Masters Figure

The Master Figure was no surprise for those of us who have been fortunate to witness southern Alberta's Lisa Taylor's  sudden emergence into the sport. Lisa was a standout in Red Deer at the Alberta Master Figure Provincials and was a solid contender in the open class at that show against favorite Lynda Thoresen who has been turning heads on the NPC circuit in the USA.  Once again Lisa hit her mark and with her win, Lisa was granted an IFBB Pro Card allowing her to compete in the IFBB Pro Master Figure Class. Heather Alexander never leaves anything to chance and once again demonstrated why she won the Alberta Provincial title a couple years earlier. In third place, fellow Albertan Liz Moran showed great conditioning and muscle maturity. In it's inaugural appearance at Nationals we witnessed many great physiques in the Masters Figure class. You can be sure it will be growing in leaps and bounds over the next few years. It's great to see the addition of this class as it opens a new door for many long time competitors.

Figure Short

I not only have the privilege of taking in Alberta's shows and at last years BC provincials I was able to witness a solid, muscular, yet full athlete Bonnie McKechnie from Vancouver Island. Displaying symmetrical muscle mass, Bonnie's fullness prevailed over Nova Scotia's lean but nicely shaped Tracey MacDonald. Tracey had previously competed in the Fitness discipline but, like many other athletes who eventually feel the effects of rigorous floor routines, decided to go the route of longevity and will definitely be a top contender in her class in 2007. Rounding out the top three in Figure Short was Ontario's Lorraine Chan who has personality to burn. Although Figure often times doesn't give the stage to display additional qualities, Lorraine lit up the stage the following day at the David Ford Fitness Model Search at West Edmonton Mall. Four Albertans including Jackie Pawluk and Angela Robinson followed suit.

Figure Medium

Womens Figure Medium saw five Alberta athletes place in the top six. This was definitely an interesting class and likely much closer then scores reveal. Jill St. Laurent was undoubtedly the favourite going into this show but regardless, she was not in for an easy fight. The tolls of Jill's hard work came into play as the group stood for close to a half hour on stage while the judges compared the athletes. Jill was a trooper and was able to hang in and as the show went on became stronger. She was able to hold off bodybuilder turned figure athlete Lynda Thoresen who likely displayed some of the best posing of the day. Lynda works with IFBB icon Monica Brant Peckham and many have even compared the two ladies. Lynda's poise and presentation is outstanding and caught the eye of veteran contest photographer Doug Schneider from Bodybuildinglive.com. Lynda was 14 points back of Jill at the end of the night. Calgary's Lisa Lattery presented one of the most symmetrical physiques in her class... amazing shoulder-waist-quad ratio. Watch for Lisa to be a threat in 2007. Emmanuela Pintus from Windsor Ontario is definitely another athlete who will be a top contender in 2007 if the judging goes the route of the NPC and IFBB pro circuit. Emmanuela has always presented the package she is happiest with and regardless if it's the exact look the judges are going for she is always a favorite amongst the sports fans. Lisa Taylor (Masters Figure) held her own against the younger crowd including 23 year old Sara Michaels. I had the opportunity to first see Sara at Jenny Hendershott's first PHAT Camp in Calgary a few years back and although a relatively quiet and shy person, there is a lot of determination inside. Sara continues to improve year after year and will continue to place higher as her muscles mature.

Figure Medium Tall

The next class was of particular interest to me due to the fact that two BC athletes were going head to head. At the Provincials in 2005, Kim Stefanski was the overall title winner but she didn't have to pair off against the Vancouver Island athlete Macey Boudreau. With the additional height class at Nationals, we now saw the head to head battle between two of BC's finest. In late April while attending the Western Canadians in Kelowna I have the opportunity to see and chat with Kim... she was looking great and I knew she would be ready for this years Nationals. I also have had the privilege of working with Macey while in BC last November while I covered Sandra Wickham's show and knew Macey was able to pose and hold her own with the best. In the end, Macey edged out Kim but both would place slightly back of Alberta's beautiful Serena Cooper who has been quietly doing her thing over the past few years including a stint on the Northern Alberta's Bodybuilding stage a couple years back. I haven't had the honor of chatting with Serena but her friends say she is a genuine person and a pro card was most deserving. I suspect with a little additional confidence, her stage presence will grow to make her quite successful on the pro circuit.

Figure Tall

The battle of the "big girls" would prove to be just that, although with the eventual overall winner coming out of this group, the scores weren't quite as close as they could have been. I remember Jamie Senuk's first ABBA show like it was yesterday. it was the Muscle Beach Fall Classic... Eminem was the hottest rapper on the scene and Jamie figured she would play up that angle. Having a difficult time completing some of her strength holds, Jamie would continue striving towards a fitness pro card, which was nearly hers last year in Winnipeg. After the upsetting loss to the Christina Mehling who did win her pro card, Jamie had had enough and turned her attention towards Figure where in 2005 she won the Alberta Provincial title in relatively easy fashion. Making the switch from Fitness to Figure, Jamie had dropped nearly thirteen pounds between Winnipeg and Edmonton last year and this year sported a sleek 132 lb physique which would take the tall class and eventually see her winning the overall title and an IFBB Pro Card. This year in Edmonton was the first time I saw Jeni Briscoe compete personally. I have seen her volunteering at various BC events and knew her heart was 100% into the sport. She is also the promoter for BC's Northern Classic which has introduced the sport to a whole new group way up in Fort St. John. This year Jeni nailed her physique and presented a package that was sure to warrant many comparisons in the top five by the judges. At the end of the night the Figure Tall class wasn't meant to be hers but she did shine and placed a strong second and will be the girl to beat at the 2007 event in Edmonton. Ontario's Christina Dzieduszycki will be one to put pressure on Jeni next year as she displayed beautiful symmetry and nice muscle tone. Quebec's Cindy Gregoire, definitely one of the show's best posers was growing into her comfort zone after missing last years event due to contest scheduling. Some mentioned that had Cindy posed as she did in round three, her placement would have been higher. Let's not forget Newfoundland IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Frank McGrath's little sister, Kyla who rounded out the top five. Kyla has steadily been making improvements and despite being a long way from a lot of the action, she has generated a lot of interest in her modeling abilities. I see great things for Kyla, both on stage and off and with the support of her boyfriend Kristian Alexander, a top national level bodybuilder who was on the verge of a possible pro card before a debilitating double knee injury, she will continue to turn heads and make a name for herself.

Day 2 - David Ford Fitness Model Search - presented by 91.7 The Bounce

Congratulations to Leanne Lemire (1st), Angela Kromidas (2nd), and Kira Magnin-Forster (3rd) who participated in the 2006 David Ford Fitness Model Search at West Edmonton Mall - The Greatest Indoor Show on Earth! What better location to showcase some of Canada's top fitness models then at the worlds largest shopping mall. Mall officials stated that the model search generated interest and an audience second only to the Canadian Idol Auditions.

As with any model search, it is never easy to take a great group of diverse athletes and narrow them down into a group of eight... then to a group of three before crowning an overall winner. As you might expect as part of the Canada Day Fitness Weekend Extravaganza we would see athletes of all levels of conditioning, from all areas of the country. Before the event, there was some speculation that we would see an even wider array of competitors - from swimsuit models to national level athletes - but come show time, almost everyone who stepped on stage had experience on a either a fitness, figure or bodybuilding stage. The event consisted of two categories - swimsuit and athletic wear. Unlike most sporting events where athletes are crowded on stage and given no opportunity to showcase their personalities, we gave each athlete the opportunity to take the stage as long as they desired while our MC shared information provided by each participant. It was a nice change to see the girls interact with the judges and the audience and to hear a fair bit more then just a name and location. Every girl that entered completed the two categories before the group was narrowed down to 15, then to eight and so on. Quite a few of the athletes in attendance expressed interest in competing next year. Kyla McGrath, for example, was disappointed that she didn't take the opportunity to step on stage as were others who commented on the importance of the prizes which were selected specifically to help kick start an athletes modeling career. The athletes felt that these prizes were considerably better then most shows provide.

Every athlete presented something unique and as pointed out by each of the judges, could find an avenue to follow in respects to their fitness modeling. The three primary looks we were presented with was the "Faremon/Yoga" athletic look, the "Oxygen" athletic look and the "Maxim meets muscle" look which would provide us with the overall winner, Leanne Lemire. Leanne presented a look that is mainstream marketable and combines nice muscularity, with beauty. She will be photographed for the November issue of VEX and will be the cover girl for our media leading up to the 2007 model search on July 1. In addition to these opportunities, Leanne Lemire also wins a professional website designed by leading designer www.FitSights.com, a two year subscription to Oxygen Magazine, a year membership at Gold's Gym WEM as well as supplements and clothing from Upper 49th.

In addition to Leanne, the top eight consisted of Angela Kromidas (BC) who recently competed in the Kelowna Tested Western Canadians placing second in a tough class behind the eventual overall winner,sKira Magnin-Forster (AB) who was Robert Kennedy's 2005 choice for "new find" of the year, Sara Michael (AB) who displayed another of the judges favorite physiques placing fourth overall, Martine Thebeau (NB) who displayed one of the judges favorite physiques as well as the top athletic outfit, Alysha Taylor (AB) who has recently successfully stepped on stage at FAME 2006 and will be the September cover girl for VEX Magazine, Chelsea Nypiuk (AB) who is a fireball and a joy to work with, and Valerie White (AB) who has been featured in American Curves, Double XL and has been a cover model for VEX Magazine in 2005.

A little history... the first David Ford Fitness Model Search was held in 2005. Ontario's Annette Tolar was the judges selection as she represented beauty and fitness perfectly.   Find out a little more about Annette in her exclusive AIM interview.

A special thank you to National bodybuilders Jay Hutton and Jessica Chalifoux for guest posing and providing our audience with a taste of what our sport is about.

We will be posting select images from this event shortly. For complete photo coverage, please visit the website of David Aboody, model search official photographer, at www.TwixPix.com.

Special thank you to the judges, including IFBB Pro Figure Debbie Leung, as well as respected photographers Larry Niven, Doug Schneider and David Ford.

If you competed in this event, we would love to hear from you; your input will help us build the best product possible. Please note that your comments may be posted in this segment. Contact David here.

Mark July 1, 2007 on your calendars as this event will only get bigger and better!! Prizes already include a cover shoot for VEX Magazine and a spread in Double XL Magazine as well as a possible cover.

Information regarding the 2006 model search.

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