July 1, 2007

Waples Wows, Boam Blossoms, and Dicaire Dominates at the 2007 CBBF National World Qualifier

The CBBF’s National World Qualifier has always been one of my favorite events. It’s a national-level, drug-tested competition that qualifies Canadian bodybuilding, fitness, and figure competitors for the IFBB World Championships. I like it because it’s a prestigious competition that features the best amateur competitors in the country and it employs drug testing in order to discourage the use of performance-enhancing substances such as anabolic steroids. I feel the testing is important because it not only puts competitors on a level playing field, it also helps to maintain their health – and in the case of women’s events, retain their femininity.

But, the Qualifier has seen a downturn in competitor numbers in recent years, which is partially the result of the numerous other "natural" organizations that also put on competitions in Canada, but also because the CBBF itself is not doing enough to promote their top-level drug-tested event. However, this year’s National World Qualifier that was held on June 16 in Toronto was different, and Ontario-based organizers Jamor Enterprises deserve nothing but praise for putting on such a fine show. Although the number of competitors didn’t approach their all-time high that the CBBF saw in the year 2003 (over 120), there were about 80 this year, competing in men’s and women’s bodybuilding as well as women’s fitness and figure.

Despite all those categories, though, this report will focus solely on figure and fitness, which is what’s relevant to most SeriousAboutFitness.com readers. But, before I get into my class-by-class analysis, I must disclose some important information: Two of the competitors you’ll read about below, Natalie Waples and Chantal Dicaire, were trained by me. Natalie won the Overall figure title, and Chantal won the Overall title in fitness. I wanted to mention this up front because, of course, I could be accused of bias, given my working relationship with these competitors.

Fitness

Four fitness competitors impressed me the most at this event. In the Short class, they were Ontario’s Jodi Boam and Quebec’s Katherine Tremblay. Ontario’s Marnie Holley and Quebec’s Chantal Dicaire were who impressed me in the Tall class – I’ll start with them.

Marnie Holley was last year’s Tall-class champion, but this year her physique wasn’t as sharp as it was previously and, to make matters worse, she appeared to almost forget her routine midway through. Obviously, that spells disaster for a fitness competitor, and, as a result, Holley ended up in second place this year. However, she has first-rate potential and she still has a chance to redeem herself this year if she competes at the CBBF Canadian Fitness Championships in Edmonton at the end of June.

Chantal Dicaire, on the other hand, surprised everyone. She hasn’t competed with the CBBF since 2005 (she won that year, as well as in the previous two years, but since then has opted to compete in other organizations), and two weeks prior to this competition, she hadn’t even planned to compete at all in 2007. However, a chance meeting between Chantal and myself at the beginning of June resulted in a subsequent plan to whip her into shape within 12 days to compete in this event. It was a tight deadline, but, obviously, we made it.

When Chantal set foot onstage, she dominated the lineup by having excellent muscle size and good shape, combining it with exquisite beauty and femininity. Her routine, while not as demanding as Holley’s, was performed flawlessly and with plenty of energy. She won the Tall class quite easily.

However, in the Short class there was a closer battle involving Katherine Tremblay and Jodi Boam. They’re both young, highly skilled competitors who were making their national-level debut at this show. Whereas Holley and Dicaire have now been around for some time, these two new girls are Canada’s next fitness stars.

Both women have good physiques, but they still need time to fulfill their potential – compared to Holley and Dicaire, who are quite a bit older, they don’t have the same kind of muscle maturity. In terms of routine skills, though, they were on par with the veterans. It appears that both are former gymnasts and, not surprisingly, their gymnastics-dominated routines were filled with difficult moves performed effortlessly. Furthermore, the choreography of each routine was the equivalent of Dicaire’s.

Frankly, it was a toss-up over which competitor was best. I personally favored Boam in all rounds, and it seems that the judges did too, since she ended up in first place. In fact, this is the fourth event that I’ve seen Boam compete at this year, and she really blossomed for this one, putting on her best presentation yet. Tremblay took second, but she shouldn’t be discouraged – she has everything it takes to be a national-level champion.

For the Overall title, it was Boam against Dicaire, who are separated in age by some 14 years (Boam is just 19, while Dicaire is now 33). Dicaire’s considerable experience, however, worked to her advantage. She clearly dominated this round, taking the Overall title and making herself Canada’s top amateur fitness athlete for the fourth time. (You can read what we did to get Chantal into shape so fast in the "Detail" section.) Nevertheless, Boam shouldn’t feel bad at all. She’s almost good enough to win the Overall title, and because of her age, she can emerge to rule Canadian fitness for many years to come.

Figure

It seems that no matter what figure competition you’re at, there is always at least a little controversy. This year’s Qualifier was no exception – although there was less controversy than at most events.

In the Masters category (over age 35), Deanne Brown won over Lauren Arnold. Both women are from Manitoba. However, in the Medium category, which has no age restriction, Arnold won over Brown! How does that happen? Obviously, the audience was confused and so, too, were the competitors, judging by their looks when the second set of results was announced. But, by the CBBF’s tally, the results were right, and as confusing as it seems, that’s exactly what happened. My only explanation is that the two were close. But then again, shouldn’t the judging be consistent when this all happens on the same day and the classes are judged just minutes apart? Regardless, both competitors shouldn’t be embarrassed about what happened; instead, we’ll leave that to those who should have scrutinized the scoring a little more to look for inconsistencies, or, perhaps, mistakes. Third place in the Masters category went to Ontario’s Christine Lanois, while third place in the Medium category went to Alberta’s Leah Berti.

The top competitors in the Short class were Ontario’s Aleisha Hart and Manitoba’s Dominique Pujo, and it was close between them. Aleisha and Dominique both possess well-balanced physiques, and look extremely attractive onstage. In fact, both competed in our SAF Model Search the night before, with Aleisha winning the Figure Model category. It was Pujo, though, who squeezed ahead in this show, perhaps because she has slightly more of an hourglass-type figure. Therefore, Hart ended up taking second and Jennifer Kaye of Ontario was in third.

The Medium-Tall class was close too, with Natalie Waples and Jaime Price battling it out for the top spot. Both women are from Ontario, and this is the third time that they’ve competed against each other. Also in contention was Ontario’s Heather Wilson, who didn’t stand out in the two-piece black-suit round, but made a much stronger impression in the next two rounds. However, Waples and Price were more consistent the whole way through, and I suspect their scores were neck and neck, based on the callouts. By the end of it all, though, Waples wound up on top, Price took second, and Wilson placed third. This was a very close class, and undoubtedly quite tough to judge.

But then again, so was the Tall class. Here Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson and Siobhan Wright were both battling for first place, and picking a winner wasn’t easy. Each competitor had strengths and weaknesses, and it was pretty obvious from the way the competitors were being moved around that the judges were having a hard time deciding who should be number one. Furthermore, there was also Jill Mackey-Coldwell of Newfoundland, and it seemed that she was in contention as well. Jill displayed a nicely shaped physique, although I thought she might be rather too lean. If she had come in a little fuller, she might have taken it. At the end of it all, Wright won, Nwafor-Robinson took second, and Jill Mackey-Coldwell came in third.

With this many close calls across all the classes, it’s no surprise that the battle for the Overall title would be just as close. To my eyes, though, Natalie Waples and Dominique Pujo were the competitors who stood out – mostly because they displayed the best overall shape and proportions, attributes that I think are prerequisites for a top-level figure physique. As well, their overall presentation (which includes top-to-bottom appearance from their hair to their feet) is first-rate. Either could have won, but it was Waples who had the "wow" factor that night, winning her first national-level title after starting in competitive figure less than two years ago.

Wrap-up

The 2007 CBBF National World Qualifier was not only a highly competitive, high-quality event but also something of a triumph for the CBBF. Last year, the organization bungled its judging by rewarding figure physiques that seemed better suited for women’s bodybuilding, particularly at the highly controversial 2006 Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships. Frankly, that kind of judging put a lot of female competitors off, and I know many who are skipping this year’s competitions to see if the organization shapes up. From what I saw at the Qualifier, they seem to be moving in the right direction.

Without doubt, there was certainly a change at this event. The judges didn’t appear to be rewarding raw muscularity as they did in previous years. Instead, there was more emphasis on overall shape and presentation, as well as femininity, which is something that gets lost when the women try to look like bodybuilders instead of figure competitors, or when performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids enter the scene. All the figure and fitness winners at this year’s Qualifier possessed an attractive, healthy, positive, feminine appearance that can go a long way to helping promote these sports in Canada.

Now, let’s hope the CBBF keeps it that way.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

To see photos from this event and more, visit www.ThePhotoIssue.com.

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