FBBUK @UKBFF British 2015

The UKBFF British Championships took place over the first weekend of October in its now traditional home of Nottingham. It was, according to the UKBFF's own press, the biggest event in British bodybuilding ever, with over 600 competitors in total.

How many of them were female is hard to say, for reasons that will be explained anon, and the majority of the women were competing in the Bikini division - there were 35 the shortest class alone. There was no Women's Bodybuilding category at all for the second consecutive year, which I think is a shame, and I also think it is a shame that images of the show are so hard to come by - those that you can view (but not download) at Bodybuilding.com are not, generally speaking, of the highest quality.

The event, I think, has also suffered slightly from the fact that the Amateur Olympia in Liverpool has been scheduled just four weeks after the national championships. Given that they will be competing for pro cards at the Amateur O, the majority of competitors will see that, and not the UKBFF British, as the major show of this year.

The UKBFF has obviously had to jump through a few hoops for the IFBB to secure that event in Liverpool later in the month, and far be it from me to criticise them for that because ultimately it reopens a path to professional status for British women that has been closed for some time. However, I would say that if they can get it together to bring a major amateur show to these shores, they should also be able to get the full results of their national championships out a bit more quickly. It's now ten days after the show took place and, as far as I know, only the top 6 placings in each class are available. And it's not just this fan boy who's feeling the frustration...

Does anyone know where and if we can find the placings outside of the top 6? asked one interested female on the UKBFF Facebook page. And there was also a Bikini competitor with a similar query - Will the official scores/placings of everyone be published anywhere? asked Pollyanna Isabella - and she was one of the competitors!

Now, I don't want to spend the whole of this post firing potshots at the UKBFF, but jeez, when your own competitors aren't 100% sure where they placed, you have to ask yourselves whether you are really doing your best for them, don't you?

Anyway, the research team have turned up at least some information, and thanks to the wonderful women competing, there are, if not stage shots, then plenty of muscle-packed images from in and around the show to illustrate my "report" with.

So, here's what we have learned so far about the UKBFF British 2015...

AS IN MADRID, SO IN NOTTINGHAM

In the main, the women who we celebrated on Saturday for flying the flag at the Arnold Classic Europe also turned up and took the prizes in Nottingham.

KARINA SLOWRONSKA
Overall Bikini, Winner



The Pole who became a Brit continued to underline her position as the Best of British Bikini with her second consecutive national title. Before the show she asked her Facebook followers which of her self-made bikinis to wear at the show (below, left). Pink, like Karina herself, won. And within a week of this show she was off to Finland and the Nicole Wilkins Fitness Championships, where she finished runner-up.



Her win earned her a well-deserved pro card, so huge gratulacje to Karina!

EMMA PAVELEY
Fitness, Winner



And Britain's 2014 Fitness champ won again in 2015. Here she is backstage after her win making her trophy look even bigger than it really is (although actually it is pretty big), and all smiles with runner-up and bestie Vicky Cale (left) -who had also competed with distinction in Madrid - and Maggie Turner (right) who finished 3rd.

MICHELLE MORRIS
Bodyfitness 163cm+, Winner



And the third of our two-time British champs had also had a good show in Madrid at the Arnold Classic Europe. Michelle Morris won the taller of the two Bodyfitness (Figure) classes, successfully defending the title she had won last year. The pride of Scotland brought a killer combination of looks, poise and a perfect symmetrical body, said John Plummer in his "Day 1 report" - don't look for a "Day 2 report", it doesn't exist - on the UKBFF Facebook page. Many congratulations then to the very gorgeous Michelle. You have to go all the way back to 2010 to find a Bodyfitness winner who successfully defended her title, so her achievement should not be underestimated.

MOTHERS OF BODYFITNESS


The shorter Bodyfitness class top 6, left to right: Sophia Sammee (5th), Maggie Jaswinska (3rd),
Clare Barks (1st), Rebecca Maunder (2nd), Katarzyna Wegiel (4th) & Ann-Marie Trotman (6th)

CLARE BARKS
Bodyfitness up to 163cm, Winner



Clare had been part of Team GB in Madrid with Karina, Emma, Michelle et al, and had finished 8th in her height class there as well as 13th in the Masters class. The 2015 British champs was her 11th competition in the last two and a half years, and her very first win. Waking up a British Champion (or rather, not sleeping and lying awake all night) is an amazing feeling, she told her Facebook followers the day after.



Even more amazing was the fact that she gained a child that night as well.

OK, she didn't actually, but a report of the show did state that she was the mother of three children. I only have two children I think, she commented with a winky face. Clare has also managed to get herself a small but growing fanbase on the forums, thanks, in part, to shots of her magnificent midriff like the one above (how many mothers of any amount of children do you know with a midsection like that?) and this recent Fit Vids preview - her first, as far as I know, video work with a major site.

MICHELLE LEACH
Masters Bodyfitness, Winner



Another mother-of-two triumphed in the Masters Bodyfitness class. Michelle Leach only started competing two years ago - in Physique incidentally - and after winning that first ever show has enjoyed a number of regional UKBFF victories.



Michelle, from Hemel Hempstead, is trained by, and now works with, Eddie Abew, a familiar face to UK readers who used to watch the Active Channel for (workout tips from) UK muscle babe Carmen Knights training with Eddie in his Olympian Gym.

FMS FAVES M.I.A. Part I

REBECCA MAUGHAN



Pre-contest selfies of major Swell heart-throb Rebecca Maughan (see previously on FMS) had me swooning all over, and, more importantly, suggested that she was in the shape of her life before the contest and peaking at exactly the right time. I'd always thought Hull's finest was pretty damn near perfect anyway, but this time around she seemed to have reached a whole new level of gorgeous muscular perfection.



Well it just goes to show what I know that not only did the ravishing Rebecca not win, she didn't even place. She did, however, get a special mention in John Plummer's report though. Some superb physiques, he wrote of the taller Bodyfitness class, most notable Donna Murphy and Rebecca Maughan, didn’t make the top six as the judges took a firm stance against the more muscular competitors, he says.



All of which left Rebecca in the mood to drown her sorrows with a night out in Nottingham, ruefully showing off some of the bits of her "superb physique" which seem to be holding her back. Poor Rebecca now has to tone down those scrummy muscles or move up a division to Physique. Take a wild guess which I'd vote for!

PHYSIQUE


The top 3, left to right: Bianca Denham (3rd), Carly Thornton (1st), Hayley Brylewski (2nd).
I don't wish to be rude or anything but does this look like a "spot the odd one out" picture or what?

Well, we found out yesterday who won...



Carly's record as a Physique competitor matches the name of her tanning sponsors.

But what about the other placings? And what happened to some FMS faves?

HAYLEY BRYLEWSKI 2nd




Runner-up to Carly was the UK's self-styled "Muscle Princess" (pretty apt on this occasion), Lincoln's Hayley Brylewski. Yes baby! she said afterwards, brought my best condition, so happy! But she also admitted that in order to go one better she probably needed to work on her legs and continue to bring her waist in.

LINDA GARTSIDE 6th



And another FMS fave who managed to crack the top 6 was the former NABBA Ms Universe Linda Gartside. I think Linda was a little hard done by with her placing, but like Hayley, Gartside was looking on the bright side after the show. Had just the best day and the best prep, she said. Looking forwards to taking on board the constructive feedback and putting [it] into practice. The next stop for Linda is going to be that Amateur Olympia in Liverpool, "the biggest show of my life" as she calls it.

Now, eagle-eyed readers may have noticed another FMS fave above, lurking in the background to the left of Linda. #179, the beautiful Corinne Ingman.

FMS FAVES M.I.A. Parts II & III

CORINNE INGMAN



Now I can only assume from what we know about the fate of Rebecca Maughan in her Bodyfitness class that Corinne was another victim of "the judges firm stance against the more muscular competitors" given the evidence of some of the women who did make the Physique top 6, what we know about how "truly, disgustingly peeled" Corinne can get come show time, and the evidence we have of Corinne's leg situation just over a week out (above) and with six days to go to the British Championships (below).



This weekend didn't go to plan at all, said Corinne afterwards. I'm simply not satisfied with doing this for self-satisfaction! Her results at regional level point to national success - or at least a national level placing - but it's never worked out for her yet. Check out her Instagram and decide for yourself if she could be any more dedicated or thorough in her preparation. Nor could she be any more persevering in the face of such setbacks. Targets set, new focus! she promised after a bit of retail therapy had helped her get over the disappointment of the show. You have got to love her!

JACKIE HAGUE



Another FMS fave who was nowhere to be seen in the placings was also in a determined mood after the British Championships, and not (or not only) because she has carrot of the Amateur Olympia to look forward to either. How's this for a battle cry...?



You may not think you're good enough for the stage. You put your heart and soul into it, beat yourself up everyday, put yourself through it. But f***ing hell! Look around you! How many people even look like you do? Or put that much work in? Or give a shit about their bodies and health? Very few! So stop putting yourself down! You may not be DLB, Nicole Wilkins or anyone you admire, but you are YOU, and YOU stand out in the crowd. So look in the mirror and say "F***ing hell yeah!!!"



Wow.

FBBUK: Rebecca Maughan, All Smiles

Normally, I put the clip at the end. But not today.

Watch this...



Now, if that didn't get your female muscle lovin' juices flowin', you should really get yourself some medical attention because, mate, you are dead below the waist.



Rebecca Maughan. Previously on FMS in June. Just a couple of paragraphs. We tell you she's from Hull, she was NABBA Miss Britain (Toned Figure) in 2013. She's "very beautiful", we say. And we predict we'll be seeing her again. We were not wrong.



Admittedly we don't know much more about Rebecca now but we have learned a little. That 2013 NABBA Britain win, for example, came, we now know, in her very first year of competition. 2014 has been her second, then. We've learned she's got a bit of a thing for baseball caps. Not the sort that fit snugly around the top of your head. Rebecca likes a high crown, as I believe they are called. We've found out her supplements are provided by PhD Nutrition, and that her favourite body part to train is her glutes.




So now we can give you Rebecca's entire contest history.

Year 1: 2013
NABBA North-East, Toned Figure, 2nd
NABBA Britain, Toned Figure, 1st
NABBA Universe, Toned Figure, 6th

Year 2: 2014
NABBA Britain, Toned Figure, 2nd
NABBA Worlds, Toned Figure, 4th
NABBA Universe, Toned Figure, no placing
NABBA UK, Athletic Figure, 1st

Notice the last contest. The new category. More muscle than Toned Figure.



2011. Rebecca is preparing to go to Ibiza. I really wanted to get toned to look good for the holiday, she says. 2012. Rebecca continues training. Well and truly bitten by the workout bug. 2013. Competition. Rebecca grows, Rebecca tones. Rebecca goes through contest prep three times. She finds she enjoys competing. She can't stop smiling after she comes off stage. 2014. More muscle. She preps for the NABBA Universe with Sarah Hallett. Results are not so good in terms of placings. Her body has outgrown the category she started in, and she decided to give the new 'Athletic Figure' a try. By the end of the year she's NABBA Miss UK.

And she can't stop smiling...



With her looks, sponsors are queuing up. PhD Nutrition we've mentioned. But she's also got a blog for Monster Supplements as a "Fitness Guru". She also has a blog on Fresh Food Guru. Previously on FMS we reported her dream was to become a professional fitness model. Looks like it's coming true. Another reason why she's smiling, perhaps?




Rebecca says: I've always said if I can inspire 1 person to live a healthier life by exercising & eating healthy to achieve a toned figure then my job's done. I would like to think I have helped some girls lift weights and put an end to endless cardio.

Check her Instagram, check her Facebook. Check the comments. Ignore the ones posted by guys like you and me. Don't you agree that Rebecca has inspired considerably more than 1 person? She probably inspires five a day. Job done.

More smiles.



But most of all, FMS gets the impression that Rebecca is smiling because she's gaining muscle. And she likes it. Loves it. Loves the body she is building, the progress she's making. The muscle that's growing, Check her Instagram again if you must. Check her Facebook. Go back to the beginning and watch her progress chronologically. Is it just me or is the smile getting wider and wider as she grows and grows?



2015. Year 3 in Rebecca Maughan's competitive career. In the first two she's already outgrown one category and moved up to the next - and the move led to an instant success. By the end of next year I wouldn't be surprised if I was talking about Rebecca Maughan, Trained Figure competitor. And her smile (along with her legs, her arms, her shoulders, her back...) will be even wider than now.



Today my journey for 2015 begins.
I will work 100 per cent 365 after yesterday's win.
I will stay hungry!
Rebecca Maughan, after her 2014 NABBA UK win



Normally, I finish up my posts by encouraging you to 'Enjoy!'. Not today.

Today I'm going to tell you how much I enjoy putting these posts together.

Researching these amazing women is a consistently rewarding experience. Finding out about the women, looking beyond their magnificent physiques and into their lives only increases my admiration and respect for them, one and all. But the more remarkable the woman, the more enjoyable it is to compile the post. Some posts are more of a pleasure to put together than others. Today's has been one of them. In fact, I'd say that this one of the three or four most enjoyable experiences of all.

I know you'll remember her body. I know you'll remember her smile.

Well, research her for yourself if you are not convinced, but I'm telling you, this is one very very special young woman. Remember the name. Rebecca Maughan.




[Well, we've only been back for a couple of weeks but it's time for our Christmas break. Don't worry, there will be posts, but instead of daily posts there will be 'Year in Review' type stuff - Winners of 2014; our end-of-year selection of images from 2014, and our fourth annual selection of our six Women of the Year. So stay tuned. Daily posts will return in early January. Have a lovely holiday season. 6ft1Swell]

FBBUK@ NABBA Worlds 2014

For the second time this week, FMS is at the recent NABBA Worlds, this time to praise the British women who were doing it in thongs in Belfast. No one was as successful as the Brazilians (see Sunday's post), but there were podium places for UK women.



Runner-up to Caroline Crozeta in the Toned Figure category was the stunning Kelsey "Tinkerkel" Yung, a mother of two from Barrow (in the north-east of England). She and her husband have run a dance/martial arts studio there since 2007, and Kelsey teaches dance, fitness and kickboxing (she's a black belt). NABBA is absolutely amazing, she says, [and] I absolutely love being a Toned Figure competitor.



Kelsey was also runner-up at last year's NABBA Universe, and she arrived in Belfast fresh from having won the NABBA Britain title the weekend before. This was her third appearance at the Worlds, and her best result after two 4th places in 2012 and 2013.

Also in the Toned Figure class was the very beautiful Rebecca Maughan from Hull, who finished 4th. Rebecca, NABBA Miss Britain in 2013, and runner-up at the same show to Kelsey Yung in May this year, became interested in fitness a couple of years ago before a holiday to Ibiza. I really wanted to get toned to look good for the holiday, she says, and the quick-fix fitness plan became a desire to compete.



This isn’t a chore for me but a lifestyle, says Rebecca, and aged just 25, with a position as a "guru" at a major supplements company, a dream to become a professional fitness model, and those looks, FMS doesn't imagine this will be the last we hear of her.



In the shorter of the two Trained Figure classes, best of the Brits was Kay Goodwin, previously on FMS after she had finished 2nd at last year's NABBA Worlds. There she competed in Toned Figure, but made the switch to the more muscular category this year, promptly winning the NABBA North-East and Miss Britain titles in May.



Personally if I was ever told I would fare better in the trained class after all my prep and diet I would be gutted, Kay said last year when still a competing in Toned, which suggests to me that her move "up" is a decision she has made for herself. However, as is so often the case, there's so little information about many of the UK's top NABBA women available that why Kay has changed classes is not a question I can answer. Anyway, she has, and her two titles and a 4th at the Worlds indicates it was the right move. And, as far as I'm concerned, more muscle is always a good thing!

And finally, another 2nd place for Britain in the taller Trained Figure class, courtesy of Pamela Higgins, who had finished 4th behind Kay Goodwin at the British finals, but was clearly peaking for this show and can, in my unqualified opinion, count herself more than a bit unlucky not to have walked off with the category title at least.



Pam has been lifting for about six years now I reckon, having originally been inspired by her partner, a former bodybuilder himself, to start competing. British champ 2011 and 2012, it's good to see Pamela, who, like Kelsey Yung (and Georgina McConnell, incidentally) hails from the north-west of England, back to her best.



Congratulations to Pamela, and to all the wonderful muscle women who represented Britain at the show. You might also like to check out UK NABBA veteran Cheryl Steele's routine, and (although Irish rather than British) FMS fave Sophia McNamara, who always delivers a routine that is an absolute treat to watch.

Enjoy!