2004 Canadian Bodybuilding Nationals Contest Report

August 21, 2004 - by gene x hwang

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - As Alberta hosted the Canadian Nationals for 2004, a host of bodybuilders were on hand to follow up on a tremendous 2003 edition which saw two new IFBB Pro women bodybuilders. However, this year there was only to be the standard single pro card offered up to the overall women's bodybuilding champion but she was no less deserving as Qubec's Louise St. Pierre topped an incredibly tough heavyweight class to win not only the heavies, but also the overall.

But it started out this year with a single Junior competitor, Cindy Phillips from faraway Nova Scotia. Phillips was only competing in her second show, but showed great stage presence, and at such a young age, some very strong development. She would have looked fine joining the ranks of the open women as well, and admitted afterwards that she should have considered that. Phillips may have won the title without any competition on stage that night, but to be there is impressive in itself, and from the looks of it, she should be one to keep an eye on in future competitions with an impressive upper body and nice overall shapes.

The masters class once again was incredibly deep showing that one can compete and bodybuild well into their 40's and beyond. The champion of the class was Sherrie Agius from Ottawa. With the most shredded physique on stage, Agius also showcased some unbelievable hamstrings and tight glutes to compliment the rest of her.

Following Agius was the impressively thick and dense muscularity of Sherry-Ann Dillon/Jacobs. Ellen Partnoy looked improved from the year before and her thicker upper body and tight conditioning helped her to make the tough top three.

Others that looked notable included Grete Clary and Petra Lemke.

The lightweight class was the smallest, but another new face and promising young star is Carmen Tocheniuk. Tocheniuk's mother and brother were in the first row cheering her on, and her 2nd place finish was based on the strength of her crisp physique and tight muscularity. While not as thick, she will be able to add nice muscle on her frame and still maintain her symmetry quite easily. Third went to Leslie Epp and Petra Lemke took the class with the most balanced physique of the bunch.

The middleweights featured Carmen Unger dropping down to the class and she looked similar to her heavyweight version but her conditioning was a bit off. On Sunday afternoon, she looked amazing and said that she had learned a bit more from this dieting experience and promises to dial it in the next time around. Masters champ Sherrie Agius took third, and should be thrilled considering the calibre of the top two finishers.

Once again it was Nicole Ball looking tremendous and this year, Nadia Nardi (first name pronounced na-DEE-uh) came storming onto the stage with a physique that impressed everyone. In 2003 her genetic structure and shape were notable, but she needed to add some size and come in sharper and she did both this year. It looks like a new rivalry will blossom this year as both Ball and Nardi plan to come to Montreal for the 2005 Canadian Nationals so look out for both to look even better next year.

Ellen Partnoy took fourth followed by Under and Jody Wald took sixth.

When the heavyweights too the stage, everyone could see that it would be a battle royale between Autumn Raby, Pam Howard and Louise St. Pierre. From the callouts though, it seemed that initially it would be between Raby and Howard, and towards the end of prejudging it looked to be Raby's show.

During the night show, St. Pierre looked even better and in the end was the class winner. All three would make strong pros, and the quality was impressive from conditioning to shape to muscularity. If Howard or Raby decide on the North Americans, look out!

Following that impressive trio were Sherry-Ann Dillon/Jacobs from the Masters class and newcomer Jessica Oscroft who's exotic look and aesthetic lines can hold a lot more muscle, so look out for her.

Oh Canada!
In addition to the quality of the athletes was the quality of the competition overall. From the excellent work of the promoters, to the choice of venue, to the efficiency of the show - our neighbors to the North showed that they know how to do it.

In a country where the population is sparse and the competitors and fans have to come from far away, it still felt more like a warm atmosphere with the Canadians and French-Canadians all providing different flavor from their posing routines to their provincial tracksuits.

Another nice touch that American promoters should take heed of is the handing out of sheets with competitor names and numbers during the finals. That way people can see who is on stage, as well as where they are from. When the athletes were announced, the emcee also read out thanks that the competitors had and it was a nice touch for them for all the hard work they put in, which almost inevitably includes a host of others who supported (or put up with) them.

Finally, the guest poser for the competition was the ageless Diana Dennis. Now working with Canadian IFBB Pro Helen Bouchard, Dennis has prepared an amazing routine that was artistic in her signature style and had the audience captivated. Even with a torn hamstring, the 53-year-old Dennis performed flawlessly and was a perfect example of how bodybuilding can also be marketed as art. Hopefully there will be more physique athletes inspired by her routine and it'll be reflected as another channel to promote bodybuilding.

For more info on the Canadian Nationals, don't forget to check out the BUZZ to see who else was there in the audience and more!

Results

Bodybuilding Overall: Louise St. Pierre* Lightweights 1) Petra Lemke 2) Carmen Tocheniuk 3) Leslie Epp Middleweights 1) Nicole Ball 2) Nadia Nardi 3) Sherrie Agius 4) Ellen Partnoy 5) Carmen Unger 6) Jody Wald 7) Cheryl Wozniak 8) Roseanna Blackburn 9) Kandy Thomas Heavyweights 1) Louise St. Pierre* 2) Autumn Raby 3) Pam Howard 4) Sherry-Ann Dillon/Jacobs 5) Jessica Oscroft 6) Grete Clary 7) Angela Pietramala 8) Kim Emde * Earns IFBB pro card

Junior Bodybuilding Overall: Cindy Phillips Masters Bodybuilding 1) Sherrie Agius 2) Sherry-Ann Dillon/Jacbos 3) Ellen Partnoy 4) Petra Lemke 5) Grete Clary 6) Leslie Epp 7) Kandy Thomas 8) Lore Schwuchow Men's Masters Bodybuilding 1) Patrick Skailes 2) Tony Partipilo 3) Herbert Orth Men's Grandmasters Bodybuilding 1) Gilles Bellehumeur 2) Bill Adamoski 3) Al Gray 4) Terry Stewart