Saskatoon pumped up: Local bodybuilder has sights set on Canadian title win

Date: 13-09-2006 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamCanada

Vince Wawyrk has spent the last two years of his life carefully tinkering with the bodybuilding equilibrium of diet and weight-training.

His goal is to produce a physique that exceeds his 2004 Canadian light middleweight championship-winning form and capture the overall Canadian amateur bodybuilding title.

Three years ago, the local bodybuilder captured his fi rst national title in Saskatoon.

This weekend, the Bridge City-born builder hopes to achieve the next major accomplishment in his bodybuilding career in similar fashion, by capturing the 2006 Canadian bodybuilding championships overall title, again in Saskatoon.

Citing his most cherished accomplishment to date, Wawryk says that "winning my fi rst Canadian championship was special because it was at home (in Saskatoon). Winning the overall title at home would be just as big." Wawryk hasn't strayed from his roots which is why winning at home remains a gratifying bonus.

Like most Saskatchewan boys, he spent his youth competing in football and hockey. In order to keep up with the big boys in such physical sports, the 5-foot-5 athlete started pumping iron to level the playing fi eld. Wawryk liked the changes he was beginning to see in his body, as his resistance training bulked up his frame. The rest is history.

Wawryk won the first contest he competed in, the 1991 Southern Saskatchewan middle weight division championships.

By 1993 he won the overall Saskatchewan title and ten years later he was the best in his division in Canada.

Throughout his ascent, through the ranks of Canadian bodybuilders, Wawryk has continued to call Saskatoon home. It cannot be mere coincidence that the popularity of bodybuilding in Saskatchewan has grown parallel to his accomplishments.

"When I started in the sport, Saskatchewan would send one or maybe two athletes to nationals. Now we have seven to 23 athletes at the national level," said Wawryk. "It would be great to win the overall title in Saskatoon because it provides local exposure for the sport, and gets kids interested in it," he added.

Wawryk's strategy is to set small goals for himself and plan far ahead in order to ensure that he is prepared to achieve those goals.

After winning the national championships in the light middle weight division for the second consecutive year, Wawryk decided to skip the 2005 championships in order to focus on attaining the overall title this year.

Feeling that he was overlooked in the overall competition because of his size, Wawryk decided to spend the last two years bulking up in order to give himself an edge. At the 2004 championships, he weighed in at 174 pounds. This year, Wawryk will be somewhere around the 190-pound mark and may move up two weight classes depending on whether he can drop to below 187 pounds by contest time.

Doug Schneider, publisher of the online publication seriousaboutmuscle.com, thinks there is reason to believe that Wawryk is a top contender for the title. In a recent article, Schneider says that "if he (Wawryk) can display ten pounds more muscle this year than he did in 2004, he's going to be impossible for the judges to overlook." Winning the overall title doesn't just garner the victor glory, but also secures the champion a pro card. A pro card ushers an athlete into the world of professional bodybuilding and all the contest and sponsorship spoils that go along with it. Despite the fact that Wawryk has an incremental approach to success, he can't help but be enthused by the idea of turning his passion into a profession.

"I think it would be great to be the first Saskatchewan bodybuilder to win a card and compete in pro events," he said. "In the bodybuilding world, it would put Saskatchewan on the map."

CANADIAN BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIPS

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

WEIGH INS: Ramada Hotel & Golf Dome, Friday 1:30 p.m.

PARADE OF CHAMPIONS SHOWCASE

Friday 6 p.m. TCU Place Auditorium

PRE-JUDGING-OPEN CLASSES

Saturday, 9 a.m. TCU Place Auditorium

CANADIAN OPEN CLASSES CHAMPIONSHIPS

6 p.m. Saturday -- TCU Place Auditorium

LIFE-FIT FESTIVAL AND EXPO

Friday Noon-9 p.m.

Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.