Maximuscle BNBF Southern Championships 2007

The final qualifier for this years BNBF British Championships, were held at Budmouth Technical College, Weymouth on Sunday 12th August. It was the 4th annual Southern Championships and the 2nd time it has been held in Weymouth (about as far from my house as you can get and still be in Britain!!) With increased competitors and spectators on the year before everyone was ready for another memorable BNBF show.
The judges making the day’s vital decisions were PNBA pro’s Vicky McCann, Rob Hope, Chris ‘Big 50’ Nsubuga, Pete Chown and Kerry Napier.

Teens- sponsored by ENROL-BNBF

The 1st competitors on stage were the teenagers. Slightly different from their wayward peers these teens had knuckled down to a hard regime and dieting and the results were there onstage for us all to enjoy. The top 3 in this class won themselves an invite to the finals.
1st place went to the sensational Daley Ford. Daley won this class hands down. He displayed one of the most complete physiques the judges had ever seen on a teenage bodybuilder. Armed with a superb arsenal of body parts he had very few weak parts. His chest was thick and defined, his back wide and detailed, his shoulders broad and thick as were his knockout arms. His legs were impressive too with thick quads and large calves. He posed very competently too. He was in good condition and really the only thing he needs to improve before this years finals is to take that condition from good to great.
2nd was Luke Seabrook. Luke lacked the mass of the winner but he had a very balanced physique. His back and shoulders were impressively wide and his arms were well developed and detailed. His legs need a little more work to bring them up to match his upper half, but like all young bodybuilders he has the time to fill out his physique more. With improved conditioning he will be better able to show off his well balanced physique.
3rd place went to Dominic Lines. Dominic was in excellent condition today which was evident in a really crisp set of abs. He doesn’t have the mass yet of the 1st 2 placers but his conditioning and a fine evening posing display kept him battling for the 2nd place spot up until the end. The mass will come with more years of training and if he can continue to turn up on show day in similar condition he will be a contender in the years to come.
4th was Dean New. Dean has a very big frame and had a very impressive set of guns. He wasn’t conditioned enough on the day to challenge but he certainly displayed himself well, performing a very entertaining routine which won him the Best Presentation Award sponsored by 247 Bodybuilding/Jan Tana.

Junior’s – sponsored by Creative fitness Marketing

Next up was a very strong under 23’s class with the top 3 guys earning their selves invites to the finals.
1st place went to Pete Bullard. Pete was in fantastic condition today. Pete had previously competed at this years Welsh championships and had kept his dieting going to compete today and it really showed. He was really dry which brought some great detail to the fore. With deeply separated, feathered quads, a thick spiders web chest and a shredded mid section Pete romped to victory. With that level of conditioning all Pete needs to do is keep working on bringing his upper body up to match his legs and he will continue to be successful in Natural Bodybuilding!!
2nd place went to Mark Watson. Mark had a big, thick physique with large quads and back and great overall balance. Today though he wasn’t in the type of condition that would allow him to show his powerful physique off fully. He posed very well though and with his balance and size, the addition of better conditioning will lead to him being a 1st place winner in the future.
In 3rd was William Rooke. William like Mark was very powerfully built with an impressively thick upper body which sported a very large pair of arms. His legs were big too but need more outer quad flare to enhance their shape. Again like Mark he wasn’t in good enough condition today and unlike Mark he didn’t pose particularly well which eventually consigned him to 3rd place. However these 2 things can be easily rectified and again with as well built a body as he has he can only do well in the future.
4th place finisher Kai Paul. Kai has a well balanced physique and his upper body was well detailed, his legs still lag behind a bit and he will need to bring them up if he wants to contest at the finals.
Anthony Franciosy a very big well balanced physique but he just wasn’t in the condition he needed to be to show it off. His physique is good enough for the higher slots he just needs to improve his conditioning.
Zirgham Ali Amin was seriously big with a wide, wide frame and mega big arms. He just hadn’t dieted!! Zirgham dieting isn’t fun but with your level of mass a good diet would have you placing near the top!!

Novices- sponsored by Tone Zone Gym

1st place winner was Tim Griffen. Tim was great from top to bottom. Fantastically conditioned too which brought forth a lot of crisp detail. His back was thick and wide, his arms were large and extremely detailed/striated particularly in a great set of horseshoe triceps. His legs won him the Best Wheels Award sponsored by Physiques and Shapes Gym with great cuts in his quads accompanied by great flare. His waist was small and detailed which alongside his sweeping quads and wide shoulders gave him the much sought after X-frame. The only thing Tim could benefit from is turning up a bit dryer, the lights on stage are very hot and during prejudging he was sweating so profusely he was in danger of blurring his wonderfully detailed physique, a handicap he could do without at the Finals!!
2nd was Anthony Price. Anthony has one of the tiniest waist’s you will ever see on a man, and with his wide shoulders and large flaring quads he has one of the most vivid X-frames going. His muscles are large and shapely with large muscle bellies particularly impressive in his biceps which had a great peak and split to them!! His condition today wasn’t good enough for him to challenge Tim for top spot though and he will need to keep on his diet to do well at the Finals.
The final Britain invite and 3rd place went to Jonathan Ward. Jonathan had a seriously big upper body with huge arms and massive Old Skool chest and rib cage development. His back though large lacked the detail of his front, his legs also need a bit more work to catch up with his upper body. It turns out he is only a teenager and could have done the teen class, so with that in mind, plus the fact that it was probably his 1st time on stage he did very well but he does need to work on his posing, wear tan and completely shave his body hair off the next time he competes.
Neil Tuttlebee had good shape and well developed arms but he wasn’t in condition and needs to add more mass to improve in future.

Masters- sponsored by Hercules Gym

Two great physiques in this class both of whom will be worthy competitors at this year’s finals. Their physiques were quite contrasting and it was a hard decision for the judges.
Eventually getting 1st place was Roger Waters. Roger was tall with a huge upper body frame with wide shoulders and large arms with 2 great split biceps sitting a top them. His legs were large but lacked detail until lower down. 2nd place Tim Sharp was shorter and stockier but with more width and detail coming through. He lacked Roger’s mass but was better conditioned. Where Tim was slightly weaker (front on) Roger was strong and from the back where Roger was weaker Tim was at his strongest with great width and detail. The contrast in physiques continued to their posing but eventually after much deliberation the judges opted for Roger as victor. His greater muscle mass pulling him through.

Guest Star- La Muscle sponsored athlete Kerry Napier

This was Kerry's debut as a guest star and he was not happy with how he looked but this is what makes it hard to be a guest star the fact that you are performing when your condition no-where near your best and we are all ultra critical of ourselves. Kerry on this day did not have the granite look he has when he competes as he is 15 weeks out but displayed that he carries a ton of mass and has a symmetrical shape.This was a triumph for Kerry in the fact the part of competing he likes least is the posing routine but he went out and seemed to enjoy performing and we all enjoyed his performance. Kerry will look completely different when he competes at the Olympia in November he will have that granite hard look we have cometo expect. by Vicky

Miss Figure- sponsored by Dan-Futures Physiques

4 girls ventured on stage for this class with only one of them eventually missing out on an invite to the finals.
1st went to Ingrid Charvet. Ingrid although short and petite had a well balanced and detailed physique with a lot of toned muscle on her frame. Her shoulders and arms were particularly detailed and she had a wide shapely back. She was in great condition too, although like most girls was a little softer in the lower half which she can easily improve before the finals.
2nd was Donna Huxton. Donna has a very balanced physique with great symmetry and she did very well in that round. She had a wide back and shoulders and her legs were nicely shaped too. Her condition though wasn’t good enough for her muscular detail to show through well in round 2, if she can improve this with her great shape she can only improve!!
3rd place winner was Ann Marie Rice. Ann Marie is tall and slender with a very elegant physique. Her condition was spot on which allowed her well detailed muscles to show through in round 2. Because she is much taller than most of the other girls she needs to add some more width to her shoulders and more sweep to her thighs in order to do better in the Symmetry round. Improvements here will stand her in good stead as her condition and muscle detail were excellent.
Rachel Mingo had a very wide physique but she wasn’t in any condition to show it off. Her muscles are large and when dieted down she would probably find herself more suited to the Physique category.

Mr. Lightweight- sponsored by Hercules Gym

Unfortunately the lightweight class suffered from some no show’s which left us with only one competitor, until one opportunistic fella decided to jump from the Novice class into this one, no doubt at the thought of a guaranteed Mr. Britain invite. Anyway it was pretty cut and dry with a deserving winner in the end.
Our clear winner was Simon Weigers. Simon had a physique that reminded me very much of another qualifier from a previous show (Scottish) Felix McAlinden. As Simon was such a clear winner I spent much of the class contemplating which one would prevail over the other at this years British, I’m looking forward to finding out. Simon was in great condition, very, very dry (he was the last one to manage his drug test sample at the conclusion of the show) with big arms. His legs and posing were weak though and he will need to work on them for the finals.
Runner up was Andrew Beck. Well done in securing yourself a place in the Finals Andrew!!

Mr. Middleweight- sponsored by pronaturalmuscle.com

Again only 2 competitors in this class but it was a much more closely fought battle, with the main difference in the end being the condition of the two athletes. I would certainly like to these two guys going at it again with similar condition. Two great physiques.
1st place was awarded to Michael Hannam. Michael has a wonderfully balanced physique. With wide shoulders, flared quads and the most detailed mid-section in the whole show. He was in excellent condition which as ever allowed the detail in his muscles to show through. His back was thick and wide and his lat spread poses were particularly strong, though none compared to his marvellous hands on hips pose. His lower half looked a bit softer but having seen him back stage I’d put this more down to the lighting at the show and I expect to see him with a chiselled lower half come the finals in 7 weeks time. A serious contender!!!
2nd went to Peter Gassnar. Peter had a thick, rugged, Herculean, physique. With massive muscles all over. His posing routine at night captured this brilliantly. He was certainly the most massively muscled guy on stage today. Alas he wasn’t able to push Michael as much as he should have as he wasn’t in good enough condition today, added to that his tan was very pale so although his muscle size was impressive the required detail just wasn’t visible. But keep on the diet and he could upset a lot of Middleweights come Finals time.

Mr. Heavyweight- sponsored by Creative Fitness Marketing

The final class in the men’s competition composed of 3 big dudes. Two of whom were awarded with those coveted Finals Invites.
1st place winner was Steve Knight. Steve has a ton of muscle on his frame, added to that he is excellently balanced with a really pronounced V-frame. His front double biceps pose and lat spread poses were the best Individual shots of the day. Outstanding!! He wasn’t in top condition today though, and the question we have with Steve is what class will he contest at the finals? Having weighed him in and watched him onstage its pretty close IMO whether he will make middleweight, but if he does he will be a top 3 finisher without a doubt. Keep dieting hard Steve as it will be a treat for everyone to see you in top shape.
2nd was Nick Openshaw. Returning to the stage after a while out Nick secured himself 2nd place and a much deserved invite to the Britain. With wide shoulders, tapering down to a tight waist, Nick was very well balanced. He had plenty of muscle for his frame although his legs could benefit from more size. He was in pretty good condition on the day but there is more to come for the finals, on the cusp of the middleweight division today expect to see Nick in the middleweights come Finals day. Will there be any Heavyweights left?!!?
3rd went to Adam Hodder. Adam is a very big guy, with a huge frame, pretty much as you would imagine a Srongman competitor would look. His upper half although large was well out of conditioned. Amazingly though his lower half was like granite. It was quite a contrast. He had massive reasonably cut quads but from the rear he excelled, with rock hard hamstrings and calves!! I can’t begin to imagine what kind of condition his lower half would be like if his upper half got ripped.

Miss Physique- sponsored by Nick Bale

The final class of the day was Miss Physique. It sported the best body on show today and the top 2 ladies qualified for the finals.
1st went to the sensational 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, even more amazing she given she is a mother of 4!! Her legs were large and defined with cuts in her hamstrings too and large shapely calves!! A standout physique!!
2nd place was Annie Uelese. Annie made her competitive debut today and never at any point looked out of place. She has an excellently balanced physique, with great symmetry and large shapely muscles. Her posing was excellent winning her the Female Best Presentation which is a great achievement for a first timer. Annie’s condition wasn’t good enough today, but with another 7 weeks to go until the Finals, I know she is going to be dieting hard until then and will be better than today.
3rd was Dawn Scholey. Dawn didn’t have the muscle mass of the other 2 girls but she had a very pleasing shape, with well detailed shoulders and arms. Her legs were big but lacked condition. She performed an excellent routine, that was very athletic and graceful. She perhaps would be better suited to the Miss Figure class in future. But if she keeps adding mass will make a good physique competitor.

Mr. Overall sponsored by Maximuscle

As ever our show concluded with the battle for the overall title. The judges moved the competitors around and came to the conclusion that the final battle would be between Heavyweight winner Steve Knight and Middleweight champ Michael Hannam. In the end Michael’s condition balance and muscular detail would prevail over Steve’s mass and balance. It wasn’t an easy decision but eventually Michael Hannam would add the Overall title to his Middleweight crown.

So that brings the curtain down on all 5 qualifiers for this years finals. Lots of people have qualified some happy with how they performed others not so, but you all have a chance to continue what you were doing or rectify the mistakes you made at this years finals. Good luck to all and for those who never left the qualifier with the Overall Title don’t despair as no Overall Winner at a qualifier has ever won the Pro card at the Finals. Will this year change all that, we shall see!??!

So the BNBF crew packed the van and headed home, the 1000’s of miles racked up running the Qualifiers over for another year. Though this years Qualifiers had one final round left, that was contested on the streets outside a Chinese restaurant in Dorchester but didn’t last very long. Well done to Davy Jay who upheld the honour of the BNBF crew and Scotsmen everywhere!!!!