2015 Knight of Champions Review

KNIGHT OF CHAMPIONS
SHOW REVIEW
BY DAVID FORD, STATUS FITNESS MAGAZINE
2015 Knight of Champions Review
By David Ford, Status Fitness Magazine
The Knight of Champions made a positive impact in the province
of British Columbia for the BCABBA this past weekend at the
Chandos Pattison Auditorium, Surrey, B.C.. Tamara Knight has
long been one of the country’s top bodybuilders and has devoted
countless hours over the years volunteering in various capacities.
This past weekend she made the dream of hosting her own show
a reality and as a competitor herself she delivered on everything
she felt amateur competitors deserved in a novice show.
Between shows and after the evening concluded I had the
opportunity to speak with several competitors to see what their
first hand experiences were. Here are a few responses. “It was
my first show and it was even more than I imagined.” Another
shared, “I have done a couple shows and this one was the most
organized. The swag bag was great and the trophy I won was by
far the nicest I’ve been given. Kudos to the promoter.” From
someone who has competed in other organizations: “I have done
shows in other organizations but I felt this was the most fairly
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judged based on my physique. The show ran smoothly and was well-organized back stage. I will
definitely recommend it to my friends.”Being one of the new shows added to the 2015 BCABBA
schedule, and coming at the end of the summer, I was interested to see how the reception would be
by the competitors, the audience and sponsors. I was pleasantly surprised in all areas. Competitors
that stepped on stage Saturday had for-gone many temptations over the summer months and it was
apparent everyone deserved to be on stage. The benefit to an early show like this is that now the Top
5 can focus on nearly 10 months of prep before Provincials (date yet to be announced) in 2016. That
time frame allows for some significant opportunities to adjust physiques, not just perfect posing.
Many of those who placed will be contenders for Provincial title honours next summer.
Magnum Nutraceuticals was title sponsor at the show and had one of the most popular booths in the
lobby. I have seen the growth, both in product line and integrity, of Magnum since I met owner
Markus Kaulius more than eight years ago. I know how much work he and his team put into the
company and it’s great to see them give back to the competitors in many shows each year. By
observation, every booth that was present saw a lot of traffic. The venue was set up nicely so that the
audience had a chance to conveniently visit each of the booths during intermission and between
shows. Well done Tamara.
Women's Physique
The day began with Women’s Physique. I’m somewhat surprised at the slow response this division
has seen since it began. I had anticipated more bodybuilders to participate as well as more of the
more muscular figure competitors. That said, the numbers are still relatively low, however, the quality
has been present both in BC and Alberta and I would venture across the country as well. Very rarely
have I noticed someone that was completely out of place in this class and at the Knight of
Champions both competitors showed up ready to compete. At registration on Friday, the moment I
saw Jill Foley I stated “there is your physique winner right there”. Even before seeing who her
competition was, I knew this girl had an advanced physique that has potential to continue to the
highest levels in the country. What I didn’t realize was that Rhea Proulx wasn’t about to let Jill easily
walk away with a win and came in conditioned and ready to compete. Rhea battled hard but in the
end, Jill’s proportions and conditioning were hard to beat and she placed first with Rhea in second.
Well done ladies.
Men's Bodybuilding
At registration when I met Sean Bennett, I learned it had been twelve years since he last stepped on
stage. Not to be fooled, I could see it in Sean’s face that he was on point and was bringing his
A-game ready to battle. Fortunately for others, Sean was the lone competitor in his master’s
bodybuilding class. His conditioning was on as you can see in his photo.
In the Lightweight Bodybuilding Class Voltaire Gragasin’s size and shape edged out Jesse Browne
and Jerry White.
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BCABBA President Ross
Duncan congratulates
David Mardell on his
Overall win at the
Knight of Champions.
Middleweight Bodybuilding saw a competitive class battle for position.
What was interesting, and is always a challenge for the judges, is the
question, do you favor conditioning over proportions? In this class the
judges went with conditioning and gave first place to razor sharp Azad
Palani. Nick Cosgrove placed second, Aaron Marshall third, Sunny Gill
in forth, and Mike Jacuk in fifth.
Light-heavy weight saw a battle of some big boys. David Mardell took
top honors and went on to win the Overall title. Master winner Sean
Bennett placed second, Benjamin Wondga third, and Damian Nardini
fourth.
In the heavyweight division, we saw one competitor Greg Greenough
who has nice shape. With added size and conditioning, watch for him
at Provincials in 2016.
For the Overalls, we saw Voltaire, Azad, David and Greg battle it out.
David’s proportions and conditioning was enough to win him the overall
Knight of Champions title. Congratulations David.
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Figure
The Figure classes proved competitive despite the smaller
numbers. Figure Grandmaster class went to Lisa Cindrich, with
Lynn Willard placing second. Lisa is motivating and has an
inspiring story to share which we will be sharing on our website
shortly – be sure to check it out. Figure Masters saw Nicole
Forrest placing first, Natasha Sauer second. Figure Short saw
good competition between Nicole Forrest and Lisa Cindrich. At
the end of the evening Lisa placed first. The Figure Tall Class had
five competitors with Rachel Cornell placing first. She was
followed by Christina Shellard, Natasha Sauer, Selishia Smith and
Lynn Willard. Rachel Cornell took home overall Figure honours.
Guest Poser - Zoa Linsey
Following the Figure division we were treated to a guest
performance by IFBB Physique pro Zoa Linsey. Over the past five
years Zoa has made a name for herself across the industry. She
has competed in both the Arnold and the Olympia, the pinnacle
event of the sport. Zoa’s husband Joseph sat right behind me
and had his video ready to record. I could tell by his energy we
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Guest Poser IFBB Pro
Zoa Linsey performed
an exciting routine that
definitely entertained
the audience.
were in for a treat and of course Zoa delivered. Thank you Zoa, it was
great to see you bring a well-conditioned physique to the stage as well
as a well-rehearsed routine that was entertaining while showcasing
such an elite physique. That said, what I was almost most impressed
by was how quickly Zoa recuperated and was able to address the
audience. The majority of times after an exhausting performance, it
takes several minutes for guest posers to catch their breath. Goes to
show that physique athletes are just that, athletes.
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Men’s Physique
Men’s Physique is a very quickly growing category. In past shows
I have seen ex-bodybuilders trying to “sneak” into this division,
posing to ultimately hide the fact they still pack a lot of muscle
mass. At this show, these silent monsters were absent and the
division appeared more in line with what is being set at the
highest levels – the Arnold and the Olympia.
In Men’s Physique Short we saw four men “gallop” on stage, as
our MC so eloquently put it. James Song, who many of you have
met leading up to the show in his Success Story shared on our
Status Fitness website, brought a complete package of size,
symmetry and conditioning and took first place. Terry Burgess
had the judges’ votes for second place, Ketan Arora placed third
and Mike Anthony came in forth.
Men’s Physique Tall was a competitive class to say the least. The
top five callout gave good indication that the judges were looking
to see who would best present their physiques. One or two
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Men’s Physique B
Class. Sponsored by
Status Fitness partner
Magnum
Nutraceuticals.
competitors were called up, a couple sent back into the line-up before
a final six were compared for final positions. Even as the night was
coming to an end, the decision hadn’t been finalized and a tie vote was
decided before the Top 5 placements were announced. Gurjinder Virk
and Benjamin Edu were neck and neck all day but at the end of the
evening it was Gurjinder who took home first place and eventually the
Overall win. Both Gurjinder and Benjamin had 10 points each going
into the final decision. Benjamin had nice size and great stage
presence that saw him end up in a very close second position. Both
Gurjinder and Benjamin will do damage at the Provincials in 2016.
Cody Harker wasn’t about to let the title slip by easily and placed a
very close third with a total of 13 points. Rounding out the Top Five
were Daniel Siu and Mike Leslie.
Bikini
The Bikini Classes rounded out the show and provided the audience
with some close competition. I, for one, was off on a couple of my calls.
In the Master Class, Yelena Yermolenko was the clear choice of the
judges as she received all first place votes. Charmane Learning
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brought her A-Game too and had to settle for second. Tammy
McDonald took home a third place trophy. Nice work ladies.
The Bikini A class was competitive. That said, I felt no one
brought an entire package of shape, conditioning and posing
which is why this class turned out to be more competitive than it
was at first glance. Posing is an element that is sometimes
overlooked during practice leading up to a show and it is
something that can see placements vary which I felt happened
here. I have witnessed dozens of bikini competitions over the
years, have judged many, but couldn’t pick a favorite to win this
class on this day. Those judging this class had their work cut out
as evident by the final votes. Kristy Jacobs presented the most
complete package of the day and tallied 12 points. I felt Cassidy
McKeown had the strongest physique in the class but was off
slightly with her posing which gave her a point total of 13. Arlene
Neufeld kept things interesting and brought great stage
presence, good posing and a good physique to the stage for a
total of 14 points. Billy-Jean Nye and Danielle Dewar rounded out
the Top 5.
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Bikini B saw Sheriece Kowch receive first place votes across the
board for a total score of 5. The beautiful Negar Saberi placed
second, Master winner Yelena Yermolenko came third, Angelica
Paris-Thompson fourth and the striking Kate Kryger in fifth.
Bikini C was competitive and saw a tie for first between Tae Kwon
Do instructor Rachael Brew and Natalie Amoore. The tie was
broken and Rachael received the first place trophy as a result.
Coming in third place was Madeline Angus, with Charmane
Learning in forth, Nicole Bates in fifth and Jessica Crome in sixth.
Thank You Tamara
Thank you to Tamara Knight for putting on a wonderful show.
Thank you to all the volunteers who allowed things to run so
smoothly both on stage and backstage and to all the competitors
who took to the stage. You all worked extremely hard and
deserved to be up there!! Be proud of your journey.
Status Fitness Magazine enjoyed the show immensely and is
planning to be back in 2016 to cover this event even more
extensively. SFM
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