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Bartlett's Bodybuilding Chronicles
February 2010
A BIG YEAR AHEAD FOR THE CBBF
Welcome to a new year of Canadian Bodybuilding & Fitness! I am very excited and looking forward to the many great events that the CBBF has in store for us in 2010.
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2009 CBBF Overall Master's Winner & Pro Robert Belisle
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On a high note, 2009 proved a great year for the Province of British Columbia under the leadership of BC President Sandra Wickman and along with husband Ross Webb promoted a very successful Canadian National Figure/Fitness Championships in Westminster. The next weekend BC promoter Kosta Kromidas hosted the Canadian National Bodybuilding Championships in North Vancouver. Both events produced some great new Canadian Pros such as Ontario’s Mike Van Wyck, Alberta’s Bob Belisle, Saskatchewan’s Lyris Cappelle, Quebec’s Sylvia Tremblay, Ontario’s Kin Tilden, Aleisha Hart, Quebec’s Ginette Delhaes, and British Columbia’s first Canadian Bikini winner Leigh Lingham. A few weeks later Ontario’s sultry Silvana Salvati , Quebec’s feisty Allison Either and BC’s superbly conditioned Zoa Linsey earned their pro cards at the IFBB North American Championships in Ohio.
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Zoa Lindsey - CBBF Pro
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Perhaps one of the most positive things to happen in 2009 for Canadian athletes is the growth and success of “Inside Fitness Magazine”! Publisher Terry Frendo has a tremendous passion for Canadian bodybuilding and fitness athletes and has devoted his entire magazine to covering the Canadian scene. Inside Fitness Magazine is the only publication in the world that devotes its entire editorial space to covering Canadian’s. It has been my dream to see a bodybuilding and fitness magazine devoted entirely to covering Canada’s best. Now, when I see provincial competition reports fully featured after being ignored for so many years by the other magazines I am filled with pride and gratitude to Terry for his courage and generosity at providing Canadian athletes from every part of Canada the opportunity to get some much deserved exposure in a National magazine. In discussing this with Terry he has assured me that this is only the beginning and it is his desire to continue to build the magazine and feature Canadian athletes. We owe Terry a huge debt of gratitude and I would suggest everyone reading this, to go out every month and buy a copy of “Inside Fitness”. Don’t just read it, and put back up on the book shelve, take it to the counter and buy it! That is the only way that we can support the continued growth and coverage of our athletes in this high caliber publication.
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2009 CBBF National Bikini Winner & Pro Leigh Lingham
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With 2009 now in the history books a new competitive season is just around the corner and hopefully we all can move forward into a positive direction in the best interests of all Canadian athletes.
First up, is Joe Spinello’s 2010 CBBF Canadian Natural Physique Championships scheduled for April 3rd in Laval, Quebec. For the first time the CBBF will be offering a Pro card to the winner of the Overall Figure Championships, Fitness and Bikini categories. Unfortunately, a Pro card will not be offered to the winners of the men or women’s bodybuilding category’s as they are reserved only for the Canadian National Bodybuilding Championship Overall winners. However, the Bodybuilding winners will have the opportunity to qualify for the IFBB Canadian team representing Canada at this falls IFBB World Championships in Mexico City (Women’s) and Baku, Azerbaijan (Men’s)
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2009 CBBF Overall Winner and Pro Mike Van Wyck
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Promoter of this year’s Natural show Joe Spinello knows more than any other amateur bodybuilder the excitement and prestige of representing Canada at the World Championships.
“As a bodybuilder I have done it all, winning all the amateur shows in my home province of Quebec, winning the Canadian nationals, and competed as a pro against all the best! But the memories of my competitive career that I cherish the most was when I represented Canada at the 1987 IFBB World Championships where I won the Junior title. There is nothing like competing against the world’s best! I still get chocked up when I think back to the evening finals when they placed the first place gold medal around my neck. The atmosphere and excitement with so many athletes from so many country’s sets the world championships apart from any other bodybuilding show!”
Quebec elite athletes Denis Pedneault & Sylvia Tremblay both share the same passion and positive experiences from the IFBB World Championships as both represented Canada at last falls events. Pedneault proved without a doubt that he is one of the world’s best Bantamweight athletes finishing in fourth place against a very tough lineup. Tremblay dazzled the world stage with her artistic and flamboyant fitness routine and superb balanced physique with an impressive 6th place finish.
Spinello has always had a special passion for the World Championships and continues to preach the positive aspects of competing at the worlds!
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Both Syliva Tremblay & Allison Either Earned IFBB Pro Cards in 2009
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Last year he promoted the first annual Canadian Natural Physique Championships in Laval, Quebec. It was at that show that Tremblay & Pedneault along with nine other Canadian athletes earned their qualification to compete at the 2009 IFBB World Championships.
“I am proud to promote this event in Quebec as it is the only contest in Canada that qualifies athletes the opportunity to represent Canada at the IFBB World Championships. Yes, there are a lot of other organizations out there but the only one that really counts, is the IFBB, regardless of what anyone might think or say!”
Joe is correct, there are a lot of organizations out there looking to capitalize on the many years of hard work done by those who have built up Canadian bodybuilding. But it is only through competing at CBBF events can a Canadian athlete obtain the opportunity to compete at the IFBB worlds, Arnold Amateur, IFBB North American Championships or earn a Pro card and go on to compete at Arnold Classic or the Mr. Olympia.
The Canadian Bodybuilding Federation goes back to the mid forties when Ben and Joe Weider then living in Quebec formed it. I have worked and covered CBBF national events for over 30 years and it is the only national organization with a long history and credited track record of elite champions and top-notch events. Joe Spinello and Ben Brodeur are two such individuals who have worked hard along with many others building the sport in Quebec and Canada. A lot of the new organizations are only interested in making money with no set rules or regulations to govern themselves. To gain competitors they dangle prize money, promise publicity, and even pro status, which is only good for their particular shows. Their bombardment of propaganda on the inter-net often confuses athletes who are unaware of the limitations of competing in these shows and are frustrated when they are turned down from competing in a prestigious show such as the Arnold Amateur by not qualifying through a CBBF event.
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Quebec's Denis Pedneault 4th place Bantamweight 2009 IFBB Wolrd Championships
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The Canadian Bodybuilding Federation is the only bodybuilding and fitness organization that has official and organized recognition in every province in Canada with a long history of sanctioned provincial competitions.
In its continuing efforts to raise the bar for Canadian athletes the CBBF will be adding the Bikini Model Search category to the 2010 Natural Physique Championships. This new division is growing in popularity throughout Canada and I expect to see some of Canada’s most fit and attractive models on stage in April.
This year’s CBBF Natural Physique Championships will prove to be one of the most competitive in the Figure, Fitness, and Bikini Model divisions because the winners will receive a Pro card. With the addition of a Pro card many of Canada’s top figure, fitness and bikini athletes will land in Laval on the weekend of April 3, 2010 all dreaming of winning that coveted Pro card that is the only way to someday stand on the Olympia stage. This was the case with Quebec’s dynamo Myriam Capes who finished an impressive 6th at last year’s Ms Fitness Olympia. She won her Pro card at a CBBF event back in 2005.
On the weekend of August 14th President of the Saskatchewan bodybuilding Association Harvey Viteychuk will be bringing the Canadian National Bodybuilding Championships back to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Many of us remember the great show Harvey promoted back in 2006 that took place over two days with a record number of 136 athletes. As one of Canada’s best promoters, Harvey is excited about this year’s event where for the first time in its long history, the nationals will be without the juniors and Masters categories.
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CBBF Canadian Figure Pro Silvana Salvati
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“ I know by taking the juniors and Masters out of the Nationals that many Canadian athletes are disappointed but in reality, I think we will have a better show with the focus being strictly on the various open weight class’s! Over the years the show has just grown cumbersome with so many categories resulting in a marathon competition. I am looking forward to a shorter but more intense competitive Nationals and will make sure that this will be one of the best Canadians to date!”
All those disappointed Master and Junior athletes won’t have to wait long to strut their stuff, as two weeks later on August 28th Ontario’s top promotional duel of Melanie Horton & Laura Binetti will be promoting the CBBF Canadian Bikini, Figure and Fitness Championships & Junior, Master, Grandmaster Bodybuilding Championships in Mississauga at the prestigious Living Arts Center. It has been six years since the last national event was promoted in Ontario and Melanie is very excited to bring back this event to Mississauga.
“Laura and I really enjoyed promoting the 2004 CBBF Figure/Fitness nationals in Brantford but this year’s event will surpass that one by light years. The Living Arts Center is one of the most luxurious and prestigious theaters in Canada and by hosting the Nationals there the bar will be raised to a new level! The addition of the Masters & Juniors to the Figure, Bikini, and Fitness categories guarantees that this will be one of the most fantastic national competitions to date. With the show back in Ontario I fully expect that there will be a record number of athletes competing the weekend of August 28th. I would really encourage athletes and fans to really plan to attend this event as the area around the hotel and theater in Mississauga is a fantastic place for a vacation with the excellent shopping malls within walking distance. This is one show that Canadian athletes and fans don’t want to miss!”
With the best CBBF Canadian promoters all working so hard, 2010 is shaping up to be one very exciting year for fans and athletes. I can hardly wait and have already begun dusting off my cameras to capture all the action from Canada’s best!
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2009 CBBF Overall National Figure Winner & Pro Kim Tilden
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2009 CBBF Overall Winner and Pro Lyris Cappelle
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CBBF Figure Pro Aleisha Hart
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CBBF Figure Pro Ginette Delhaes
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I welcome your comments!
grbartlett@yahoo.com
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Garry Bartlett is a leading authority on Canadian bodybuilding, figure and fitness.
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Archived Chronicles:
January 2009
June 2008
April 2008
January 2008
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