Enormous Eddie Abbew topped the bill, guest posing at 20 stone three weeks before making his debut at the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas. He was ably assisted by two of the North-East's finest physiques: Ian Morgan, who passed up the chance to compete in Montreal to do a guest spot here and Wendy McCready, Britain's top female bodybuilder. FLEX columnist Ernie Taylor was also there, as was IFBB pro John Hodgson with inspirational bodybuilder Simon Robinson, and Mark Felix, who finished fourth in the 2006 World's Strongest Man.
But the man everybody was left talking about was Dave Titterton, the overall champion. This Sheffield man is rapidly making this show his own: he has now won the heavyweight division two years running and this year he also went on to defeat light-heavyweight champion Darren Nicolhurst and middleweight winner Ian Waller for the overall title, which earned him supplement vouchers worth £750. Heavyweight freaks Zack Khan and Daz Ball were among those looking on and neither could have been in any doubt that Titterton is a serious threat to their ambition of becoming Britain's next pro.
The show was held at Leeds Town Hall for the first time and the terrific turnout of fans ensured the building was buzzing both at prejudging and during the evening show. CNP boss Kerry Kayes, who is also Ricky ‘the Hitman' Hatton's dietitian and strength trainer, emceed the evening's proceedings. The top three in each class all received supplement vouchers as well as trophies. John Heaton, who took part in the new Classic Bodybuilding category, also won £100 cash for the best posing routine which was sponsored by FLEX magazine.
 
The prizes were possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors BSN, CNP, Garnell Nutrtion, LA Muscle, Maximuscle and Met-Rx, most of whom were selling products on the day. Several TV and newspaper reporters also turned up to see the return of big-time bodybuilding to Leeds. Here's how the day unfolded.
 
Heavyweights
This was the class everyone was talking about in the weeks leading up to the event after word got out that three of the best heavyweights in the country – Dave Titterton, Pat Warner and Paul Megwa – were going to compete. The first two had locked horns at the same contest last year, when Titterton won only for Warner to reverse the result at the British finals by finishing third to his rival's fifth. So no one wanted to miss round three of their epic duel and when Megwa, who has great symmetry, said he also planned to enter, the scene was set.
All three men weighed in but unfortunately Megwa felt ill and withdrew before the prejudging.
But anyone who thought his exit had reduced the contest to a two-horse race reckoned without Paul Jenkins. He only decided to enter at the last minute but he put up one hell of a scrap, displaying real barn door shoulders and huge arms. He and Titterton, plus Zack Khan, all train at Quirke's Gym in Sheffield, which must have a good supply of heavy dumbbells.
Despite his strong showing, Jenkins eventually had to settle for third place, ahead of local stalwart Derek Morton, who gave a good account of himself in what was a stellar line-up. So once again it was down to Titterton and Warner, two of the most likeable guys in the sport and, for all their rivalry, good friends. Pat Warner, with half an eye on the British finals, wasn't quite on the money and had no complaints when he was announced in second place. "I came to qualify so it's job done," he said.
Titterton weighed over 19 stone, more than 12 pounds heavier than last year, but had retained his unusually good balance for a guy of 6' 2". "Last year I did a lot of high volume training but this year I did more heavy duty work," he says. "It was a modified version of Dorian Yates' style. I wanted more overall thickness without losing my symmetry." He achieved it. Unusually, the top three all received invites to the British finals, which shows how strong the class was.
 
Light-heavyweights
Coming into this show, all the talk had been about James ‘Flex' Lewis versus James Llewellin for the light-heavyweight crown at the British Championships this year. But Darren Nicolhurst proved here that there could be more to it than that. Making his first appearance on stage for two years, he dominated yet another impressive light-heavyweight class – where are all the outstanding under-90 kg guys coming from this year?
Both runner-up Shaun Watson and third-placed Martin Burford were in great nick but Nicolhurst simply packed more muscle on his frame, particularly in his lower body. "I was pleased with how I looked but I started to hold water by the time I went on stage so I want to be dryer for the British finals," said Nicolhurst, who is 5' 5" and weighed in at 87 kg. He has won this class at the North-East Championships before but this was his best performance so far, which he attributes to being more consistent with his diet. He still thinks Lewis is the man to beat. "His whole life is bodybuilding," says Nicolhurst. "He lives the life we all want to lead so he has no excuse not to win."
 
Middleweights
When Ian Waller weighed in on the day, he was almost a kilo over the 80 kg limit. "I went for a jog six times around the Town Hall and when I came back I was still half a kilo over the limit," he said. "So I put a bin liner on and went for another jog." He finally made the limit on his third visit to the scales and went on to win the class. "It turned out to be the sweetest day of my life," he says.
Waller does 20 sets of abdominal exercises before every workout and his muscular midsection, combined with his overall conditioning, paved the way for victory in another class in which every single competitor looked impressive. Runner-up Ross Skelton should be proud of his performance: he will win many contests coming in the way he did for this one.
 
Lightweights
The under 70 kg class didn't have quite the same depth of quality as the other weight categories but it nevertheless produced a compelling contest between three well-matched physiques. In the end Swindon's Dave Thomas made up for the disappointment of failing to win the previous week in Leicester by coming in a bit tighter and scoring a victory by the narrowest of margins: one point. Thomas, 45, has been competing since 1988 and won his first lightweight title in 1991.
The result was tough on local man Chris Dyas, who looked like he had done enough to take the class but at least had the consolation of also being invited to the British finals.
 
Intermediates
Dan Juma dominated the intermediate over 80 kg class but there was some debate afterwards about whether or not he should have entered a weight class instead because he has earned a string of victories in other federations. Juma undoubtedly has a great physique, as he proved here, and it would be interesting to see how he fares in an open class.
Weighing a solid 95 kg, he defeated Leeds competitor Kenny Allan while third-placed John Tuplin, from Bolton, only decided to enter on the morning of the show. After a mad dash to the venue and a rather hasty tanning job he made it on stage just in time and was rewarded by going home with a trophy and a supplement voucher.
Steven Taylor, who won the intermediate under 80 kg class, has the problem, if it can be called that, of possessing a pair of legs that won't stop growing. They were certainly the Lincoln man's standout bodypart as he won the class unopposed.
 
Bodyfitness
Not for the first time the bodyfitness proved to be one of the most controversial classes of the day. It was never going to be easy for the judges when five women with highly different shapes and levels of conditioning stepped on stage. But the two who missed out on the top three places can both feel hard done by.
Natalie Jakomis, who is half-Greek, had an elegant and nicely balanced body but was adjudged too muscular for the class. Debutante Lesley Wainwright was less muscular but well conditioned and still got overlooked.
In the end Karen Norris, Rachel Ravenscroft and Sara Saunby were called back on stage for the trophies. Sara has a lovely shape but she was ill on the day and did well to hold things together for third. Rachel, who had great legs and was very defined, finished second while Karen celebrated her UKBFF debut with victory. She certainly has the kind of shape that would appeal to people inside and outside the sport – look out for more on her in a future edition of Muscle & Fitness.
 
Women's bodybuilding
Superwoman Trish Porter added another string to her remarkable bow by winning the over 57 kg physique class. Trish is a true woman of iron: she holds the Northern Ireland powerlifting records for squat, bench press and deadlift and twice won the UK's Strongest Woman contest after initially getting involved in the sport when she went along to watch and ended up lifting a mini just for fun.
On top of that she is a hotel manageress and mum of three, yet she didn't let her busy schedule stop her getting into remarkably good shape. Some strength athletes struggle with the bodybuilding diet but not Trish: she had lots of dense muscle, as you would expect, and nice balance. "People say I have massive calves and are always asking how did I get them that size. Believe it or not my calves were always big, as I walk on my toes in my bare feet," she said. "My goal now is to become a professional bodybuilder."
 
Classic Bodybuilding
This class was introduced this year to encourage more competitors who want to train for the more aesthetic look synonymous with 1980s stars instead of going all out for freaky muscularity. So it was encouraging to see John Heaton and Jason Barnett become the first two guys to enter the class at the North-East Championships. The cap has been set to limit the level of development but as these two guys proved, they still pack a fair amount of muscle on their frame.
 
Masters
Sid Connors, who has been competing for 22 years, won the over 40 class unopposed. Weighing 88 kg, the 44-year-old presented a complete package in good condition. "I was hoping for more competition but I will get that at the British finals and I shall be even better then," he said. There was also only one competitor in the over 50s. Mick Vaughan, 51, is in his second year of competing. Last year he finished runner-up in the class, this year he went one better. "I did karate for 19 years and doing this was the next step up," he said.
 
First Timers
No fewer than 12 men stepped on stage for the first timers and at first glance it looked like the judges would have a difficult job on their hands separating them. But on closer inspection one man stood out: Graham Hogg. First timers are, by definition, not known within the sport but Hogg, who served in Bosnia and the Falklands during a seven-year army career, had not only never competed before but had never even been to a contest.
"I've always been in pretty good shape and people kept saying to me ‘why don't you compete?' So I thought I might as well," he said. Twenty weeks out he decided to enter and got himself into tremendous shape, entering at a solid 213 pounds. He was undoubtedly one of the first timers of the year but afterwards he was still unsure whether he would do the British finals because he had booked a holiday to Thailand five days after this contest. Trips abroad are never the easiest place to maintain a diet and we suspect some of his rivals will have been hoping he indulged himself.
 
Juniors
All three competitors, Jonathan Barrett, Daniel Pearce and Chris Hanley, showed enough to suggest they have bright futures in the sport. The winner on the day was Daniel Pearce, from Hull.

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