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Review of 2007 CBBF Nationals
Edmonton, AB
August 18, 2007

Close to 200 athletes from all across the country made their way to the gorgeous venue of Edmonton's Winspear Centre for the biggest amateur, bodybuilding show in the country. On this particular date, the venue was host to performers and spectators alike wearing track suits instead of the usual monkey suits worn by its normal 'hoity-toitty' clientele who view musicals, plays and operas at the Winspear. One thing was for sure that the bodybuilders' posing music probably never sounded better! I want to point out that I thought the promoter, John Dirks, did an excellent job arranging the competition as it seemed very well organized. However, this being my first National bodybuilding experience in attendance I have nothing really to compare it to besides the hours I have spent watching bodybuilding competitions on TV and personally being at an entry level Muscle Beach show years ago.

Just to forewarn the new readers of TSC I want to state I am not a bodybuilder, and no way want to construe my comments made in this article as accurate, cold, hard, concrete facts. I merely try to express my experience onto paper and give some insight to the competition for those who were not in attendance. However, briefly stating my background as being an overall strength sport enthusiast, and a bodybuilding follower since I was 16 years old, I believe I have a strong foundation to give credence to my personal opinions. My thoughts do not necessarily reflect the judge's thoughts or views on any one particular athlete. I feel this is an important message I want to convey as I do not want anyone who reads this article offended at any commentary on the subject manner at hand. Please feel free to sign up on the forum to correct anything that I mention or shoot me an email at alex@thestrengthcenter.com to correct or add any opinion you see fit. One thing that we want to do here TSC is promote these great sports and give them a platform to be highlighted and discussed on the internet superhighway.

The only negative critique I had at the early stage of the event was being annoyed to say the least at the M.C. He clearly was not knowledgeable at all to the sport of bodybuilding and did a very poor job announcing the competitors names and provinces. His later apology and confession for "dropping the ball" so to speak, did not provide the justice it was meant to serve. I figure this is the premier bodybuilding competition of the whole year in Canada and it should have been announced by an experienced individual who is not only familiar with the sport of bodybuilding but also the names of the contestants competing. I hated hearing their names being miss-pronounced slowly and awkwardly. This sentiment was felt by more than me, as the M.C. was jumbling up the name of one competitor in particular: number 99, Carmen Tocheniuk, whose last name was yelled from the audience with the correct pronunciation. Admittedly, he did become better as he was trying to quickly learn on the spot about bodybuilding and the terms, even trying to familiarize himself with, lingo as 'monster', 'freak', or 'ripped'. He probably didn't need to repeat himself by saying 'ripped' at least a dozen times throughout the evening. I am not saying this job was easy but to some of the lesser experienced audience members it is a big part of the overall enjoyment experience. Nonetheless, this fact did not overshadow the event itself as the focus was clearly was on the athletes themselves. The entire evening was well-oiled and ran very smoothly.

The women were up first and man did they put on an entertaining show. These ladies provided a perfect intro to this amazing evening. First up was the Grandmaster (50 +) Women and the shape these women were in was incredible as number 37, Lore Schwuchow from AB, came in first, trailed by second place 29, Marilyn Dupuis, MB and 38, Pam Eisen, ON. However, in the competition of life, all these women are clear winners as most women half their age would love bodies like theirs, complete with six packs and all. Congrats!

Next up was the Masters 35+ Women with over 17 competitors the class was extremely competitive and there were many unbelievable physiques on display. These women not only embodied muscularity but also kept their femininity intact as their hair and nails were done to a perfectionist touch - truly remarkable! I was personally blown away by the competitor 3, Wendy McMaster, ON who had extremely developed muscle bellies. The top three came down to 1st place-8, Natalie Hould, PQ, 2nd place-Cheryl McCarthy, AB, and 3rd place-12, Johann Dejager, ON. This was the first time that I noticed that the winners were not given a sweet bodybuilding trophy as their second and third place companions received. Instead they were given a small box contained with a National ring worth a reportedly $500. I am sorry but I have a problem with this as I believe the first place winners (men and women) deserve both the trophy and a ring. What is winning the NHL championship and receiving only rings and not the Stanley Cup as well? These athletes need something to hoist over their head. It is practically a sporting law. Besides, this concept only came to me as the M.C announced, with poor etiquette, while the women were up, "Hey good things do come in small boxes!" and subsequently explained what he meant by this.

The Lightweight Women (<117 lbs) followed and several of the Masters women entered to try and give the open women a run for their money. The top five in no particular order were 61, Shannon Holman, AB; 68, Michelle Richards, ON; 72, Cheryl McCarthy, AB; 98 Heather King, ON; and Edmonton's own 99, Carmen Tocheniuk, AB. The top three were: 3rd place- 98 Heather King, ON. 2nd place- 99, Carmen Tocheniuk, AB, who was looking very pretty in pink. 1st place- Cheryl McCarthy, AB, not to let her age become an excuse as she was a also master competitor. She wasn't the biggest on the stage but certainly was very well put together with a chiselled physique.

The Middleweight Women (118-127 lbs) to me was the most entertaining women's class as these women had it all; great music, better physiques and one hell of a final pose down. The top 5 finalists ended up being 73, Jessika Lafontaine, AB; 76, Nadia Nardi, BC; 77, Johanna Dejager, ON (master); 80, Chermine Crick, AB; and 81, Cindy Phillips, NS. First place went to Nardi. Her music was a relatively slow, Italian concerto, which initially was hard for the audience to get into. top That didn't seem to matter, because ripped physique took over and her strong posing flowed nicely with the tunes. (I was told that the judge's don't care about the contestants music and focus solely on their physique; however, for the audience this really helps us get into it and can make a big difference to who we choose to cheer for the loudest). I thought Cindy Phillips was going to take this class and the crowd also seemed to be shocked with her second place showing. She seemed to have it all wicked sweep in the quads, pretty face, great arms. Third placing went again to 3rd place master finisher-12, Johann Dejager, ON.

The Heavyweight Women (over 127 lbs) put on a good display of performances as well. The five in no particular order were: 85, Mary Lynne Mackenzie, ON; 86, Wendy McMaster, ON; 88, Janeen Lankowski, ON; 89, Natalie Hould, PQ, and 91, Lyris Cappelle, SK. There was a little controversy as I, along with the crowd, was shocked as 3rd place went to 91, Lyris Cappelle, SK who put on a great display of posing that went well with her music. (But again it isn't about the music when it comes to judging and it was evident here). Second place went to 88, Janeen Lankowski, ON and 89, Natalie Hould, PQ the master winneri, also took this category.

Overall, Canada's newest women's IFBB pro was 76, Nadia Nardi, BC who outclassed her competition and hunched over with jubilation when she found out she was the winner and then proceeded to hug her competitors. Heavyweight champion, 89, Nathalie Hould, PQ placed second and Lightweight champion, competitor 72, Cheryl McCarthy, AB placed third. However, it should be noted that after the intermission, middleweight competitor 81, Cindy Phillips, NS who placed second to only Nadia Nardi was brought back to stage where she was awarded an IFBB card as well. This award was well deserved, because I personally thought this 23 year old had the best physiuque by far!

The Junior Men (under the age of 21) were completely amazing. The level of their muscle maturity was astonishing. The three competitors 19, Stephane Lemieux, PQ; 20, Antoine, Valliant, PQ; 21, Mathew Roberts, ON impressed everyone in the audience. This class boiled down between Valliant and Roberts. However, it was Valliant's class to take as his legs and chest really popped during his most muscular pose. Added to his nice routine, his back flip was very impressive from a fan's point of view. Valliant was ultimately crowned the champ followed by Roberts and Lemieux.

After the intermission the Grandmaster Men (50 +) put on quite a show, these competitors did not represent the typical middle aged man as they forgone the kegs for sleeker sick packs attached to their mid areas. Rounding out the top five were: 29, Franco Savino, SK; 30, Steve Burns, SK; 33, Archie Dean, MB; 35, Rob Churchill, MB, & 36, Francois Vanhoutte, PQ. After the individual posing routines three men emerged as the cream of the crop and third place went to Archie Dean, second place was Steve Burns and the man with the most striated chest, nicest guns & sporting the two arm band tattoos to boot was Rob Churchill who took first.

The Master Men (40 +) continued to impress as their muscular maturity was aged just right and three solid competitors were vying to take it all beginning with the biggest lats ever 49, Javier Martinez, ON; 58, Vincent Liu, ON; and 59, Marc Lavoie, PQ were all in fine form. But after comparing their physiques the man with the biggest chest and shoulders were just the right size to become a Masters IFBB pro, his name Vincent Liu. Consequently, Lavoie took second and Martinez placed third -(can't help but wonder if ithe torn right pec hindered his placing).

The Bantamweights (>143 lbs) surprisingly looked a lot bigger than the 143 lbs category suggests. Competitor no. 103, Tun Tun Thant, SK placed third; 104, Patrick Buhat, AB took second; and 105, Jason Ste Marie, AB took the class as I wonder if his dramatic style of music set the tone that he was the one to be reckoned with?

The Lightweights (143- 154 lbs) brought some heat as it seemed the men's competition was heating up as the classes were getting heavier. The final five in no particular order: 107, Maurice Levy, AB; 109, Kelly Burback, SK; 110, Stephan Boger, PQ; 111, Abdul Sagar, ON and finally 115, Pat Lessard, AB. Lessard had a great posing routine mimicking superman and then going into the bullet sequence of th matrix was a really cool touch. He also backed it up with phenomenal conditioning and was deserving of his first place title. Boger placed second and master Sagar got third.

The Welterweights (164-165) as I understand this class does not exist in all bodybuilding shows and I am somewhat unfamiliar with the exact bodyweight that classifies the welterweights. However, I liked this class as it seemed like most competitors had the 300 soundtrack as their posing music. Competitors 118, Ali Izadi, ON; 120, Todd Hnatiuk, AB; 121, Guillermo Celis, ON; 123, Lael Sauter, AB; 125, Dion Protziak, SK were all in the final five. But it was Izadi (pic 72-75) who stood out the most with great quads, hamstrings and a thick back. Second place was Guillermo Celis and third place went to Todd Hnatiuk.

The Light Middleweights (165-176lbs) class seemed to be one of the most competitive of the entire evening with a total of 17 well balanced athletes trying to make the final five seemed like a dubious task to demand from the seven judges. However, it went as follows: 126, Danny Cicchirillo, ON; 128, Paul Lopes, AB; 132, and master competitor, Javier Martinez, ON; 137, Yannick Brisson, PQ, and last but not certainly least was a surprise for me to see fellow drug free powerlifter, 139, Greg Doucette, NS in participation. His physique looked great and his conditioning was remarkable. I was blown away after reading his online training log (www.powerlifting.ca/forums) to see that he still trains like a powerlifter so close to the meet and gets results like a bodybuilder. I made the comment to my friends that Greg was most likely the strongest athlete in the meet sporting a 500 lbs + bench. I am trying not to be biased but Greg had an extremely entertaining posing routine and it was too bad he never made the top three. (see below)

The top three in ascending order were Cicchirillo, Martinez, and the winner; the man with unbelievable arm development, Brisson.

The Middleweights (176-187lbs) class contained a sleeper giant slayer as competitor 152, Vince Wawryk, SK was dominant in this class with a strong side chest pose (pics 81-83) absolutely stealing the show. 149, Patrick Bernard, PQ came out with church bells sounding from the WWE's Undertaker's theme song and it went well with his large frame. Third place went to 153, Aaron Jewell, BC who had impressive quads. Also, give kudos out to competitor 146, Wayne Jacobson, AB who trains at hardcore and I am damn impressed with his tissue paper-like skin - we were all cheering for you bud!

The Light-Heavyweights (187-198 lbs) in my opinion had the second most competitive pose down of the evening only trailing the middleweight women. These men were extremely hungry to take this class. To name the top five and to start things off with the best name of the meet 155, Mboya Edwards, ON; Master IFBB winner 160, Vincent Liu, ON; 163, Craig Bonnett, MB; 165, Mark Richman, ON; and rounding things out 166, David Naugler, NS. Third place went to Naugler, who had awesome hamstrings, wide lat spread and a small waist and not to forget the awesome throw back pose of Frank Zane's vacuum made an appearance! Second place, was courteously of Mark Richman whose chest, legs and back were great but could not edge out first place victor Mboya Edwards, whose large arms and shoulders combined with a small waist was too much to contend with.

The Heavyweight (198-224 lbs) class did not disappoint and there was a clear standout amongst them. "LOOOOUUU", as his personal trainer, Scott Abel kept yelling out (179, Louis Joseph, ON) stole the show and during the final pose down stood far to the left hand stage to make a statement of, "I am the best here if you don't believe me come over and try to challenge me" - but no one took him up on his offer. His physique was impressive with his delts and arms already looking IFBB prepped. His stage presence was dominant and was too much for Edmonton's own, 169, Wade Matthies, AB who placed second and 3rd place went to 167, Marc Levoie, PQ.

The night was getting long but the crowd was greatly anticipating the main event. The Super-Heavy Weights (Over 225 lbs) were up next and two popular hometown boys were in it. Competitor number 181, Ian Hunter, AB and 183, "Big" Ron Partlow, AB clearly had strong contingents out supporting them and both made the final five. Rounding out the top five was the tallest competitor, 180, Dave Simard, PQ he must have been 6'5" and his upper body was unreal; 190 Gregory Ulysse, PQ-who had great overall shape; and the sickest quad sweep of the meet 185 Ben Pakulski, ON. Ulysee placed third in the tight overall SHW and it was between Hometown hero Partlow and the Ontario native, Pakulski who ended up placing second. Not to be out done in his house, Big Ron Partlow was the rock star of the meet with the crowd erupting after he was declared the big dog of the class where his back, chest and shoulders stood out the most in his posing routine (see below).

Overall, it was a solid line up with every class winner up on the stage at the same time all vying for that elusive IFBB card. I along with a few others thought it was going to be Louis Joseph's night as he really stood out but the overall winner went to middleweight, Vince Wawryk, SK. With much turmoil and deliberation, it was announced that there was going to be a second IFBB card up for grabs and that one went to Joseph. This was the perfect ending for the meet and it was well worth the five hours of waiting.

At the end of the show I came away with a new appreciation for bodybuilding as I was thinking back at the type of dedication they have. Unlike a hockey player whose equipment is carried in a hockey bag, bodybuilders don't have this luxury as their sport is carried on them 24/7. These types of athletes truly cannot leave the game on the ice as their lifestyle continually revolves around their sport. If they had a bad day at the gym (like a practice) they cannot go for a beer when dieting down for a big competition. There are so many social tendencies we do as humans that do not apply for bodybuilders who have to live life differently. This is why I believe there is such a stigma associated with this sport as their lifestyle is so extreme, so intense that they don't have regular eating patterns such as breakfast, lunch, & supper; they tend to eat every 2-3 hours no matter what they are doing. Sometimes this does not follow standard hours and they all tend to carry some sort of satchel, fanny pack or large purse to have a handy protein shake or a Tupperware full of chicken breasts and greens so they are not too far away for that feeding. Bodybuilders are a different breed, one of which is very interesting and one that I have great admiration for.

Finally, I just want to say that the 2007 CBBF Canadians was a very enjoyable experience and this will certainly not be the last bodybuilding show I or the TSC will attend. We hope to become more of a player in not only the local bodybuilding scene but bodybuilding in general and we are looking for enthusiastic bodybuilders or very learned individuals to join our TSC staff of writers to help contribute in the development of this section of our site. Please visit the Writer's Wanted page and enquire about the possibility of joining us to report on this exciting sport.

TSC Content Director,

Alexander Mardell

Sources
Update 08/23/07 - Thanks to Steve Doucette and Michelle Saunders for their helpful feedback and corrections of some of our stats.

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