NPA Yorkshire Championships 2010
Saturday 29th May - Holmfirth Civic Hall, West Yorkshire
Report and photography by Michael Phillips & Eric Guy
20 years on the trot the NPA Yorkshire has been running now, previously the ANB Yorkshire, of course, not too bad a record methinks, and fittingly this year’s contest had a record number of entries with 52 – a great turn out! After holding the last 2 contests at The Frontier in Batley, it was great to come back ‘home’ to Holmfirth Civic Hall. Why the move back? The truth is that it’s better to fill a smaller venue to capacity, and create a memorable atmosphere, than it is to half fill a bigger venue. Nothing against The Frontier of course, which is a fabulous venue – but as it holds well over 1000 people, NABBA can fill it for their North East contest, but the NPA can’t – and I think it was unquestionably the right decision to go back to Holmfirth, the venue of many a great physique battle since the first contest was held there back in 1992.
Main sponsors were AST Sports Science Performance Nutrition and Udo’s Choice, many thanks to them for their outstanding support.
This year’s contest featured some outstanding physiques, and what a start we had with 7 Juniors taking the stage, 5 of them competing for the very first time.
Juniors Under 21’s
A fantastic class, all the young lads very well supported. As they walked out on-stage, one of them stood out for 2 reasons; he was very good, and he was milk bottle white with no tan at all! But still Joe Lyon was a comfortable winner! A great combination of size, balance, and thick muscle, in very good condition. The truth is he didn’t need to tan up, but in between rounds 2 and 3 he applied the quickest tan ever, and came out to pose with a tan on! Never seen that happen before! Joe was a very good winner! Fidel Lewis took second – not as big as Joe, but another superb physique with outstanding shape and taper. Third went to Jon Mellor, not as hard as the two above him, looked very good especially in his front double biceps and front lat spread. Dan Hayes, in 4th, only 18, has great potential with excellent lines and shape, be good to see him back here a year later after 12 months hard training. 5th was the bigger Callum Tweedy, not quite as tight as those above but with plenty of size than just needs a bit more conditioning. Excellent class to start the contest with.
1. Joseph Lyon 2. Fidel Lewis (and best presentation) 3. Jonathan Mellor 4. Daniel Hayes 5. Callum Tweedy 6. Daniel Lancashire 7. Ricky Burnitt Ladies Physique
Only 2 competitors in the Ladies Physique class, with the NPA debut of Anna Millington, who displayed a physique which will challenge at the Britain Finals. Wide shoulders, tapered waist, looked good in all compulsories. Kelly Powell in her first contest shows great promise, very good arms and shoulders, needs to work on lat width to show more taper, a great debut for Kelly who has lost quite a bit of weight this year to transform her body!
1. Anna Millington (bp) 2. Kelly Powell Masters Over 40’s
Another very good class, with Steve Howarth dominating! Steve’s shape, size, and balance, combined with excellent condition gave him his first Yorkshire title and he was delighted about it! Runner-up, in amazing shape, was Lloyd Stewart. At 60 years of age, and weighing 97.8kg, Lloyd was at his very best, and was massive, see the photos! Denton Wilson got third, a great result for him after being electrocuted a few months ago in an accident at home. Thankfully Denton is nearly back to his best, and looked fit and healthy as well as being in very good shape.
Courtney Smith was heavier than normal, and not quite as cut as he usually is, but just had enough to take 4th, with Jeff Pursglove in 5th. Rob Cotterill in 6th was in good condition after losing a lot of weight to finally compete on an NPA stage, and was happy to get 6th in a very good class. 4 of the top 6 were Over 50!!
1. Steve Howarth 2. Lloyd Stewart (and best Over 50) 3. Denton Wilson (bp) 4. Courtney Smith 5. Jeff Pursglove 6. Robert Cotterell 7. David Rose
8. John Spooner
9. Chris Franklin
Trained Figure
5 Figure girls with 3 of them competing for the first time. Caroline Birkinshaw took 4 of the 5 first places going, and displayed a Figure with good lines, shape and taper, and she was delighted to win. Joanne Todd was a solid second, her back poses were very good, and she also had good shape and taper. In third was Kelly Cotterill, a potential Britain Figure Champion if she ever competes in the required condition and with a decent tan. If Kelly gets her prep 100% then she will take some stopping, as she has everything there to win, but looked a couple of weeks away. 4th was Heidi Droger, lacked a little on shape and taper compared to the girls above her, and must change her posing routine, which had hardly a pose in it! A disappointed 5th was Frances Heywood, in incredible condition suitable for the Physique class, but not for the Figure class.
1. Caroline Birkinshaw 2. Joanne Todd (bp) 3. Kelly Cotterill 4. Heidi Droger 5. Frances Heywood Novices
A record line-up of 17 entries! Fantastic standard, particularly in the first six. Amazingly, all the judges marks, went to the first six who were placed, which is unique, but after the class were studied and moved around a few times, it was obvious at the judging who the top 6 would be, it was just a matter of placing them! After a lot of comparisons, Faisal Naeem came out as the winner with 4 of the 5 judges placing him first. Faisal was in great condition without being shredded, very good muscle separation, great mid-section, and outstanding shape, balance, and symmetry, a well deserved win. Runner-up was Ivan Michaels, an ex-boxer, who was rock hard, fantastic abs, a very good debut, Ivan just lost out on overall size to Faisal. Chris Hanley got 3rd, at 19 years of age, looked the winner in the front double biceps, an amazing pose for him. The Junior Britain Champion of 2008 was a lot bigger and heavier for his Novice debut, but lost out on overall hardness and condition especially in the legs. Another outstanding physique was Karl Wisdom in 4th. Places 2, 3, and 4, only had 2 points between them, it was that close! Karl’s natural V shape made him stand out, fantastic taper, he looked good in all poses – all the top 4 got invites to the NPA British Finals. 5th went to the thickly muscled physique of Tony Barber, with a very muscular Ricky Holmes getting sixth. A great class very well supported by a noisy audience!
1. Faisal Naeem 2. Ivan Michaels (and best First-Timer) 3. Chris Hanley 4. Karl Wisdom (bp) 5. Tony Barber 6. Ricky Holmes 7. Sam Williams; Kyle Hague; Mark Stevenson; Jack Ellis; Marc Longden; Phill Alford; Carl Fanning; Paul Ullathorne; Julian Saunders; Chris Hartley; Rob Wardley.
Men’s Lightweights Under 70kg
Lukas Matusu dominated rounds 2 and 3 here in the Lightweights, and he was in fantastic condition, with cross striated thighs, but after round 1, the quarter turns, it was actually Anthony Ferguson who was in first place due to his great shape and taper. However, Lukas’ thicker muscle mass took him to the title, with Anthony in second. Lukas had a perfect tan, Anthony looked pale in his first ever contest. Both were very impressive it must be said, 2 superb physiques, and the Lightweight class at the NPA Britain will be as tough as ever this year, no doubt about that! Ryszard Tokarczyk took third by one point over Wayne Hanley; this placing could have gone either way, Ryszard looked better in the front d/b and front lat spread, Wayne was better in the side chest and side triceps poses, so it was close! Steve Joyner got fifth, a good physique but not as conditioned as he was last year, and Steve Byrne got 6th, in good condition, with outstanding natural shape, Steve just needs more time to develop his physique to climb a few placings.
1. Lukas Matusu 2. Anthony Ferguson 3. Ryszard Tokarczyk 4. Wayne Hanley 5. Steve Joyner 6. Steven Byrne (bp)
Men’s Middleweights Under 78kg 1. Paul Roberts
Only one competitor in the Under 78kg class, very frustrating for the competitor concerned when this happens! At least Paul Roberts was in superb shape and condition. Paul has great balance and symmetry, looked good in his quarter turns and in all his compulsories, and will feature highly at the NPA Britain if he turns up looking as good as he did here! Men’s Heavyweights 78Kg+
5 in the Heavies, and a much anticipated ‘Clash of the Titans’ between 3 time Overall Champion Gus Fisher, and rising star and former British Junior Swimming Champion Richie Gozdecki. I knew months in advance that Richie would be competing, Gus’ entry came in at the last minute. Richie was huge, massive arms and legs, wide back and shoulders, but still lacks that detail in his back, that will give him an incredible back! Thick chest too, and in very good condition. Gus was also massive, had his familiar incredible arm, chest and ab development, and had a better back, but lost out to Richie when it came to the legs. I have seen Gus many times, and he was in very good shape, but a fraction off his best ever, and still needs to add a bit to his legs. I am nit picking here on two excellent physiques though! The crowd reaction was brilliant for them both, and in the end Richie got the nod, with Gus a great runner-up. Third went to Jerome Pithers, who stood out in his quarter turns, especially with his front stance; great muscle separation and condition. His side shots were superb, but more width is needed to really push harder and place higher, very good debut though for Jerome. Fourth was a disappointed Matt Woodhart. Matt was much improved all over his physique, and has slowly added quality muscle thickness to his physique. Awesome most muscular shot, very good in all bodyparts, Matt has a quality physique, and has progressed as a Natural should, slowly, which I think frustrates him at times. Fifth went to Mustafa Munir, a promising debut, Mustafa was unlucky to come from his power-lifting background to his first bodybuilding contest and come up against 4 such formidable opponents, but has potential to place higher.
1. Richard Gozdecki (bp) 2. Gus Fisher 3. Jerome Pithers 4. Matt Woodhart 5. Mustafa Munir Men’s Overall
Whoever took the Overall had some BIG footsteps to follow, with previous Champions being such Natural greats as Andrew Palmer, Andrew Merrifield, and Dean Garratt, just to name 3! All 4 in the Overall were in great shape, but the judges all agreed on all the 4 places in the Overall, which went to Richie Gozdecki, a young man with great potential, and a very deserving Champion indeed.
1 Richard Gozdecki
2 Steve Howarth
3 Paul Roberts
4 Lukas Matusu
So ended the 20th Anniversary of the NPA Yorkshire. I’m delighted to say it was a HUGE success and many thanks to all who attended in whatever capacity, your support is much appreciated! Particular thanks to the hard working judges who were; Andrew Palmer, Lee Kemp, Ian King, Kevin Skelland, Mark Oakes, and Mark Hesketh. Jon Bibb did a great job looking after the drug testing, a very important part of the NPA of course!
Class sponsors were;
Damon Brown's Temple Gym, Barnsley Ian Duckett - www.bodyindesign.co.uk Lloyd Stewart's Gym, Sheffield Fox Mouldings Ltd, the world's best trophies! - www.foxmouldings.com Eric Guy - photographer / dvd's
Many thanks to all!
Finally, on behalf of myself and my wife Diane, I want to say a HUGE Thank You to EVERYONE at the contest as you all contributed to donating £766 towards HELP for HEROES, that’s the amount raised at the contest which has been paid over to this most worthy of causes.
See you all next year for the 21st Anniversary of ‘The Yorkshire’!
Michael Phillips
NPA Secretary
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