Canadian IFBB International Events Qualifier 2013

The Canadian IFBB International Events Qualifier is an extremely prestigious event as it entitles seven hardworking individuals to call themselves IFBB Professionals, which is not an easy title to come by in Canada. The overall winners in Men’s Physique, Women’s Figure, Women’s Master Figure, Women’s Bikini, Women’s Master Bikini, Women’s Fitness and Women’s Physique now have the opportunity to represent Canada on the world’s stage as our newest crowned IFBB Pros in addition to qualifying for IFBB International Events such as the IFBB World Championships. Top spots in the Men's Bodybuilding and Men's Classic Bodybuilding also qualifying for IFBB International Events.

Everything went smoothly on the weekend of April 27, 2013, from registration to the athletes’ meeting to the actual competition. The Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association (MABBA) and its governing body, the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation (CBBF), played host to an absolutely incredible group of athletes and a memorable show. The judges expect nothing but the best at an event of this caliber, and all the athletes who made their way across the country to Winnipeg gave them exactly what they wanted.

Men’s Bodybuilding
The Men’s bodybuilding category this year had three overall winners (Overall Men’s Bodybuilding, Overall Master Men’s Bodybuilding, and Overall Men’s Classic), but no pro cards were awarded in this category. These gentlemen will go on to represent Canada at the 2013 IFBB World Championships and various IFBB amateur events. The Short Classic winner, who also won the Classic overall and the open Middleweight division, was Winston Ashie Winns. With abs that looked carved from stone and serious feathering in his quads, this competitor came out with guns blazing in both divisions. In the Tall Classic category, James Wright brought a long, lean, absolutely shredded and elegant physique, exemplifying what this division wants from its athletes. Though he won the Tall class, he placed second in the Men’s Heavyweight bodybuilding division behind Nse Ekong. Nse was dominant! He was just hard, dense, and full, and he had such a beautiful posing routine to complement his body. In the Lightweight division, and also taking second in Juniors, was Brandon Cooney. For such a young pup, this kid could hold his own with the best of them. He presented well, and he definitely did his homework in terms of dialing in his conditioning. The Masters 40+ winner was Glenn Herring. He is one of those guys at whom you’d look and say, “No way he’s a master!” With lats as wide as a barn door, exceptional quad definition, and a ton of lower body size and conditioning (which is a rare combo), it’s no wonder he took home the Masters Overall against the 50+ winner, Arsene Lagrange, and the 60+ winner, Bob Ratushniak. Last but not least is Derek Rafia, the winner of the Junior, Light-Heavyweight, and Overall Men’s Bodybuilding categories. Derek was vascular, hard, and lean, and he had some good size on him and generally just looked like he was having a really good time onstage; he was everything you’d want your overall winner to look like. This kid is going to make waves in the sport. He had no body part that stood out significantly, nor any glaring weaknesses, which makes for an excellent combination.

Bikini
Bikini has become the most popular categories and is growing by leaps and bounds every year. There were 40 competitors in this division, divided pretty evenly between six divisions (four Open and two Masters). Two pro cards were awarded, one to Ontario’s Simone Sinclaire for the Open category (representing the 5'4"–5'6" contingent), and one to Alberta’s Natalie Mack for the Masters division. I couldn’t argue with the judges’ decisions. Simone brought the presentation and poise of a seasoned pro, with well-proportioned curves and a toned physique. Look out for the ever-improving Shannon Pineau from PEI, who placed first in her category. Shannon beat out 13 other very tough competitors in the Up to 5'2" category. Saskatchewan’s Brittany Foot took home top honors in the Over 5'6" class, and truth be told, I think the overall between her and Simone was probably a very close call. Brittany had a little more muscle on her and was elegant, gorgeous, and lean. Breanne Hensman from Alberta beat eight other women to win the 5'2"–5'4" category, which was a tough class, too. Natasha Ray, who placed sixth in 5'4"–5'6", beat a relatively large class to win in the Women’s Masters Tall.

Figure

When it comes to the Figure category, I don’t envy the judges. With this year’s crop of competitors, the terms “statuesque,” “proportioned,” “balanced,” “conditioned,” and any number of other complimentary adjectives could have applied to the women who won their respective figure divisions. There were six categories (Up to 5'2", 5'2"–5'4", 5'4"–5'6", Over 5'6", Masters up to 5'4" and Masters over 5'4") and five winners. Angela Doucette of Nova Scotia won in both the Open Overall and the Masters overall categories, and because both wins entitled her to a pro card, she received one, and the judges awarded the winner of the Up to 5'2" category, Jennifer Kaye, a secondary card. This young sub-5'2" dynamo completely dominated her class and showed the elegance and poise of someone twice her age. She had a symmetrical, balanced, and well-toned physique. She is also a self-made/self-coached IFBB pro, which is incredibly inspiring to anyone, whether or not they are involved in the fitness industry. In the other categories, Erin Stuart from Manitoba, Lori Lynn Micheff from Ontario, and Macha Douard from Quebec all put up a very good fight against Angela and Jennifer. This was one of the most intense figure classes I’ve ever seen, and the fact that two IFBB pro cards were handed out is a testament to the caliber of ladies who took top honours.

Fitness
In all the shows I’ve attended, both amateur and professional, I don’t think I’ve ever walked out before the Fitness category. Even if I didn’t know the competitors, the energetic routines and the overall package of athleticism, grace and conditioning that these ladies bring to the stage is too good to miss! This show was obviously no exception. In the Fitness Tall category, Brittany Kane of Manitoba was poised, elegant, and graceful in the two-piece suit round. But put her in a two-piece Tarzan outfit and play some loud music, and you get insane talent, athleticism, and a high-flying jungle woman. Unfortunately, her jungle-inspired routine and overall well-toned, athletic figure wasn’t enough to shut down fellow Manitoban Shelly Patton. Shelly was just leaner and meaner and won the judges over with her routine this weekend. She had a more dominant, imposing physique, and she was going to be hard to beat. Shelly definitely had the tighter physique of the two girls, and based on the judges’ overall score for her, her win owed a lot to the quality of her routine too.

Men’s Physique
Late in 2012, the IFBB announced that Men’s and Women’s Physique would be added to the 2013 Mr. Olympia contest. That means that all current (and newly crowned) IFBB Men’s Physique competitors are now in a very good spot to be eligible for the first inaugural Mr. Physique Olympia. Now joining Canadian Physique IFBB pros such as Mark Anthony Wingson, Mason Edward, and Craig Franczyk is Alberta’s Sean Sapera, a walking, talking, tattooed Ken doll. With a smile that would excite an orthodontist, abs you could shred cheddar on, and swagger that would make Mick Jagger jealous, Sean was the hands-down winner in the Tall category. He beat out Chris Gurunlian of Quebec, who also looked lean and handsome but wasn’t what the judges were looking for on that night. Chris brought a sharply detailed physique, but the judges may have just been looking for a taller, more muscular presence, which they got in Sean.

Women’s Physique
There were five women in the Women’s Physique Short class and three in the Tall class. Ontario’s Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson was the winner of the Tall class and Overall. To the naked eye, it could have gone either way between her and the winner of the Short class, Sheri McKnight from Manitoba. It takes an expert judging panel to know what to look for in a case like this, and the men and women on that panel had their work cut out for them. Both women were extremely lean and hard and presented their physiques like professionals. However, at the end of the day, the aesthetics of Nkechi’s physique was the clincher for the elusive IFBB pro card in this category. She’s taller and has longer limbs, muscle bellies, and lines and also a more pronounced V-taper. With some more shows under her belt in this division, I think Nkechi could hold her own in the IFBB pro physique ranks.

Women’s Bodybuilding
Both competitors in the Women’s Bodybuilding category looked great, but Carol Déziel of Quebec won over British Columbia’s Lauralee Cheng because of her conditioning and size. Carol was sharp and vascular and had incredible shoulders and quadriceps definition—you could even see a little bit of glute separation if you looked closely enough! Carol also had the honor of winning the Women’s Master Bodybuilding division. Unfortunately, no pro cards were awarded for this category.

On behalf of MUSCLE INSIDER, I’d like to bestow heartfelt and huge congratulations to all the competitors who put in countless weeks and months of training, discipline, and dedication. To those who won their pro cards, to those who won the overall, and to those who qualified altogether, you should be extremely proud of where your hard work has taken you. Thank you for representing Canada so well!