With the Welsh show breaking new records in terms of competitor numbers, I was hoping for an exciting show as it was my first trip to the Dolman Theatre. Judges for the show were Jane Carter, David Kaye, Kerry Napier, Vicky McCann and Barry Cunliffe. Evening show MC was the lovely Crow Dillon-Parkin.

TEENS

Only two teens in the first class of the day but there was a battle of shape vs. condition for the win. Jake Griffiths had excellent delts, some nice lines in his legs and sizeable biceps. His tan was a little light and he could do with working on his posing from the rear. Amnit Jhitta had a better shape with good quads but lacked the condition Jake had. His evening routine was good - striking and holding poses for the judges to really see his physique. To improve, Amnit needs to work on his condition and back width. In the end it was Jake 1st and Amnit 2nd.

JUNIORS

The Junior class showed an excellent quality line-up and it was a close class.
Stephen Burke had an excellent shape with notable quad sweep and good condition. His tan was a good colour but he was softer in the evening. Stephen needs to stand up taller to make the most of his physique. Phillip Ceglarek had a big back with good size quads. He could work on his condition and abdominals to make improvements. Lee Frapple was one of the more experienced juniors and had a nice balanced shape. In the evening show he posed well and had a fantastic most muscular pose. Lee just needs to tighten up now. Steve Gardner has improved since his Southern outing. He had good round delts and a nice stage prescence but needs to relax his shoulders during his quarter turns and work on his legs to give him a better structure. Jason Rose had a great balanced shape with ripped delts in his side shots and very sharp abs. He did an excellent evening routine but tan was patchy in the evening. To improve, Jason needs to avoid hunching over on his side chest shots and work on his glutes. Christian Williams had massive, square quads and a great back. He showed a nice split in side shots with visible hamstrings but a blocky waist. His evening routine was very good too. Jason Rose’s symmetry earned him 1st place, with Stephen Burke 2nd, Christian Williams 3rd and Lee Frapple 4th.

NOVICE

The novice class is always a difficult one with so many different size physiques all in one class. Matt Argall had a lovely shape and good condition but possibly would have been better off as a Lightweight on this occasion due to his small structure. Matt needs to improve his quads and appear more confident onstage. Paul Bamber had a large back and full round abs. He posed particularly well during side shots. Paul was slightly flatter in the evening show and needs to lean back during back shots to show his full potential. Gareth Burgess had sharp quads and a nice detailed back, both of which would have been better if he had a darker tan. He was lacking delts and needs to improve on his glutes. Samuel Fomba had big legs and back. He had a good amount of muscle size but was slightly smooth. Chris Heard had a well balanced physique with lovely front double biceps shot, and performed a good evening show routine. He could do with working on developing some lower back thickness. Darren Logan wore much too much glaze in prejudging and the light was bouncing off him making it hard to see his physique. He was however, very vascular and had nice Shoulders in side shots. In the evening show, minus the gloss, he had good quad and ham separation but needs to improve his posing, particularly in side shots. Tim Shaw had a nice front lat spread and a good level of condition. He was a very classy poser and did an excellent evening show routine. Paul Bamber was 1st, with Samuel Fomba 2nd, Tim Shaw in 3rd and Matt Argall in 4th.

MASTERS O40’s

The top two in this class must have given the judges some headache. I always marvel at the level of ability in the masters’ classes and today was no exception. Kerri Evans had a nice shape and some good, thick mass. His blocky waist could have been rectified by better posing. He looked better in the evening show. Felix McAlinden always receives loud cheers from the crowd. He looked better in the morning with good condition and a fullness that wasn’t there by the evening show. His side shots are particularly pleasing. Tim Sharp has good shoulders and taper with a well-posed ab and thigh shot. Much like the Southern show a few weeks prior, he was still slightly loose in his glutes and hamstrings. His evening show routine was well put together but he could do with holding his poses for a little longer to get the full effect. Brian Skeete had awesome triceps and a killer bicep peak! He had excellent size as well as shape with large shapely Hamstrings. Brian could do with improving on his Chest size. Dean ‘Dino’ Wellington had greatly improved his size and condition from his debut last year. He had sharp quads and an impressive bicep peak. Dean was slightly flatter in the evening show and could work in his rear delts for his back shots. After a long battle, Brian Skeete placed 1st, with Dean Wellington 2nd, Tim Sharp 3rd and Kerri Evans 4th.

MASTERS O60’s

Just one competitor in the over sixties class, Monty Meredith took to the stage with the other masters competitors and got by far the biggest cheer of the evening show. He had good size, particularly in his chest, with a nice square build. Monty’s evening show routine was beautifully choreographed to a good choice in music. Monty just needs to work on his leg size now and get his diet nailed for the finals.

MISS FIGURE

Six, totally different figures too the stage, with the judges looking for a symmetrical shape, with visible ab and quad separation. Kim Byrne was lovely and tight from the front but loose in the glutes although definitely improved from the Southern show. She lacked confidence in her t-walk, possibly due to too high heels, but nonetheless presented herself well. Caroline Oliver had a nice petite shape with hard abdominals and delt separations. Her glute size just slightly throws off her look and perhaps larger delts would even this out. Her t-walk had a real edge to it and she looked confident. She did look harder and drier in the evening show and this was a good debut for Cee. Katie Dykes had beautifully capped Shoulders and good symmetry and she performed a very graceful t-walk. If Katie had nailed her condition she might have been a contender in this class. Sharon Hodge was also making her debut on a BNBF stage. She had capped shoulders and detailed abs but heavy-looking glutes could have been avoided by a better choice of bikini. A little less time dieting may have given Sharon a more well-rounded figure and presented herself very well during her t-walk. Joanne Stanger was by far the tightest girl in the class. She had tight glutes and clearly defined abdominals and shoulders, her front bicep pose in particular was excellent. Bikini’s that crossed high up made her look as though she was lacking in back width. Her t-walk was good. Trudy Wood had a lovely shape and has added some detail to her quads. As always she posed beautifully but her choice in t-walk music had a too fast beat for her to walk to. Truds will need to tighten up for the finals, particularly her glutes. Joanne Stanger 1st, Trudy Wood 2nd, Cee Oliver 3rd and Kim Byrne 4th.

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Although the lightweights was a small class, there were some top quality physiques in the line up. David Bloch had a good shape with a lot of thick mass for a lightweight. He had a big back and looked great in his side shots. David looked harder in pre-judging and it must’ve been a close call in the evening show, he could improve his rear delts to show off his back to it’s full potential. Chris Flanagan had a good strong chest but needs to bring up his leg condition to even up his physique. Fraser Pullin had good quads and chest with sharp obliques. His tan was slightly too light in pre-judging but this was rectified by the evening. Chris Royds had a wide lat spread and his legs looked the best in side shots with some sizeable hamstrings. Chris needs to make improvements to his condition and add some width to his delts. He did a good routine in the evening. 1st place went to David Bloch with Fraser Pullin in 2nd place. Chris Royds was 3rd and Chris Flanagan 4th.

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

The quality of this class was the highest of the day, with the top 3 in a 3-way tie after pre-judging. Craig Chadwick had good mass and overall condition particularly notable in his quads. He posed very well in the evening show despite not having his own music. Lewis Hort left a good impression in his first show. He had a good shape with striated shoulders in particular. Tom Rainsbury had spectacular legs with big quads, fantastic hamstrings and an impressive split on his side shots. His delts looked big in his side shots. He was dryer in the evening where he performed a beautiful routine. Robert Waterhouse made an impressive debut in the misters class, moving up from last year’s Junior British champion. He has good, even size and sizeable quads but he holds his arms too high in front shots to be able to see the true size of his Shoulders. Robert did a nice routine in the evening show too but needs to improve on his condition to be truly competitive in a tough Middleweights class. Tom Rainsbury 1st place, Craig Chadwick 2nd, Lewis Hort 3rd and Robert Waterhouse 4th.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

With only two Heavyweights, with both very different physiques in a battle of size versus condition; this class wasn’t too much hard work for the judges. Nick Openshaw came in with a big back and nice quads. His condition was pretty much spot on. He had big rear delts and an excellent back lat spread in particular. Nick is top heavy though and will need to do some work on his leg size to balance out his physique. In the evening show he did a nice posing routine although he looked slightly harder in prejudging. Will Uelese is just a big monster prescence on the stage. He poses elegantly for such a big guy. His mid-section, although improved from last year, could be tighter still. Although he lacked his usual confidence during the evening show, he still managed to bag the Best Presentation award. Will is certainly one to watch out for at the finals. 1st place Will Uelese, 2nd place Nick Openshaw.

LADIES PHYSIQUE

There were only two ladies Physique competitors, which was a shame, for them and the crowd – come on ladies! Chrissie Appleby made her stage debut in the class today. With some good quality chunky mass, particularly in her biceps, she has the size required for this class. Chrissie looked particularly good in side shots and had large traps during her Most Muscular pose which was nice to see. In the run-up to the finals, some much needed posing practice along with a nailed diet should stand her in good stead. A darker tan would also work wonders. Annie Uelese had a balanced physique and a some good detail in her back. During the evening show Annie did some of her beautiful trademark posing although she did look tighter during pre-judging. Annie needs to lean back more during her back shots and aim to get leaner to be competitive at the finals. If Chrissie had come in tighter this class would’ve been a real battle; Annie Uelese 1st place, Chrissie Appleby 2nd.

OVERALL