November 1, 2006

Canadian Achievements

We don’t have a maple leaf on our cover, and we don’t wear red-and-white workout clothes to the gym, but it’s no secret that SeriousAboutFitness.com is a Canadian-based publication. If you look at our pages, you’ll see that most of our models are Canadians, as well as all of our writers. This is something we’re proud of, because although the population of our entire country is about the same as, well, California, the women featured here can be considered world-class.

As a matter of fact, Canada has some of the very best professional physique competitors in the world, which is what this article is about – we want to recognize the achievements of our country’s current crop of top pros for what they did during the 2006 competitive season. These are not all of the country’s pro athletes, but they are some of the women that made the biggest splash of the year and, we’re happy to say, have been featured in, or are affiliated with, SeriousAboutFitness.com in one way or the other.

Figure

The first professional figure competition for women this year, the Figure International, is also one of the most prestigious. The Figure International is held alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Not everyone can enter – you have to be invited. Of the 19 women who lined up on the 2006 Figure International stage, three came from Canada. These were: Debbie Leung, Nina Luchka, and Jane Awad.

Debbie Leung earned professional status by winning the 2004 CBBF Canadian Figure Championships and has competed in the pro ranks 11 times since then, placing as high as second at the 2005 Toronto Pro Show, which also qualified her for the 2005 Figure Olympia. Getting invited to the Figure International for the first time this year was an honor, and a sign that Debbie was moving ahead in the highly competitive world of pro figure. Debbie made Canada proud in Columbus, and although she didn’t crack the top ten there, she also competed again in September at the IFBB Montreal Pro Classic where she came in fourth.

Nina Luchka turned professional at the 2005 IFBB North American Championships, and she made her pro debut at the 2006 Figure International, which is about as good a start as any competitor can hope for. Nina, however, deserves it, and has the potential to make quite a mark in pro figure in the coming years – she has distinctive good looks and flowing shape to her body, making her one of the most beautiful competitors currently on the IFBB pro stage. Like Debbie, Nina couldn’t make it into the top spots at the Figure International, but she, too, competed in Montreal and landed in third place, which qualified her for the Figure Olympia competition in Las Vegas in September – the most prestigious pro figure show in the world. Nina’s first pro season was very good.

Jane Awad turned pro at the 2004 IFBB North American Championships after competing in just three amateur shows. Now she is doing very well in the pro ranks. Jane has landed near the top spots in various pro shows, and she won the one-and-only IFBB North American Pro Figure competition in 2005. However, Jane’s career highlight so far was at the 2006 Figure International competition – she took fifth place, which is an amazing accomplishment in this distinguished field, and, like Nina, also qualified herself for the Olympia. (A top-three finish at any pro show qualifies competitors for the Olympia; in the Figure International, however, the top five qualify.)

Fitness

The Fitness International competition is held at the same time as the Figure International competition. In terms of Canadian-based pro fitness, though, right now there’s one lone competitor who has the weight of the country’s hopes resting on her shoulders. Luckily, this competitor’s sturdy shoulders are strong enough to take it. She’s Mindi O’Brien, Canada’s best and best-known fitness competitor, and she has the potential to one day bring home the Fitness International or Fitness Olympia title. Mindi’s also the star of SeriousAboutFitness.com’s first DVD feature, All About Mindi 1, and she’s as serious a competitor as you’ll find anywhere.

Mindi’s pro career has been nothing short of stunning. After turning pro in 2004, she went on to win her first pro show just six weeks later – the 2004 IFBB SW USA Pro Cup. After that, she competed in the 2004 and 2005 Fitness Olympia competitions, the 2005 Fitness International, and numerous pro shows in between. Of course, she also received an invite to the 2006 Fitness International in Columbus.

Mindi did well enough at the Fitness International by placing ninth. However, her highlights for 2006 were at the IFBB Europa Supershow in August, where she placed second (which qualified her for the Fitness Olympia), and the IFBB Palm Beach Pro event in October, where she took fourth (although many believed she should have definitely been in the top three, since her routine got unanimous first-place votes). Mindi is not one to squabble over her placings, and her status as Canada’s premier fitness competitor is firmly intact. No doubt, she’ll be invited back to the Arnold Classic in 2007, and I’ll bet money that she’s in the Olympia in 2007 as well.

Bodybuilding

Finally, although SeriousAboutFitness.com doesn’t cover very much women’s bodybuilding, this time we’re making an exception, since it’s no secret that the editor of our "Recipes" section, Helen Bouchard, is also one of the world’s best female bodybuilders, something she proved in 2006 and just can’t go unnoticed.

Helen Bouchard turned pro by winning the 2003 CBBF Canadian Women’s Bodybuilding Championships, but she was unable to make a mark in the professional world until now. Helen competed at the 2006 IFBB Atlantic City Pro event held in September; she was in remarkable shape and ended up in second place, an extraordinary achievement since this competition featured 27 pro competitors from all over the world! That second-place finish not only put Helen on the map, but qualified her for the Ms. Olympia competition in Las Vegas as well. At the Olympia she placed eighth, which is a great finish for her first time there, and she received high praise for her condition and her innovative posing routine.

Congratulations to our Canadian pros for outstanding performances in 2006, and good luck with your preparations for the 2007 season.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

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