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BNBF Central Championships 2011
Sponsored by Garnell Nutrition

 

The penultimate qualifier of the 2011 season saw the BNBF march onwards to St Albans for the 9th annual rendition of the Central championships. For the 7th year running, the grandiose Alban Arena would play host to what has traditionally been a very energetic qualifier. This year would be no exception and by the opening of pre-judging, 80 competitors were checked in, registered and raring to go.

 

Faced with the momentous task of placing these competitors were our panel of judges: British  Champions Glen Danbury and Lawrence King, BNBF Pro’s David Kaye, Mark Claxton, Annabel Ottey, Dawn Roberts and Rachel Hayes, Pro World Champion Nigel Davis, Pro Universe Champion Vicky McCann and BNBF Pro Kerry Napier assuming the role of Head Judge. The one and only Dave ‘DNC’ O’Byrne did a sterling job of crowd entertainer in the role of MC for the evening show.

 

Figure

 

A large entry for the figure class saw the field split into a lightweight and  heavyweight class.
The first to take the stage was the lightweight class, there were 5 in the class with each having very different attributes.

 

In 1st place was Helen Milton, Helen was in very good condition and posed well. Her routine was difficult to assess as she posed well but looked awkward on the move. Overall Helen had the best balance of shape and condition. Her weakness is a lack of back width which is something she should work on for future. The runner up was Michelle Elizabeth who was also in very good condition however she looked a bit depleted during the day. In the evening she seemed to come alive and pushed the winner in the evening show. Michelle had very good abs and muscle tone.  In 3rd was Vanessa Freeth. Vanessa has a great structure to build on and a naturally good shape. What really held her back on this occasion was her posing, Vanessa lifted her shoulders in every pose which made her look very awkward. Well done on a first outing good shape and condition just work on posing. In 4th was Sinead Martin who had a good shape and balance with great stage presence. Sinead just needs to improve condition and tan. In 5th was Marina Ethendi who was very inexperienced -  a pretty girl but just didn’t really know what she was doing on this occasion.
The Heavyweight Figure class was up next,  again 5 competitors took to the stage. The winner of this class was Rachel Alleyne. Rachel was very flashy with a fantastic upper body which had width, muscularity and condition. Her back poses were excellent however a bit of work on Rachel’s legs would help if she wants to go right to the top. Another constructive criticism would be that Rachel poses were too crunched trying too hard to show detail that was already evident . The runner up was Angela Norbury who has a great natural shape for figure and was very confident on stage and looked great in her evening performance. Angela needs to get slightly tighter to challenge the winner.  3rd place was Euphemia Senar.  Euphemia has a great shape and has it all going on in the T walk, she owns the stage but she needs to be in much better condition to place higher. 4th was Kat Miller who has a good structure and a neat figure. Kat just needs a bit more muscle tone and tighter legs. It was very close between 3rd and 4th. In 5th was Caroline Birkinshaw who again has a good structure just didn’t have the condition to be competitive especially in hamstrings and glutes.

 

Teens

 

From figure we moved to the youngest competitors of the event, the Teen class.  The teen classes at all the qualifiers have been impressive and this was no exception. In 1st was Justinas Degutis, Justin is a big chunky lad with a well balanced physique. Justinas could be very competitive at the Britain if he achieves better condition. Runner up was Wesley Purkiss, Wesley had great detail in his quads and was in good condition. Wesley however was a little light in muscle to challenge the winner but I am sure this will change as he matures. In 3rd was James Wilson, again like the winner he was a chunky lad and in better condition would have pushed for a higher position. 4th was Joshau Ware and 5th was Scott Dodman. Both these lads were taller and had good structures but will they will take longer to fill out and mature.
Also competing was Owain Johns and James Whelan.

 

Juniors

 

The junior class was next up and was the biggest class of the day with a fabulous line up of 14 competitors.  The top 3 of this class was very tight, all were very different and all could be winners on a different occasion. The eventual winner was Lee Contantinou who was not the biggest of the 3 but was in great condition. He was balanced, hard and polished in his presentation. Lee used his legs throughout the judging and evening performance which was what sealed the win for him. The runner up was Cortez Medford, Cortez was flashy with fullness in the muscles. His upper body was especially flashy and his top half would have probably won the class however he lacked leg detail. Cortez could also pose better to show off his attributes. Better condition and better posing he could turn this result round in the finals. Having said that Cortez used his music well in his routine and it was very entertaining, just tidy the basics. 3rd place was taken by Charlie Rowberry, Charlie walked on stage and looked the winner he was big and conditioned the only weakness looked like a poor tan. The tan could have been overlooked however he managed to look worse in the poses than he did just standing. If Charlie could have posed he may have been able to take this class. In 4th Was Matt Dopson , Matt has a good structure and had improved a lot since his last outing. A little harder and I think he would have been right in the mix for top spot. Matt is balanced with a good natural shape and will keep moving up as he matures. In 5th place was Warren Anglin who has a lovely structure but needs better condition. In 6th was Sharif Lawton who was slightly weak in the pecs but had good condition and a good structure. Also competing was Aaron Donaldson, Daniel Henman, Liban Mohamed, Guispeppe Montanino, Ben Stiff , Michael Tiller, Philip Travis and James Dickson.

 

Master O’40

 

From the youngsters we moved on to the masters classes, firstly the over 40’s class. Another large class with 8 masters taking to the stage.  This was another tough class with top 3 in this class all receiving at least one 1st place from a judge which shows just how competitive this class actually was. The eventual winner was the chunky Henry Elsom who was rock hard and balanced. Henry is often quite subdued on stage but he came alive in the evening performance. The runner up was Lazaro Almanares who has a very aesthetic physique with awesome abdominals which definitely draw attention. I would suggest that Lazaro put more into posing in his evening routine rather than props as he loses the aesthetic look that gains him points in earlier round. 3rd was Mark Houghton. Mark has a great physique, aesthetic and balanced.  From the front Mark  looked a winner however  when he turned to the rear he looked shapely but unfortunately Mark was very soft in glutes and hamstrings which cost him dearly in comparison to the more conditioned competitors above him. Condition for the finals Mark and you could easily be pushing for that top spot. In 4th was Csaba Pigniczki who was small in structure but balanced and well conditioned. Csbaba seemed to lack confidence at the start and was slow to get noticed, but when he did sealed the 4th place, Slightly harder he would have undoubtedly been pushing the top 3. Also competing  was Dave Cotton, Dylan Davies, Charlie McKee and Richard Todd.

 

Master O’50

 

The over 50’s only had 2 competitors, one was David Brice who was actually over 60 and will be challenging in the over 60’s at the Britain finals. The winner on this occasion was Rick Waters who was bigger than I have seen him recently with big arms and full pecs. Rick was in good condition and his skin tone defies his age as always. David was the runner up and even in his 60’s is still improving, he showed good detail in his abs and thighs.

 

Novice

 

Like the Miss figure class, the novice class is attracting such large numbers that it is being split into 2 classes. So we had a lightweight and heavyweight novice class.
The Novice Lightweight class had 9 competitors and was of a very high standard. The winner was Ben Guest.  Ben was a top competitor with good muscularity, condition and balance with good leg development. He could be more charismatic on stage but that is hard as a first time competitor. Ben’s tan was a little pale during the day but this was not an issue with him getting a unanimous win on the day. Runner up was Chris Constantinou, again a great novice well balanced and in good condition to turn this result around Chris will need to be tighter. A few lbs would make a huge difference. 3rd went to Stephen Dennett who was in good condition and had detailed quads with a good leg sweep. Stephen was weaker in the upper body which was what stopped him placing higher. 4th was Lee Chapman, Lee was chunky with a great upper body however his legs were not detailed enough and he didn’t use them he also had his trunks too low on his hips which spoiled the flow of his physique. In 5th was Jack Dawson  who had a lovely structure but needs better condition. Also competing Jon Bishop, David Brodie, Andrew Snelling and Omid Gholami.
Next up was the heavyweight novices with 10 competitors and another very competitive class. The winner of this class stood out and from the moment he walked on Nigel St Lewis looked the winner. Nigel from the front looked balanced, muscular and tight however when he turned to the back his posing was weak.  This was not enough to jeopardize his win on this occasion but will need to get it bang on at the finals. Nigel also looked a bit softer in the evening and being picky could be harder to ensure reaching the top at the finals. Runner up was Simon Mordas, Simon was well muscled and in good condition but could do with more leg detail. In 3rd was Chris Puddy, Chris had great arms and a good X shape he could do with better condition in legs. Chris also looked awkward in some poses especially side poses where he seemed to keep his pecs very low. In 4th was Abdul Rehman, Abdul has good shoulders and arms and a good structure with sweeping thighs. If Abdul had been in better condition he would have placed higher but was too soft, especially in lower half. He was also weak in some poses. 5th went to Robert Kreana who would have done better with improved posing. Also competing Ian Mahony, Steve Cullen, Richard East and Jordon Richardson.

The competition then moved on to the more experienced competitors the men’s  weight classes. We had 12 in tota,l split into 3 even classes of 4 competitors.

 

Lightweight Mr

 

First up was the lightweights with 1st place going to Plamen Handarov.  Plamen was in great condition, very muscular and balanced. Plamen’s tan was too pale and he needs to keep still when posing to let the judges see him properly. He was very hard in rear poses which was where he really stole the class. Runner  up was Simon Stevens who has a very aesthetic physique and always looks big for his weight. Simons weakness is lack of back thickness but is always competitive with his flashy front poses. 3rd was Stephen Bannan who has great width to his back and good sweep to his legs. However Steven can look a bit 2 dimensional and lacks muscle over his knees compared to his upper leg.  4th was Damon Eaton who had good arms but was not hard enough to challenge on this occasion.

 

Middleweight Mr

 

Next up was the middleweights. The winner was the flashy Tshala Kabala who was in better condition than last outing and this gave him more detail in his legs. Tshala’s flashy and impressive upper body overpowers his legs but the better improved detail and good posing helped hide this imbalance and gave him a clear win. Runner up was Andy Barker, Andy had a well balanced physique and was in good condition but could still be harder from the finals to try and reverse this result. 3rd was Chris Alexander, Chris has a lot of muscle and especially good quads but he was not hard enough to beat the top 2. He is slightly thick in the waist and the harder he gets the better his shape will be. Chris needs to look at his posing it wasn’t quite good enough on this occasion. 4th went to Phil Culley who has a good X shape but was a bit lighter in muscle than top 3.

 

Heavyweight Mr

 

The heavyweights were the last of the weight classes and again 4 took to the stage to battle out for the heavyweight title. It was Luke Rayner who took top honours in this class with his big guns and aesthetic shape. He was quite lightly muscled for a heavyweight winner but had a great shape and posed well. The runner up was Nick Openshaw who was fuller than I have seen him in the past and had a very wide frame. Nick was in good condition and posed well. 3rd was Tony Barber who was thickly muscled but not in condition. 4th was Phil Godwin who was not in condition.

 

Miss Physique

 

The last class of the day was the Miss physique class with 6 competitors, making this the biggest miss physique class of the season. On this occasion, however no-one in the class really had it right on the day. The winner was Anna Millington who was big and shapely but not in shape. This was the softest I have seen Anna and I hope she is planning on bringing it in for the finals. Runner up was Debbie Keating who was in good condition but very flat for a physique class. 3rd went to Alison Jones, Alison look muscular from the front but weaker from the rear. 4th was Gemma Sarsfield who was better than last year and pushed for 3rd but still needs to be harder to get placed. Also competing was Carolle Nicholls and Dawn Warner.

 

Overall

 

The overall was very much a battle of the novices with the heavyweight winning by a split decision.
Overall winner: Nigel St Lewis

 

Best Presentation Male: Lee Constantinou

 

Best presentation Female: Rachel Alleyne

 

Best wheels : Ben Guest