June 1, 2008

The SAF Elite Are Ready to Compete!

The first-ever SAF Elite competition will be held this month in conjunction with the Open competition at the Summer 2008 SAF Model Search. It all takes place on June 21 in London, Ontario, Canada.

While any woman 18 years or older can enter the Open event, the Elite competition is open only to the 16 women who are SAF-Elite qualified. Of those, only nine have been invited to compete. This is, therefore, a prestigious event featuring only a select number of competitors battling it out to see who the best of the best is.

Although there has already been plenty written about most of our SAF Elite stars, we feel it is fitting to do a little recap on the nine special women who be in London to compete. We want everyone in the audience to know who they are, so here is some more background information about each of them (in alphabetical order by last name):

Michelle De Maria is relatively new to fitness modeling, but you never would have known it when she first walked onto the stage at the Fall 2007 SAF Model Search. She looked beautiful and was brimming with confidence through both Fitness Model rounds. Michelle took the runner-up spot in the Fitness Model category, and after such a strong start in 2007 everyone’s waiting to see what she will do this year on June 21.

Vanda Hadarean is one of the most accomplished athletes in our SAF Elite group. She was in the 1992 Olympics as part of the Romanian gymnastics team, she is the reigning Miss Fitness World, and she was the Fitness Model winner at our Fall 2007 SAF Model Search. Vanda’s vast experience, along with her striking good looks and confident onstage demeanor, makes her a formidable competitor at any event. We’re excited to see how she performs at our SAF Elite event.

Aleisha Hart made quite a splash when she first stepped onto the stage at the Summer 2007 SAF Model Search. Her beautiful face, exquisitely shaped physique, and perfectly tailored bikini wowed the audience and impressed the judges. Aleisha won the Figure Model category with unanimous first-place votes, and now we’re looking forward to seeing what she brings to the stage this month in London.

The Summer 2008 SAF Model Search competition stage will be lined with these life-size banners, each featuring an SAF Elite competitor.

Michelle De Maria

Vanda Hadarean

Aleisha Hart

Anita Kus-Roberts never thought she was cut out for fitness-modeling competitions, so when she showed up at the Fall 2007 SAF Model Search, her goal was only to gain a little more stage experience. At the end of it all, though, she had the surprise of her life – Anita won the Figure Model competition. In fact, I was just talking to her the other day and she says she still has trouble believing that she won. Anita’s making no predictions for June 21, but if what happened last year is any indicator, Anita will be one competitor to keep a close eye on.

Jennifer Lambert Foster is brand new to fitness modeling but, like Michelle De Maria, you wouldn’t have known it when she stepped onstage at the Fall 2007 SAF Model Search. Jennifer looked confident and charismatic and clinched the second runner-up spot in the Figure Model category. Jennifer has natural beauty, a nicely shaped physique, and good stage presence that should help her to do well in the SAF Elite competition.

Michelle Matthews is a multi-time figure champion who impressed the judges and audience at the Fall 2007 SAF Model Search with her superbly shaped and conditioned physique. Michelle was the first runner-up in the Figure Model category, and she also won the award for "Best Competitor Over 35."

Anita Kus-Roberts

Jennifer Lambert Foster

Michelle Matthews

Jaime Price is an experienced figure competitor who looked amazing onstage in both rounds of the Fitness Model competition at the Summer 2007 SAF Model Search. Jaime has a very attractive face and a superbly conditioned physique, which explains why she does well in both figure and fitness-modeling competitions. Jaime was the second runner-up in the Fitness Model category at the Summer 2007 SAF Model Search, and everyone here is looking forward to seeing her in this month’s competition.

Natalie Waples is currently Canada’s top-ranked amateur figure competitor – she’s the 2007 CBBF National World Qualifier Overall Champion and she won her class at the 2008 Arnold Amateur IFBB International Figure Championships. Natalie has also competed successfully in modeling-type competitions, winning the Miss Bikini Canada contest in 2000 and, more recently, the Miss Grand Prix Toronto in 2006. Furthermore, Natalie has graced the cover of SeriousAboutFitness.com five times, more than anyone else, and her image was used on the poster for the Summer 2007 SAF Model Search. Natalie is an SAF Elite star and we’re all waiting to see how she performs in London.

Christy Wolfe has one of the most recognizable faces and physiques in Canada, largely because of the exposure she’s had in SeriousAboutFitness.com and on our network of related sites. We’re glad to showcase Christy (we began photographing her in 2000) because she has the kind of look that’s inspiring to women who want to get into shape. But Christy doesn’t just look good in photos – Christy’s also an accomplished figure competitor, winning the CBBF National World Qualifier competition in 2006, and she represented Canada at the IFBB World Championships in Spain that same year. We’re very excited about seeing Christy step onstage for our first SAF Elite show.

Jaime Price

Natalie Waples

Christy Wolfe

The SAF Elite portion of the Summer 2008 SAF Model Search features nine beautiful women who are the best of the best and will help to make this one of the most exciting and memorable events of 2008. See you in London on June 21 – it’s a competition you don’t want to miss.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

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