July 1, 2004

Let Canada's Biggest Shows Begin!

July is the month for fitness and figure in Canada – there are two national-level events taking place that are the most important of the year. On July 3 there are the CBBF Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships, and on July 24, the CBBF National World Qualifier.

The 2004 CBBF Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships is Canada’s most prestigious event for fitness and figure athletes. This is mostly because it is a national-level event, but it is also because it is the only event in the country that qualifies our Canadian competitors for the professional ranks.

Competitors in fitness and figure will be separated into three height classes called Short, Medium, and Tall. There will be a winner in each class for fitness and figure, and at the end of the competition all three winners in each discipline will face-off against one another for the Overall title in the respective events. After that final showdown, the Overall winners in fitness and figure will each be awarded IFBB Pro Cards and can then, if they choose, go on to compete in the professional ranks with the likes of Monica Brandt, Adela Friedmansky, Kelly Ryan, and numerous other fitness and figure stars. Even if the Overall winners choose never to compete professionally, they can at least retire knowing that they were national-level champions of the highest caliber.

Last year’s Overall figure winner was Jennifer Thiel of British Columbia. Since then Jennifer has gone on to compete in the IFBB professional ranks. In fitness it was Manitoba’s Janie Keith who was crowned the champion, but although she became a full-fledged pro, she decided to turn in her posing suit before competing professionally and is now officially retired. We wrote about her choice in November of last year. For everyone, the rewards of winning are a little different.

This year the CBBF Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships event is being promoted by Melanie Horton and Laura Binetti, and will be held in Brantford, Ontario. Melanie and Laura are former national-level female bodybuilding champions and are currently promoters with numerous successful events under their belts. In 2002 they promoted the ultra-successful CBBF Canadian BodyBuilding Championships. They understand the needs of the competitors and know how to put on a well-run show. I am sure they will put on a fine show in Brantford.

The CBBF National World Qualifier happens just three weeks later only a short distance away in London, Ontario. The Qualifier’s promoters are Norm Jacobs and Jim Morris – veteran promoters who are known for putting on some of the best bodybuilding, fitness, and figure events in Ontario. You don’t want to miss this event either.

The Qualifier has fitness and figure, and also men’s and women’s bodybuilding. This event qualifies Canadian competitors for the prestigious IFBB World Championships held in various locations around the world. (The IFBB World Women’s Championships, where the fitness, figure, and women’s bodybuilding events will be held, take place in Santa Susanna, Spain). Just as with the Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships, at the Qualifier the fitness and figure events are divided into Short, Medium, and Tall. (The bodybuilding events are divided into classes by weight.)

The Qualifier is unique in that it is tested for banned substances such as steroids, diuretics, and countless other substances prohibited in amateur sports. This is a requirement of the IFBB so that the people who represent each country at the World Championships are "clean." For amateur competitors who want to see how they stack up against Canada’s best, and then the world’s best, this is the event to compete at. Drug testing in Canada is done by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES) – one of the most respected agencies in the world, and the same organization that conducts testing on Canada’s Olympic-level athletes.

In general, athletes who compete at the Qualifier aren’t necessarily trying to turn pro; instead, they are looking to forward their amateur careers on the world stage against the world’s best. For many competitors this is a much richer and more satisfying experience since the pro ranks can be, well, a little tricky to say the least.

Last year’s Medium-class and Overall Qualifier winner in fitness at the CBBF National World Qualifier was Quebec’s Chantal Dicaire, who is frequently featured in our pages. Chantal went on to the 2003 IFBB World Championships and placed an impressive ninth. This year she hopes to win the Qualifier in fitness again and place top-five at the Worlds. Alberta’s Jill St. Laurent was the 2003 Qualifier Overall figure winner. Jill went on to represent Canada at the Worlds, too. (Jill was also the winner of the Medium class at the 2003 Canadian Figure Championships.) Fitness competitor Nathalie Tabouillet, also from Quebec, actually earned an IFBB Pro Card at the 2002 Canadian Fitness Championships, but never accepted it. Instead, she retained her amateur status and continued to compete in Canada’s national-level events, and also at the World Championships. Nathalie has competed and won at the Qualifier a number of times (she was the Short-class winner in fitness in 2003, and the Short-class winner and Overall winner in 2002), and has gone on to represent Canada at the Worlds more than a handful of times, including in 2003. My hunch is that this year we shall see Nathalie in Brantford and in London – and quite possibly at the Worlds in Spain, too.

Whatever event competitors enter or spectators attend – hopefully both! – there’s no doubt that July is the month for fitness and figure in Canada. Good luck to all the competitors in both events, and our readers can look forward to coverage in the coming months in SeriousAboutFitness.com. I know there will be lots to report.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

To find out more about these and other events, visit www.CBBF.net.

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