Report - 2008 CBBF Canadian Figure and Fitness Nationals

Tamara Vahn and Chantal Dicaire

The 2008 CBBF Canadian Figure and Fitness National Championships were held in New Westminster, British Columbia on Saturday, August 9th.

August 11, 2008

Special for Bodybuilding Weekly

The Canadian National Figure and Fitness Championships are one of the most anticipated shows of the year for those of us south of the border, because they usually represent a nice change of pace relative to what's happening at the national level in the United States.  Because there are so few opportunities for the incredibly qualified and talented Canadian athletes they all bring their "A" game - the level of conditioning and muscle is amazing.  Physique excellence abounds everywhere you look and anyone paying attention can rest assured that the individuals sent to the pro ranks will be extremely deserving.  Promoters Ross Webb and high-flying IFBB fitness pro Sandra Wickham put on such a good show that we may see this event out on the left coast for a while.  Last year's Nationals were held in Edmonton, Alberta.

The theme of the night was persistance, because several competitors who did well in previous years moved up this time around.  Persistance especially paid off for Manitoba's Deanne Brown, who was the figure star of the night.  After improving her placing considerably in 2007, placing second in the masters division and only one point out of second in figure medium, Deanne took the next step up to take both overall titles this year, in the open division and the masters division.  The keys to her wins included excellent symmetry, ripped and capped shoulders and a very tight waist.  Although muscle maturity and success late in one's career has always been prevalent in women's bodybuilding, figure athletes throughout the competitive spectrum have been proving that age is just a number and that muscle maturity matters in figure as well.

  Deanne Brown

The Canadian federation has the discretion to award additional pro cards to athletes that they deem deserving, particularly because so few cards are available in Canada.  In this case two additional pro cards were awarded.  In the figure division, Brown swept both the open and the masters classes - which means she qualified for a pro card twice!  So with a second figure professional card available, the judging panel chose to award it to British Columbian country girl and medium-tall class winner Macey Boudreau.

The figure Medium-Tall division was the most interesting of the night.  Boudreau won the class for the second year in a row but this time she was elevated to pro eligibility.  Macey presents just about the best combination of muscle and fitness model beauty that you will find anywhere, and this year she brought her quads down just enough to improve her overall balance.  She is a superb addition to the pro ranks and although current trends in muscularity at the pro level might currently be working against her we are all hopeful that common sense will prevail and that the next pendelum swing will make quality, feminine muscle back in favor.  Melanie Cheang from Regina is a perennial favorite who always has some of the best calves on stage, and she followed up on last year's second place finish with a third place this year.

  Melanie and Macey

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night came in the Medium-Tall division, when superstar and favorite Lori-Ann Redding was forced to withdraw due to illness.  Simply put, Lori-Ann has one of the best female physiques in the world and we expect her to bounce back with impact at North Americans in Cleveland later this month.  Ditto for beautiful fitness model Natalie Waples from Ontario, the Class E winner from the Arnold Amateur, who tends to fare better in the United States where her streamlined physique type is more appreciated.

Another standout competitor, Kim Tilden, won the figure tall class.  Kim is someone who we have had pegged for an eventual pro card for quite some time.  The second place finisher in the class was Melanie Saez, who came in with hardness and an excellent presentation.  We recognized Melanie from when she won the tall class at the 2006 IFBB French Championships so it was a pleasant surprise to see her in British Columbia.

Bonnie McKechnie moved up from fourth last year to second in the figure short class, while Jennifer Jewell brought her solidly muscled physique over to figure from the fitness division to take the class.  We felt that Aleisha Hart, who is guided by expert trainer Laura Binetti and who took third, had amazing lines and the type of physique that could be blowing people away in the USA ... so we hope to see her at North Americans or at next year's Arnold.

The figure medium class was particularly notable for what it did not have, and that was a first call-out by Leah Berti who was dialed in and looking gorgeous.  Even though Leah was overlooked, the winners were deserving and the overall champion came from this class.  While we agreed with most of the judging in this show, we would have flipped some things around in the medium class - other than the champion Deanne who dominated the field.       

In the fitness division, Tamara Vahn won the title and Chantal Dicaire took the tall class and was awarded a secondary, discretionary card.  Both fitness divisions were extraordinarily stacked, as evidenced by Arnold Amateur champion Allison Ethier's third place in the short class.  Sylvia Tremblay is a fitness icon and we think that ultimately it would do the Canadian federations good to send her to the pro ranks to represent the country - but she'll have to wait until the next time out. 

The four new IFBB professionals join the three pro card winners from Canadian Nationals last year:  overall fitness champion Marnie Holly, masters figure champion CeaAnna Kerr, and open figure champion Jeni Briscoe.

For more coverage of this event and complete results over the next few days please visit the Canadian coverage page at FigureRX - Everything Figure, Fitness and Women's Bodybuilding.  We also recommend looking at each athlete's photo and history page here at Bodybuilding Weekly.

Figure Nationals

Overall Champion:  Deanne Brown  <== IFBB Pro Card Winner

Figure Short Class
1. Jennifer Jewell
2. Bonnie McKechnie
3. Aleisha Hart
4. Nathalie Clermont
5. Teresa Funk
6. Nicole Boyne
7. Angela DeFrancesco
8. Maranda Lessard-Kerr
9. Tanya Watkins
10. Tracy Garey
11. Heather Leblanc
12. Natalie Peterson (withdrew)

Figure Medium Class
1. Deanne Brown 
2. Lauren Arnold 
3. Fawnia (Mondey) Dietrich
4. Maria Morrone
5. Christie Sharun
6. Tanya Nawolski
7. Pauline Trinier
8. Melissa Lefebvre
9. Rachel Vienneau-Leblanc
10. Linn Bouchard
11. Meaghan Prince
12. Tammy Humeny
13. Leah Berti
14. Eva Sefcova
15. Paula Ryff
16. Amber Forrest
16. Gloria Mohninger

Figure Medium-Tall Class
1. Macey Boudreau  <== IFBB Pro Card Winner
2. Tamara Beckers
3. Melanie Cheang
4. Myriam Cantin
5. Ginette Delhaes
6. Francisca Dennis
7. Natalie Waples
8. Christine Marchant
9. Tina Kellogg
10. Melissa Price
11. Lisane Paquette
12. Jo-Ann Broda
13. Katy Unruh
14. Carol Watts
15. Lori-Ann Redding (withdrew)

Figure Tall Class
1. Kim Tilden
2. Melanie Saez
3. Charlene Akhurst
4. Christina Dzieduszycki
5. Michelle Krack
6. Heather Dean
7. Karolina Pawlak
8. Sheri Fisher
9. Justyna Tecza
10. Keashia Wester
11. Sonya Breton
12. Maria Sharp
13. Martine Thebeau
14. Kristen Prior
15. Tamara Archer
16. Lori Mork
16. Valerie Richman
16. Lisa Giesbrecht
16. Tina Kelly
16. Patricia Hannas

Masters Overall Champion:  Deanne Brown

Masters Class
1. Deanne Brown
2. Lauren Arnold
3. Ginette Delhaes
4. Maria Morrone
5. Nathalie Clermont
6. Melissa Lefebvre
7. Eleonora Gusevski
8. Pauline Trinier
9. Sonya Breton
10. Linn Bouchard
11. Tracy Garey
12. Tamara Archer
13. Katy Unruh
14. Patricia Hannas
15. Carol Watts
16. Lisa Giesbrecht
16. Gloria Mohninger

Fitness Nationals

Fitness Overall Champion:  Tamara Vahn  <== IFBB Pro Card Winner

Fitness Short Class
1. Tamara Vahn
2. Sylvia Tremblay
3. Allison Ethier
4. Allison Black-Stirling
5. Jodi Boam
6. Ocean Bloom
7. Christy Kearney
8. Crystal Arneson
9. Carla Marie Viberg Ledinski
10. Kim Scoffins
11. Linda Cusmano
12. Marla Grant
13. Carey Burch
14. Kirsten Loewer
15. Lindsey Lipovsky
16. Meghan McCurdy

Fitness Tall Class
1. Chantal Dicaire  <== IFBB Pro Card Winner
2. Renee Berard Ericsson
3. Trish Lavender
4. Trina Johnson
5. Kira Forster
6. Cindy Jones
7. Lisa Kinney
8. Samantha Mack

Source:  FigureRX national coverage network