Leeds Town Hall usually echoes to the sounds of orchestras and concerts but once a year the building’s fantastic acoustics reverberate instead to the sound of bodybuilding fans urging their mates onstage to ‘keep it tight’.
The Flex-supported UKBFF North-East Championships has been held at the venue every year since 2007. In that time it has become one of the country’s most popular contests for competitors and fans alike who appreciate the chance to see bodybuilding take centre stage at a major big city venue.
The latest gathering, two weeks before the 2010 UK Championships, was another vintage year with no fewer than 70 competitors from London to Scotland taking part. They were eager not only to book their places at the finals but also to claim a stake of the £6,000 worth of prizes put forward by event sponsors CNP Professional, Extreme Nutrition, Garnell Nutrition, Hard Labour Nutrition, Trio-Nutrition, USN and BodyActive.
There was also the carrot of a photoshoot in FLEX for the men’s overall champion and a photoshoot in our sister publication MUSCLE & FITNESS for the bodyfitness winner. Some top names in British bodybuilding, such as Pat Warner, Dave Titterton, Haroldas Dambrauskas, Karen Norris and Jayne Tingle, have claimed these prizes in the past and the competition was fierce again in 2010.
In the end it was one of these blasts from the past who returned to claim the overall title. Haroldas, the Lithuanian-born ‘Beast from the East’ announced his arrival as a major force on the British bodybuilding scene at this event in 2008 when he arrived from London an unknown and went home as the most talked about competitor in the country after beating local heroes Dave and Pat in their own backyard.
He didn’t quite follow through that year, finishing fifth in the heavyweights at the UK finals, before reverting to the shadows of the British scene. He didn’t compete in 2009 and was rarely seen outside of Muscleworks Gym in Bethnal Green, that hotbed of British bodybuilding where he trains. He chose to return to the place where it all began and was rewarded with the heavyweight and overall titles once again to send another wave of tremors through British bodybuilding.
Haroldas was simply superb. His physique combines unbelievable muscle density with good genetics and the kind of upper and lower body balance you rarely see on bodybuilders, particularly in the heavier weight classes where legs rarely match top halves. A judge said afterwards he has one of the most impressive physiques, amateur or pro, in Britain today and it was hard to dispute this.
Winning his class was no formality. Another Muscleworks member, Ally Aljaff, was among those standing in his way. Possessing great lines and good size, he looked tremendous. So did Damian Atherton, who was one of the best conditioned athletes on the day. But in the end Haroldas’ mass and class was too much. The guy is a tank – thick as a brick from every angle.
There were one or two dissenting noises from people who said his condition could have been better. True, he wasn’t bone dry here, but with feathered quads and good separation everywhere he certainly wasn’t ‘off’ and he just had too much freaky muscle to ignore.
Weighing 99 kg – 8 kg more than he did at the same event two years earlier – he staked a claim as a serious threat for the UK heavyweight finals two weeks later. The intro-duction of the super-heavyweight class for over-100 kg monsters since his last appearance at Nottingham has helped his chances.
Sadly there were no super-heavyweights at Leeds to challenge Haroldas for the overall title and the tidy £600 worth of product prizes that accompanied it. There was also a shortage of lighter guys willing to take him on: more than one class winner was heard backstage muttering ‘I’m not competing against that guy’ before grabbing their trophies and vanishing into the Yorkshire night.
Although Haroldas was the stand-out star, the show, emceed by CNP boss Kerry Kayes, had plenty of other highlights including four great guest stars. Last year’s UK heavyweight champion Pat Warner headlined proceedings and he did not disappoint. Pat is a legend in Leeds: he had competed at this show every year so some fans might have been suffering ‘Warner fatigue’, thinking they had seen everything the big man has to offer. How wrong they were. Pat delivered one of the most innovative routines ever seen on a British stage with the help of his nephew Duane Simon, who provided human beatbox for Pat to pose to. It was weird; it was wonderful.
Lisa Cross showed why she is one of the most exciting British female bodybuilders to emerge for many years by displaying amazing muscularity, shape and condition in her guest spot. Two weeks out from her quest for the UK title, Lisa had everyone gasping for more and she duly obliged, returning at the end of the show for a double act with Pat.
Nana Manu, the reigning UK middleweight champion, showed the classy lines that will next be seen gracing the pro scene in 2011 but perhaps the biggest cheer of the night went to nine-year-old Kane Ennis, who opened the show with some amazing dancing to Michael Jackson.
Perhaps the other main highlight onstage was the Classic class, which had an outstanding top three in Kami Kalsi, Steve Castle and John Welsh. Kami, however, was the competitor with the X-factor – wide shoulders, wasp waist and well-shaped thighs. He’s a mini version of Toney Freeman and a good poser too, although not quite as good as his wife Liz, a former UK fitness champion.
The bodyfitness class here always seems to produce something special. The previous year’s winner, Jayne Tingle, went on to finish second at the UK Championships and earn selection for the World Championships in Mexico. Jayne was one week out from the worlds when this event took place but was here to hand out medals with the equally stunning Claire Harper.
First place went to debutante Kim Hollis, a police officer with an arresting physique. Kim had the best shape and her posing, skin and tan were all spot on. It was hard to believe this was her first contest until we discovered that 2009 Ms. Universe Rachael Grice had prepared her for the show. Now retired, Rachael, from Featherstone, was one of the best competitors and looks like she could become one of the best trainers too if Kim is anything to go by.
She could not have a better mentor. Merseyside’s Sarah Mura pushed Kim hard with a more muscular yet still aesthetic shape. Birmingham’s Mary Westwood rounded out the top three with a tall and lean frame.
Teenager Kirstie Freeburn was a fantastic fitness winner. The young powerlifter and gymnast tried body-fitness earlier this year but found her right class in fitness. Kirstie showed some excellent moves and has a lovely shape.
Sean Jackson, 41, made a successful comeback after 15 years to win the light-heavies. “I saw my old mates at a funeral and couldn’t believe how out of shape they were so I decided to get back in shape,” he said. He succeeded. Middleweight winner Jermaine Ellison, who was helped by IFBB pro Colin Wright, will be a threat for the national title if he can bring his legs up to match his upper body. “I only dieted for a week because I keep myself in shape all year round,” he said. Good lightweight battles are a rarity but this six-man scrap was the exception. Builder Darren Stewart won with a sharp, well-balanced frame.
The intermediate classes were among the most competitive of the day. Weighing 106 kg, Craig Anderson was an impressive champion in the over 90 kg category. It was his first show since his junior days. “I have always wanted to do it again and in the last couple of years I have matured and settled down,” he said. Intermediates under 80 kg winner David Chatterton, 46, was also back after a long break – he last competed 13 years ago. Intermediates under 90 kg winner Adi Kot was competing in his first UKBFF show. So was junior king Robert Plant, who had a very muscular upper body. Both over 40s competitors were in good shape while the over 50s class continued to flourish with five excellent guys.
Results
JUNIORS
Sponsored by CNP Professional
1. Robert Plant
2. Stephen Hadfield
3. Michael Terry
- also competed: Daryl Welling, Stephen Bronze, Nicholas Briton
MASTERS OVER 40S
Sponsored by Trio Nutrition
1. Nigel Cox
2. Keith Williams
MASTERS OVER 50S
Sponsored by USN
1. Alan Turner
2. David Borwell
3. Jimmy McGlone
- also competed: Stan Moyson, Lindsay Wain
INTERMEDIATES UNDER 80 KG
Sponsored by CNP Professional
1. David Chatterton
2. Darren Rook
3. James Carr
- also competed: Hassan Alqbain, Richard Heeson, Darren Clemmet, Donny Coletrop, Joseph Garner
INTERMEDIATES UNDER 90 KG
Sponsored by CNP Professional
1. Adi Kot
2. Nicholas Stores
3. Benjamin Browne
- also competed: Leo Harley, Matthew Lyons, John Gair, Stephen Farrow
INTERMEDIATES OVER 90 KG
Sponsored by USN
1. Craig Anderson
2. Ali Kotobi
CLASSIC BODYBUILDING
Sponsored by Extreme Nutrition
1. Kami Kalsi
2. Steve Castle
3. John Welsh
- also competed: Mehmet Edip, Chris Manion, Alex Machlica, Kevin Kelly, Adrian Maud. Lee Eagle
OPEN CHALLENGE
Sponsored by Trio Nutrition
1. Ross Ali
2. Paul Norton
LIGHTWEIGHT UNDER 70 KG
Sponsored by Garnell Nutrition
1. Darren Stewart
2. Michael George
3. Jason Barnett
- also competed: Neil Smithers, Howard Clough, Paul Olbison
MIDDLEWEIGHT UNDER 80 KG
Sponsored by Hard Labour Nutrition
1. Jermaine Ellison
2. Robby Anchant
3. Chris Unitt
- also competed: Nathan Ely, Shaun Scullion
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT UNDER 90 KG
Sponsored by Trio Nutrition
1. Sean Jackson
2. Greg Brown
HEAVYWEIGHT UNDER 100 KG
Sponsored by CNP Professional
1. Haroldas Dambrauskas
2. Damian Atherton
3. Ally Aljaff
- also competed: Ivan Da Silva, Derek Morton, Craig Wilkinson
OVERALL CHAMPION
Haroldas Dambrauskas
WOMEN’S FITNESS
Sponsored by Garnell Nutrition
1. Kirstie Freeburn
BODYFITNESS
Sponsored by Hard Labour Nutrition
1. Kim Hollis
2. Sarah Mura
3. Mary Westwood
- also competed: Sarah Smith, Marissa Wright, Zoe Edwards, Rachel Nichol
WOMEN’S OPEN
Sponsored by Extreme Nutrition
1. Tania George
Additional Images
