due to being a bit out of condition, and wearing a poor tan covered in muscle obscuring oil. As such he was very frustrating to judge as you could see his physique has real potential but he blinded us judges with his poor preparation.
4th was Geoffrey Tsai. This was the 1st time Geoffrey had ever been on a bodybuilding stage and he displayed himself well. He has a very thick physique, with plenty of mass and shapely muscle. He was lacking the necessary condition to show it off to its fullest however. Though very thick he does also need a bit more width to improve his symmetry. He had great legs supported by the best set of calves in his class. If Geoffrey can improve his condition in the next couple of months it will be interesting to see what he looks like onstage in Edinburgh.
Daniel Awolola had a great structure and plenty of mass but unfortunately today was a long way off the required contest condition needed to show it off.
Matt Bowden was in great condition with shredded abs. He needs more leg size, and more upper body width though to challenge for the top spots.
Ryan Harrison too was in good condition. Again though he needs more mass particularly in his legs and mid/lower back areas. Some work on his posing would be beneficial too.
Ashley Wynn-Daniels also sported good condition. His physique is nicely structured but he needs more thickness. His routine was very energetic with some impressive one-arm press-ups!!!

Masters sponsored by Premier Leisurewear

1st place went to Ian Stuart-Parker. Ian was diced which allowed him to show off his wide, well-balanced and muscular physique at its best. He had great arms, even taking account for an obvious bicep tear which gave one of them a unique looking peak, a well separated upper body with deep chiselled ab muscles. He tightened up even more in the evening, which combined with a strong routine steered him to victory over his nearest rival. His legs were a little down on his upper half, but if he can bring them up and retain that kind of conditioning he will be one of the challengers later in the year.
2nd was Tom O’Neill. Tom has a large, thick old-school body with knockout biceps, probably the best of anyone in the show. He has a very wide physique, but doesn’t have the symmetry to do well in that round, but really comes to the fore in the muscularity round. I really enjoyed his routine where he hit a lot of poses synonymous with Arnold Schwarzenegger which really suited his type of physique.
3rd place Denton Wilson was also our over 50’s winner. Thus securing the last Britain invite in this class. Denton was in good condition which allowed him to show off his full, well shaped muscles. His chest and rear back-shots were particularly impressive. His legs hold him back a little though, and today were softer than his upper half. As usual Denton wowed the audience with his trademark Robo-man routine, which is always extremely enjoyable. Today he threw in a lot more muscular poses into it and was very entertaining and polished.
Andrew Wall was big and very wide but didn’t have the condition to challenge for a Britain invite. His legs were a little lacking and he had a very pale tan which didn’t help his cause.
Dominic Boardman has a thick, stocky, clearly very muscular physique but he needs to get into much better condition to do himself justice. His Mr. Bombastic routine was amusing, once!! A fresh routine the next time you compete Dominic, please.

Miss Figure sponsored by Lee Williams Photography (see attached photos)

In 1st place today was Karen Anderson. Karen sported a very lean, slightly built but very detailed physique. She had amazing back detail, which just looked really impressive when hitting her rear lat spread shot, a great pose. She had wide shoulders for her petite frame and excellent muscle separation all over. She put together a very athletic and well put together routine, sporting a snazzy pair of trainers. She was a deserved winner. The only negative was she was very pale and needs to get a much better tan to do herself justice at the Britain.
2nd was Rebecca Smith. Rebecca was in good enough condition in the afternoon to be able to be competitive in this class. She had improved considerably by the evening and her very physical routine where she hit a lot of muscular poses highlighted this. She had strong, shoulders and back with nice back detail. Unfortunately her lower half was still too soft which detracted from the condition of her upper body.

Guest Star INBA Mr Universe and PNBA pro Pete Chown

For the 2nd week running Pete donned his trunks, this time stepping into cover for BNBF Chairwoman Vicky McCann who claimed her diet hasn’t been going well enough/long enough for her to wear her bikini in front of everyone quite yet!! Will we see her onstage at Weymouth either, hmmm, haha?
Pete filled in admirably and if the noise coming from the audience again was any indication he was thoroughly enjoyed. I think he will be glad to put his trunks to the side for a while now though and concentrate on his diet for this years PNBA Natural Olympia in Greece. Certainly the case if MC Rachel Hayes keeps pointing the audience to his YouTube performance in gold hotpants. OOPs, sorry Pete.

Mr. Lightweight sponsored by Udo’s Choice

1st went to Richard Grattan. Owner of the best set of calves this scribe has ever seen on a Natural stage. Imagine Paul DeMayo or Mike Mattarazo. The rest of him wasn’t bad either. He was in superb condition and has a great structure. His condition allowed us to see deeply etched well developed upper body muscles, with a really impressive mid-section!!! His legs didn’t have the condition/detail of his upper body apart from his aforementioned calves and shredded glutes. He was a clear winner today but to be a contender at this year’s Finals, he needs to bring his leg detail up to the level of his superbly detailed upper half. His posing was good with the exception of one pose, his side chest pose. Work on that one Richard and we will see you doing really well in Edinburgh.
2nd was Carlos Dos Santos. Carlos has a great structure, with lots of muscle and a tiny waist. He has a thick chest and a detailed back, but unfortunately today Carlos wasn’t in the condition he needed to be to display these assets to their fullest. If Carlos can nail his condition and bring a little more detail into his legs, he is going to be a major threat to anyone, come finals time.

Mr. Middleweight sponsored by Gracemount Gym

This class was certainly the most competitive one of the day. It was a real battle down to the wire with 1st and 2nd place eventually only separated by 1 point. So both should take a great deal of positives from their showings today. In the end though, someone has to win.
1st place Darren Vernon. Darren was in the best shape I have seen him in today. The incredibly thick detailed chest that had impressed me when he was a Novice was unbelievably even, bigger and more separated today. All his muscles were well defined and full, which allied with his excellent condition gave his physique a really detailed look. He already has a great Natural shape, so with this extra mass and improved condition he is becoming a very dangerous opponent. The only things he needs to pick up before the Brits is the amount of detail in his quads, and holding in his stomach more when posing. It was great to see his delight at victory today.
2nd place went to the amazingly conditioned Daz Cooper. Daz was SHREDDED today. Unfortunately he wasn’t as shredded in the evening. And as his condition faded so Darren was able to sneak past into 1st.
Not blessed with the best natural symmetry Daz struggles in round one, but with his phenomenal conditioning and mega mass he really comes to the fore in round 2. Daz had the legs of the day which saw him walking away with the Best Wheels Award sponsored by CNP professional. He was incredibly thick and vascular with some of the best obliques I have ever seen. He was a bit flat unfortunately. It is often the downside to coming in super shredded. It certainly hurt his back shots where very little detail came through which was further hindered by a lack of width to his lats. In the end it was the fullness and detail of Darren’s muscles which knocked Daz’s super thick, super shredded physique into 2nd spot.
3rd went to Martin Jukes. Martin unfortunately wasn’t as conditioned as he has been. This hurt him badly in round two. He has a thick, wide rugged physique with a ton of muscle. He excels in round 1 but without the condition very little detail came through for the judges to see in round 2. He won this classes final Britain invite though so has the time to improve his condition where upon his massively muscled frame will upset quite a few rivals in Edinburgh.
Jason Conway took 4th. Jason is very tall and hasn’t yet quite filled out his physique but when he does he will be a top contender. Today he was excellently conditioned and displayed a very detailed athletic looking physique that just lacked the thickness of the top guys. All he needs is more mass and he’ll be in the mix as he has the structure to do some real damage.
Matt Chaddock Had a massive upper body, with really wide shoulders, a deep wide rib cage and large arms. His lower body lagged a bit behind though and he wasn’t nearly well enough conditioned either.
David Morton weighed in out with the middleweight class and as such became an unexpected Heavyweight competitor and as such took home a trophy and a Britain invite. He needs to diet hard though to be able to make any sort of impact as a middleweight in Edinburgh.

Miss Physique sponsored by Crystal Feeva

4 competitors became 3 in this class after Selina Bagley unfortunately had to drop out before the evening show. All 3 were invited to this year’s Finals.
1st went to Anita Albrecht. After a 2nd place in last weeks Welsh figure class, Anita heeded the advice of Judges and friends and dieted hard to improve her condition and then step up and enter the Physique class this week. And what a good decision it was!! Anita clearly has the body of a Physique gal. She has big, shapely quads, a small detailed waist, flaring up into a v-shaped back and shoulders. The extra condition allowed us to see more detail in her muscles too. She will no doubt improve some more in the run up to the Finals and with even more improved condition she will be a contender in Edinburgh. She will certainly be a hard girl to beat in round 3 as for the 2nd week in a row she took the Best female Presentation Award sponsored by 247 Bodybuilding/Jan tana.
In 2nd was Ann Gardner. Ann must have felt a little like Gulliver in Lilliput today. Ann is a very tall girl, about 6ft and neither of her opponents today were over 5ft. Perhaps against similarly tall competitors she would have done well in the symmetry round but today she just looked long. She came into her own in the muscularity round though. Well conditioned she showed off detailed upper body muscles, particularly in her back. Her long legs don’t yet have enough muscle to look good. She performed an excellent routine. Very elegant and more like a classic physique routine than the gymnastic routines we are getting used too.
3rd went to Dawn Roberts. Dawn did well in round one due to wide shoulders and back, she is well proportioned but her legs do need more mass. Unfortunately she wasn’t in enough condition to show the judges much at all in round 2, and really needs to work on her condition and muscle definition.

Mr. Overall sponsored by CNP Professional

So like every show we finished off with the battle for the men’s overall title. Unlike many overall battles there wasn’t too much humming and hawing from the judges. We pretty quickly had a clear winner. Lightweight Richard Grattan had great condition but not enough mass, Novice Peter Samson had a great Back and Chest but his legs and condition were fading. Quickly everyone’s eyes were drawn to the Middleweight winner Darren Vernon. He was easily the most complete physique on display and the Judges couldn’t look beyond to him. So to wrap up an excellent contest MC Rachel Hayes named Darren Vernon this year’s BNBF Northern Overall Champion.

Next stop St. Albans as the quest to find this years BNBF Overall champs and new PNBA pros hots up!!!