Photos by Eric Guy - Gallery 1 Ladies Classes - Gallery 2 Teens, Juniors, Novice and Masters - Gallery 3 Mr Classes plus Overall

 

Sponsored by Reflex Nutrition

 

Report by Vicky McCann

 

For the second year running the BNBF held its Southern championships in the Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis. The venue is situated right on the sea front and has a great ambience. The stage lighting was perfect and subsequently did justice to a great display of impressive physiques. The judges for the day; Raymond James, Chris Nsubuga, Jane Carter, Glen Danbury, Annie Ottey and Head Judge David Kaye had some really tough decisions to make.

 

Teens

The first class of the day was the teen class. It was a small class with only 3 competitors, but on this occasion the lack of quantity was made up with real quality.

1st place went to Stephen Angelo who was very muscular, especially for someone so young. Stephen was well balanced with a huge frame and although he could have been harder, showed off his strengths well enough to take first place.

2nd place was awarded to Stephen Worsley. Stephen was narrowly beaten for 1st place and although he was not as massive as the winner, was in excellent condition, extremely well balanced and very polished. For someone so young, Stephen displayed particularly good detail in his legs. Stephen’s posing was not great during the judging but seemed more confident at night and executed the poses better.

3rd place went to Darren Thornhill. Darren was not quite hard enough on the day but was certainly well balanced and has good potential. Darren also posed better at night.

 

Juniors

The next class was the junior class which is for under 23’s. Changing the junior class from under 21 to under 23 was a very positive move for the BNBF as this is now one of the strongest and fiercely contested classes at every competition.

 

1st place went to Pete Bullard who was very complete with great condition. Pete has an excellent mid section, displaying great abs and intercostals and also boasts very strong and detailed legs. Pete was not as hard in the evening compared to pre-judging, but was far enough ahead to still take the class.

2nd was awarded to William Morgan who was in good condition and well balanced top to bottom. William was very muscular, my only criticism would be that William was more impressive from the front than from the back and this is where he should look to improve on. William maintained his condition right through to the evening show.

3rd was the very aesthetic Lee Frapple. Lee has a great shape and displays this to the best of his ability with sound posing . He is well balanced but jusy looked that bit slighter than 1st and 2nd, although he did look fuller at night. As always with his routine, Lee always presents himself very well.

4th place went to David Fuge who was big with a very muscular upper body. David’s legs were slightly weak in comparison to his upper body and he was slightly softer than top 3. David looked nervous during the day but was more confident in the evening show.

Also competing was Steve Gardner who was in good condition and looked balanced but posed in such a way that made him appear narrow. Steve needs to pose his back more effectively to show his true width. Petrus Kruger had big chest and arms but was not in good enough condition in this company. Jason Pratt posed awkwardly and like Petrus was not in good enough condition on the day.

 

Novice

The Novice class was the biggest of the day with 8 competitors. As tradition dictates, it was a very varied class which was extremely hard to judge.

 

1st place went to Karl Airey. Karl appeared to have the full package, he was well balanced with a lot of muscle. Karl has a great shape and was in good condition which made him the clear winner in this class. One criticism would be that Karl didn’t pose his legs hard enough which made his hamstrings appear slightly soft. In addition, Karl looked to lack confidence in his posing routine.

2nd was Charlie Bell who seemed to have the noisiest fans in the audience. Charlie had a great upper body, boasting and impressive chest and set of arms. Charlie’s legs were somewhat weak in comparison and although well conditioned, lacked size. Charlie also needs to work on his posing.

3rd place went to Noel Terry who only missed 2nd place by a very narrow margin. Noel had good shoulders and arms with a good sweep to his legs and overall had great balance. His posing could have been better and coupled with better condition, would be very competitive.

4th was Tony Barber who was very full with a lot of muscle, especially in his legs. Tony needs to pose his legs harder to show off their quality.

Also competing: Carl Constanza. Carl needs more detail all over but had a balanced physique which will look better with a bit more mass. Scott Denholm had a good shape with nice leg sweep but lacked a little pec development. Nevertheless, very Scott posed well. Stuart Meaney had good condition and tight mid section however he had no detail in his legs. Richard Pottle was not quite there yet and he needed more condition to be competitive. He lacked confidence which was evident with his very short posing routine. More prep required.

 

Masters

The masters in the BNBF just get better and better. This is a massively competitive class producing awesome physiques time after time. This occasion would prove to be no different.

 

1st place went to Andy Hallahan who was in incredible condition. Andy was well balanced and although he doesn’t have the most aesthetic physique, makes up for that with rock hard, quality muscle. On this outing his legs were very detailed, completely diced from front to back. Andy is a very complete competitor who presented himself well with a good posing routine and a commanding stage presence.

2nd was Mark Houghton. Mark has a fantastic shape with great pecs and full muscle bellies. Mark has big sweeping legs but they always tend to lack detail and look as if they carry a slight film of fluid. You can see the condition Mark has, but he looked a little cloudy in comparison to Andy and if Mark can rectify this he will be very hard to beat.

3rd Lee Ottey has a very aesthetic physique and great stage presence. A well balanced physique presented well with excellent, fluent posing.

4th place went to Brian Skeete. Brian has a great X shape with broad shoulders and sweeping legs. Brian carries a lot of muscle but doesn’t present it as well as he could, better posing and better condition would make a huge difference as he has great potential. A much darker tan would also help.

Also competing: Mike Dancer with full chest and good abs, Mike lacked a bit stage presence but gained confidence by the evening show. Shawn Greenfield was too soft but has a good shape and posed well, good potential. Alan Mannix carried a huge amount of muscle but was too soft this outing.

 

Figure

The next class was figure this class as it stands is still new to the BNBF and is still a nightmare for the judges. This time was no exception with 5 very different structures to take to the stage for comparison.

 

In 1st place was Debs Francis. Debs has great stage presence and always looks graceful while on stage. Debs on this occasion had the best balance of muscle condition, shape and poise to take this class. Debs also executed her T- Walk with excellence and poise and in turn won the ‘best presentation’ award.

2nd place went to Keri Graham who was really quite hard and did show great detail in her abs and quads and was very neat in her rear poses. I felt her symmetry was spoilt by her large implants which detracted from her natural structure but her tight glutes and excellent T walk meant she was worthy of her 2nd place.

3rd place was Kate Dykes with her elegant stage presence. Kate has a lovely shape and good balance she just needs to be tighter, especially in glutes and hams to place higher. She is incredible to watch as she moves so well but Kate will need to perform a proper T Walk at the Britain.

4th was Kim Byrne. Kim has great abs and was tight in her upper body. On first look you would think Kim should have placed higher as she was very eye catching from the front, howver she lacked detail in legs and from the rear Kim was very weak in comparison and could do with more glute development, back width and condition. A bit more practice on the heels would also help as it looked like she was uncomfortable moving in them and again needs to present a proper T Walk.

5th went to Deanne Belton, Deanne was very neat and has potential to progress in this class but needs to get more detail especially in her lower body.

 

Lightweight Men

The lightweight class was next up and as always within the BNBF, boasted a very impressive line up of complete physiques.

 

1st place in this class went to Clive West. Clive has fantastic back width and good sweep to his legs. Clive has a balanced physique with good muscular development. Clive presented himself well during the day and looked hard, but not dry as he was slightly cloudy in certain areasm most notably in the glutes and hamstings. By the evening show Clive had lost a lot of detail but his awesome shape and muscle mass ensured him the win.

2nd was George Fereos. George does not have Clive’s natural X shape, but he had great condition and his legs showcased fantastic detail. Well muscled and well presented, George held his condition and in the evening looked the winner.

3rd was Tim Sharp. Tim had great shape and is very good in the symmetry round he presents himself well. On this occasion he lacked condition in his legs. Nevertheless Tim posed very well and has great stage presence.

4th was Piga Ladislav who was in great condition which was unfortunately hidden by the fact he was far too pale, a darker tan would have made a huge difference. Piga didn’t pose well which made him look slightly narrow but I feel this could have been his presentation rather than his physique.

5th was Ryzard Tokarcyzk who had a lovely wide structure but was lacked the condition to be competitive.

 

Middleweight

Next up was the middleweights class. This class would prove to be another tough battle for the title with the top two equal on most judge’s sheets going into the evening show. It was all to play for.

 

1st place eventually went to Paul Amos. Paul was in great condition, his abs, intercostals and legs were very detailed, dry and rock hard. Paul has a fantastic physique but manage to hide it in a lot of his poses, especially from the rear where he makes himself look very narrow. For the Britain he needs to work on presenting his physique better to be competitive. Nevertheless, in such condition Paul was always going to be tough to beat on this day. My only other comment was that Paul’s tan was slightly too dark.

2nd was awarded to Rob Cannon. Rob has a good shape, very chunky with big legs and a very muscular back, however on this occasion he needed to be harder to beat Paul. The more Rob posed the harder he seemed to get, however by the evening show he seemed to look softer and the gulf in condition between himself and Paul was widening. With a little more attention to condition, Rob has all the tools to reverse this placing.

3rd was Simon Stevens who has a great shape, well balanced physique and posed well but didn’t have the condition to take on the top 2.

4th place went to Matthew Fuller who had good tight chest and arms but lacked leg detail and needs to be more animated on stage.

 

Heavyweight

Next up was the heavyweights and it was good to see 4 competitors after only one in Scotland.

 

1st place went to Tim Griffin who on the day had the best balance of size and condition. Tim looked slightly flat but was too hard and balanced for the rest of the class. Tim posed well but could smile more as he always looked very serious.

2nd was Sam Bond. Sam has fabulous symmetry which proved a major factor in him achieving 2nd place. On this occasion Sam was far too soft but had detail in his legs and when he posed he managed to squeeze out some detail in upper body. Sam will have a lot of work to do to get the condition needed to be competitive at the British Finals.

3rd place went to Nick Openshaw, Nick was in good condition, he has good wide shoulder but looked slightly flat, he lacked size in his legs but when posing had good detail in hamstrings.

4th was Tony Sheene who was too soft but had a full chest and good muscle in upper body. Tony lacked leg detail but this could have been that he didn’t tighten them.

 

Miss Physique

Rounding off the day was the Miss Physique class which unfortunately had only one competitor, Evelyn Day, so unchallenged Eve took the Miss Physique class.

 

Eve was in great condition and was hard and detailed from every angle. Eve has good abs, legs and calves but could do with a bit more back width. My concern with eve’s physique is that she has quite a small frame and her implants are very large making them the most prominent part of her physique which detracts from the work she has done adding muscle to her neat frame.

 

Overall Mr

So to round off the day’s competition, each class winner would take to the stage one more time to battle it out for the title of Overall Southern Champion, 2009. From the outset, it was evident that this would be a long and arduous battle, no one competitor stood out, each and every competitor presenting strengths and weaknesses of their own. As the judging progressed, it was becoming apparent that condition would be the deciding factor of the day: Master’s Champion Andy Hallahan was in incredible condition, but lacked a little shape to look the outright winner. Middleweight Paul Amos had both the shape and condition, but posed so poorly that he was in danger of throwing it all away. Novice winner Karl Airey seemed to have it all, but fell apart as the compulsories went on and on and disappeared from sight. Eventually, the judges had arrived at their decision and an exhausted, yet elated, Paul Amos took the overall title to go with his ‘best wheels’ award and Middleweight crown.

 

Best Presentation Female was Debs Francis

Best Presentation Male was Mark Houghton

Best Wheels went to Paul Amos

 

The event ran smoothly and was finished by 8.30, although the now exhausted BNBF team had to stay behind until about 10.30 to conduct every remaining drug test. All in all this year’s Southern Championships was a great competition and some great competitors qualified for the British Finals. Thanks to all and see ya next time!