NABBA Universe
12th October, Southport
The NABBA Miss Universe, the oldest female bodybuilding contest of all, was held for the 47th time last month at its usual venue, the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre in Merseyside. Though there has been no 'Bodybuilding' (called 'Physique' in NABBA jargon) Miss Universe since
Valentina Yefymchuk was crowned in 2010, there are two 'Trained Figure' (ie. 'Physique' in an IFBB contest) classes, and one 'Toned Figure' (equivalent to IFBB 'Figure') class. So there's absolutely no shortage of quality female muscle to enjoy, and all presented in the thongtastic style that is, for me anyway, a large part of what gives the women of NABBA their enduring appeal.
The Toned Figure class was won by Britian's own
Nicola Bentham for the second consecutive year (she also won the NABBA Worlds title in 2012). As we've mentioned before on
FMS, it can be a frustrating job trying to find information about NABBA competitors, and this is most definitely the case with Nicola. We have managed to establish that she is from the same part of the world as teenage muscle sensation
Georgina McConnell, the north-east of England, and that she works, or used to work as a fitness instructor. Beyond that, I'm afraid, we can only recommend following 'Nikki'
on Facebook for more, though I am sure you don't need any information at all in order to enjoy her winning routine.
The other British success story was a second place for
Sarah Hallett (like Nicola,
previously featured on FMS) in the taller of the two Trained Figure classes.
Sarah, a 43-year-old mother and firefighter (yes, it's time to unleash the female muscle firefighter fantasy
again) is the reigning NABBA Miss Britain. She has, pleasingly, received some love from local Welsh media after her second place finish, and the story was picked up and reported by the national media. So if you do want to know more about this amazing woman, read all about her in the original
Wales Online article and/or the resulting
Daily Mail piece.
The winner of the shorter Trained Figure class, and the Overall Miss Universe for 2013 was Italian NABBA veteran
Flora Conte. Regular readers may remember we featured Flora previously on FMS (see
Forza e Bellezza NABBA Italia). This was the second time she has gone home with the Overall title, having won it previously in 2010.
The mind boggles at the dedication of women like Flora, who, on top of her numerous appearances at the NABBA Worlds, was competing for the fifth consecutive year here. She could, if she had wanted to, become a pro - the Miss Universe title was a step on the road to pro status for, among others,
Alina Popa (who won in 2007). But Flora obviously does it out of sheer love for the sport, turning up year after year in great shape and leaving with a top three finish at the very least. Now in her late thirties, there's no reason to suspect she'll be resting on her laurels and hanging up her posing suit any time soon. See you next year Flora!
And last, but not least, a word about the Brazilian contingent at this year's show, which, unsurprisingly for a federation that
encourages the wearing of thongs, was about the largest apart from the Brits.
Tereza Augusta (see her routine
here) finished third in the taller Trained Figure class, which was won by her compatriot
Carol Bittencourt. If you can keep your hands above the table after Carol turns round and flexes those gorgeous glutes at about the thirty-second mark, you are a better man than I...
Auren Malvestiti (routine
here) was runner-up to Flora Conte in the shorter Trained Figure class, but I'll leave you today with the lady who finished one place behind her,
Cinara Polido, and who, among all the gorgeously tight, thong-framed bottoms on display, wins Swell's vote for the Miss Universe 'Rear of the Year'. At around twenty seconds in, Cinara's left (as we look) cheek starts its own individual little posing routine, and I really can't tell you what happens after that!
Lots more clips on
the NABBA2009 YouTube channel. Fill your boots.
