Contestants show off their body of work
Date: 04-08-2010
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamCanada |
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With the weather forecast looking bleak this past Sunday the elements held off just long enough for the flexing of muscles and flaunting of bikinis to take place at the 28th annual JCI Penticton Mr. Muscle Miss Bikini Contest.
Within an hour of the completion of the Mr. Muscle and Miss Bikini contest, rains pounded the beach of Skaha Lake forcing those in attendance to crowd under the tents set up on the beach. However, Ryan Sirianni, past-president and chair of JCI Penticton, said it had no effect on the overall success of the event.
“Every year has its little obstacles and this year we ran into a couple of things, but at the end of the day because of the diverse group that we have and the hard work and dedication that our members put into the event ... everything was perfect,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni added that they did see a little spike in the attendance of this year’s event, with an estimated 1,900 to 2,000 people in attendance. He also said although the final numbers aren’t in, they expect to raise about the same as last year, which will allow them to stay true to all their commitments.
“We should be on track for what we raised last year... It was approximately $10,000,” Sirianni said. “All financial commitments we’ve made to the community groups we support will be getting the money that we said we’d be providing them this year.”
Along with a slight rise in the event’s attendance, Sirianni said the number of entires in the event’s four contests was up as well. Mr. Muscle and Miss Bikini maxed out with 17 and 15 competitors respectively, and the frozen and wet T-shirt contests had six and 11 entries.
“Usually there is one or two spots open, but this year every spot in Muscle and Bikini was filled up and every spot in the frozen T-shirt and wet T-shirt was filled up,” Sirianni said.
For Ryan Griffith, JCI co-chair, the weather forecast and the lack of a lineup when the gates opened at noon had him worried and anticipating the possibility of a poor turnout. However, at the end of the day Griffith said the “mass amount of people” there during the bikini contest quickly swept those thoughts away.”
“I was a little nervous when the gates opened and there wasn’t as many people as there normally is lining up,” Griffith said. “This event is the big one for us in the year and a lot of people benefit from it, so it was nice to see it all come together.”
For Mr. Muscle winner Chris Schulte nothing could keep him from supporting the annual event, saying, “I’ll be back every year until the day I die.”
The Surrey resident has been attending the fundraiser for the past five or six years, and having competed with the British Columbia Amateur Bodybuilding Association in the past decided to enter the competition this year.
“It was really awesome today, I’ve got to say,” Schulte said. “Every guy was deep and there wasn’t so many people fooling around, but it’s always nice to have those guys too.”
Schulte added that his $500 prize would help him pay for some of his vacation, and a couple rounds for his friends at the Parrot that night. Simon Wisniewski earned himself $300 taking second place and Sheldon Thompson pocketed $200 for third.
First prize in the Miss Bikini Contest went to Penticton’s Whitney Lorelle, earning herself $500. Second went to Sarah Hlapcic and third to Caitlyn Nelson, taking home $300 and $200 respectively.
“Mr. Muscle and Miss Bikini are always a good time, I’ve been here for the last two years and it’s been a blast each year,” Lorelle said. “Also it’s always good when you’re doing something to benefit other people and the local community.”
