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Paul Smith's EFBB South Coast Show on Easter Sunday is now one of the best Qualifiers in the country
and always a great day out. The Concert Hall of Portsmouth Guildhall is a venue that tries to be imposing and unobtrusive
at the same time. This Victorian Town Hall is one of those great exercises in civic pride that has left us with so much
splendid architecture, a focal point of so many a town and city. The entrance to the Concert Hall is via a small
door almost hidden at the side of the main steps. This hall will hold 2,300 people and has smaller halls on each side with
restaurants, bars and plenty of space for the exhibitors displaying gym clothing, food supplements and training equipment.
It is such a good venue it almost looks as if it was designed for the job.
So, what was my overall impression? Some great individual performances, a terrific
First Timers Class, a very impressive overall winner in Tom Blackman and a mind-blowing display from the star Art Atwood -
but where were the competitors. We have had many more on stage in previous years and Paul deserves to get better
support than this. There were several classes with only one competitor and the First Timers was the only class with more than
three. We have got to get many more competitors in every class if bodybuilding is to survive. Audiences for the shows
have been increasing in recent years, with over 1000 at this event, but we need to turn this into more bodies prepared to
do the work in the gym, to diet the diet and to compete on stage. On to the details.
Juniors
Only one Junior, David Tinsley from City Gym in Portsmouth. David
had prepared well for the show, had nice shape, good condition and great legs below a very small waist. He was
very professional with his posing and should have a great future
First Timers
This
was the class of the day with 11 good quality competitors. No one
was out of place in this line-up and if we had
to have chosen a top six it would have been a real struggle. Just finding the top three was not easy. After many comparisons
it was a win for Roy McLean from Fitness First in Eastbourne. He won because he had just about got everything right.
Good size, spot-on condition, nice shape with wide, thick lats. He also had a dark tan. Too many competitors were too
light under the strong lighting on the stage. In 2nd place was Nathan Black from Fitness First in Cannuck; not as big
as the 1st and 3rd place men but he did have a classic shape, good overall balance, great muscle separation and very sharp
condition. He was even sharper at the evening show - perhaps he had taken in a few more carbs and filled up the muscles
under the paper-thin skin. Ben James from the Fitness Warehouse in Bracknell was 3rd. I thought he was almost
good enough to win but perhaps the judges were favouring the sharper condition of the men who beat him. He has very full
muscles, well balanced - no real weaknesses - and is a great prospect. He needed a darker tan. Matt Saunders from Brian's
Gym in Bournemouth had a nice physique - just needs to carry on growing. But he had worked hard on his preparation
and won the Best Poser award.
Seniors
This class had two competitors only and
the result was bizarre. Terry
Holloway from Pinks Gym in Carshalton had the better physique. He had more muscle,
good shape and reasonable condition but he came 2nd. The problem was that he had too much muscle; he had bulges where
no muscles exist in the human body. From where I sat, I had the impression that he had gone totally overboard
with the use of some kind of artificial inflation of his arms. They appeared unnatural, gross and out of
all proportion to the rest of his body. Maybe the judges also thought he was not quite natural and marked him down.
The win went to Phillip Hindmarsh from Weights Room
in Eastleigh. He is small boned and really needs to gain more weight
before going for a harder condition.
Intermediates
There were three in this class and it was a great win for Dave Rasinski
from Bests Bodies in Peterborough. I think this was a convincing win for a man with good size and shape, wide
shoulders, very sharp abs and great intercostals and obliques. A great physique with a great future. In 2nd was Michael
David Lawley from The Maclones Fitness Centre in Hemel Hempstead. He has good thick muscle tissue and good shape and
very sharp in the upper body. He needs more work on his quads and calves. Andrew Green from LA Fitness in Bristol needs more
size and some kind of stimulation to put life into his posing.
Women's Classes
The women's classes suffered the disappearing competitor problem even more than the men but I remember that last year
women were thin on the ground. The problem is not helped by adding new categories and changing the rules of women's bodybuilding
yet again. OK girls, you look pretty good but now we want you with 20% less muscularity!!!!!! What can they
mean?
Fitness
The Fitness Class was a free ride for Leigh Gardiner from Roy's Gym in Hampton Wick. She
would have been difficult for anyone to beat; she has a great body and a very professional routine.
Body Fitness
The Body Fitness Class had three competitors and I have to say that I do not know exactly what
is required here. I wasn't the only one. The judges seemed not entirely certain either. I thought that Joanne
Gray was the winner but - No! She was 3rd. She had good muscle size and separation and a good routine but
perhaps she had too much muscle? Tracy Young from Weights Room, Eastleigh was 2nd with a much smoother look.
She needed a darker tan. The winner was Jaynid Weekes from Flex Fitness in Wood Green. She was in superb condition and
radiated health. She had a dance type
routine and she showed off her body well. Her legs go on and on
for ever.
U57KG
Women's Bodybuilding was represented by a single competitor, Mary Howard in the U57 kg Class. To
me Mary has a good basic shape but needs a bit more size, which will help her to look sharper, plus a darker tan.
Men's LW and MW
Just one LW, Cyrus Yazdani from Cheetahs Brighton. He looks a bit tall for a 70 kg man these days
and he is already near the weight limit but he has a classic shape, very full muscles and a great condition, which got even
better at the evening show. He should go far. There were two great MWs. The winner was Tom Blackman from
Next Generation in Bristol with a grade one
physique. He has shape, size and condition, all well balanced with no
real weaknesses; wide lats and a small waist with sharp muscle separation. His tan was just right - and his condition was
better still in the evening. Tom's posing music could have had Beethoven rolling in his grave in pain and torment - but the
sound was dramatic. The 2nd place went to Andy Miller from Weights Room in Eastleigh. He also has a quality physique
and on a day with few competitors he was unlucky to come up against the best. Andy has shape and condition and also
a small waist. He just needs to carry on growing.
Men's LHW
This class was
a win for Darren Oram from Scott's Gym in Melksham. Darren only just made the weight limit [by 0.5 kg] but he does have
plenty of muscle. Big thick traps set things off and he has very full pecs, wide lats and a small waist.
He could improve his presentation but this will come with experience. He has very good legs but seemed reluctant
to flex hard and bring out the cuts and condition, which we saw in just tantalising glimpses. Some 5kg lighter
was 2nd place Mark Cameron from City Gym in Portsmouth. He needs more size and better condition - I think.
His tan was very light and under the lights he seemed very flat when looked at from
any distance. The 3rd spot went to
Ruslan Gukason from Muscle Base in Enfield. He also needs a darker tan. He needs to build more muscle but his aesthetic posing
style suits his body type.
Men's HW
Two of the competitors in this class were only just over
90 kg. The winner was Eddie Gray from Bob Prowse's Health Club in Maidstone. He has good pec shape, good delts
and a terrific lower lat sweep. Bit light to do well at the British Finals but the potential is there. Dominic Cannon from
Flex Gym in Newbury was 2nd. He is not the classic shape and although he was the heaviest in the class he still needs more
size and at the same time, to tighten up his waist quite a bit. The 3rd position went to Adam Dyre from Broadstone
Sports Centre in Bournemouth; he has good shape but needs to
concentrate on getting more muscle and then tightening his
condition.
Overall
As we expected, Tom Blackman took the Overall title collecting an impressive trophy presented by IFBB
Pro Bodybuilders Harold & Karen Marillier. I hope that Tom Blackman stays with the sport because he could all the way
to the top - Mike Sheridan used to be a MW man.
Stars
The first star was Kizzi Vaines with a splendid Fitness routine that was
enjoyed by everyone.
She just gets better and better.
But many of us went to see Art Atwood and what a mind blowing experience that was. In the
afternoon Art gave a first rate seminar. He was friendly, relaxed and professional. Art weighed 295 lbs [21st 1lb] and was
just 13 lbs up on the fabulous condition he showed at the San Francisco GP a week earlier. At the evening show, we saw that
he was still in good condition and he was HUGE, HUGE. His is not a classic Dexter Jackson type physique; it is brute
force freaky, awesome, and incredible. On the stage he gob-smacked the audience into silence but then he came
down into the crowds and we saw just how big he really was. Arnold Schwartzenegger is saying that we should place classic
physiques higher than the freaks. But the fans want the freaks. And they don't come any freakier than Art Atwood.
Paul
Smith should be thanked again for organising a great show. The kids had a good day and entertained us all with an impromptu
contest with no lower age limits and prizes of Easter Eggs for everyone. There was a face painter, Mad Frankie Fraser
was there, a Basil Fawlty look-alike, former Harlem Globetrotter 6ft 10” Alan Cunningham and Kerry Kayes, as always,
did a great job as compere. Also on the Fitness Development Trade stand IFBB Pro’s Art Atwood, John Hodgson, Mike Sheridan,
Harold Marillier and Karen Marillier were there to answer questions and for signed photos.
Next year we just want more
competitors.
Article by Ron Ball of Forest Gym, Crawley
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