2009 BC Provincials by JP Erickson

This year’s version of the BC Bodybuilding Championships brought with it a new promoter with the advancement of the Pantheon Gym team led by Kosta Kromidas and Tatiana Anderson to the upcoming August Canadian Bodybuilding Nationals show in BC. Good news for the Canadian Nationals show as the Pantheon team has proved their mettle with the BC Provincials. Perhaps though a step back for the BC’s with an inexperienced promoter, Dean Brandt, at the helm.

Anyone who promotes an event, you would assume, would certainly want to take advantage of the opportunity to secure free publicity for said event. As a promoter, you welcome those that can promote your event and you make it easy for them to disseminate event results.

This version of the BC Provincials goes down in the annals of history as the first event that I’ve ever attended that ran out of media passes. Walking in, I expected wall-to-wall media covering the event. A week later, it’s still a mystery to me where the media hordes hid while covering the event.

Because Mr. Brandt chose to decline our offer to provide him and his company with free publicity, we shall grant his wish and omit any mention of said company that connected itself with the event as well as further mention of his name. Instead, we’ll focus on the competitors that worked so hard to showcase their physiques at the show and the outstanding crop of volunteers that did an excellent job of running the event for the BCABBA.

We would be remiss if we did not give kudos to the promoter for a solid job of expediting. The show ran smoothly from start to finish. Perhaps the promoter would be better off bringing in someone with experience to help guide him on show promotion while he concentrated his efforts on show expediting, something that he seems adept at as evidenced by how well the event ran.

As well, hats off to the promoter for bringing up MC Kim Kong Farrison, arguably the best in the business when it comes to handling the master of ceremony chores for a physique event.

With two national shows – fitness and figure, and bodybuilding – slated for BC, expectations for the 2009 edition of the BC Provincials were running high. The quality came out, although in some instances, one might have expected greater numbers.

In particular, the new bikini division, sponsored by the company we choose not to name, managed to attract just three competitors. Perhaps better promotion will bring stronger numbers for the next BC Provincials.

Bodybuilding featured two weight classes, heavy and light. The heavies came down to a battle of three different physiques, all impressive in their own right.

Michelle Russell, finishing third, more than held her own considering how new she is to the world of bodybuilding. Look to hear more from Michelle in the future.

Finishing second was Lisa Giesbrecht, under the tutelage of Desiree Ellis, one of BC bodybuilding’s all-time best bodybuilders. Lisa displayed great symmetry and lines.

First place went to another veteran, Sharyn Fraser. Sharyn brought a great package to the stage showcasing size and definition and perhaps the most cut physique on stage.

Taking home third in bodybuilding lightweights was Maureen Clironomos with second going to Victoria Morgenstern. Both competitors shared the distinction of performing dual duty by competing in the grandmasters.

Karen Lopez, with a great overall look, particularly her upper body, captured top honors in the lightweight side.

Heavyweight Sharyn Fraser went on to grab the overall bodybuilding title.

Fitness saw a strong group of competitors competing in both short and tall classes. Most impressive were a number of standout routines, particularly from short class winner Christy Kearny and tall class winner Cara Thien. Veteran Linda Cusmano turned in a notable performance with many commenting that she brought her best package ever to the stage.

Christy Kearney’s physique and above all her dynamic performance propelled her to the overall title in fitness.

Figure proved a tough call in many of the classes, especially in the overall where the first round of judging resulted in a tie. All the classes displayed some impressive physiques throughout.

Masters figure, won by Charlene Akhurst, brought out both numbers and quality. This was a deep group with a number of competitors displaying notable physiques.

With Carla Gutierrez in figure short, that left the rest of the field battling it out for second. Quite likely, the eventual number two, Crystal Lockyer, would be number one in any show sans Carla. Carla simply brings “it” to the stage, from her look to her presence. She’s definitely a force to be reckoned with.

In figure medium, Jennifer Moody walked away with first. Jennifer competed in the masters class as well, indicating the depth of the masters field.

Moving to medium-tall, Breanne Seward looked like the one to beat from the start and didn’t disappoint, walking away in first. Breanne, much like Carla in short, brings everything from top to bottom to the stage.

Another masters competitor took top spot in figure tall, again a great indication of the depth of the masters class. Claire Flewelling and Lori Mork were not far behind in second and third respectively.

Overall went to Carla Gutierrez, but it took a tiebreaker to bring the final verdict. The class winners all displayed great physiques, undoubtedly making the decision a tough one to call for the judging panel.

Missing from the judge’s table this year was the venerable Chris Parker who decided to change things around and be judged rather than do the judging. Although missed as a judge, Chris did a great job on stage competing this year.

For complete results, visit the BCABBA site at www.bcabba.org.

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