Wellington success for Wairarapa bodybuilders

Scoring errors may have stripped a trophy moment from Julie Buck – Masterton bodybuilder and mother of four – but despite the oversight the new Ms Wellington Figure walked away in her six-inch heels the overall winner on the night.

"After the prize-giving for the overall winner I was taken aside and told I was to get a drugs test. When I got there, they said there was no test and that they had made a mistake on the scores. I had actually won, " she said.

"They apologised for giving the title to another woman and told me there was another award for me if she didn't want to give it back.

 
 
 
 
She gave it to me, no problems, so that was good."
Mrs Buck, now 40, has trained with weights for almost 20 years, she said, but did not start competing as a bodybuilder until 2002.

She said the discipline and expense of the sport has an effect at home and her four children – Summer, 4, Hunter, 8, Shauni, 14, and Josh, 18 – all have a part to play in her success on stage.

"It costs about $1000 for costumes and shoes plus the supplement on top of that. Last week we all just scrapped by and the kids do play a part in the whole scheme of things, definitely."

As well as winning the overall Women's Figure category at the 2006 New Zealand Federation of Body Building Wellington Bodybuilding Champs, Mrs Buck, a fitness instructor at the CLM Gym in Masterton, also took first place in the Open Figure Short category and first place alongside fellow Masterton bodybuilder Deon Smith in the Mixed Pairs category.

Deon Smith, who had originally attended the champs as a helper only, also won the Novice Men over 80kg category during his last minute entry to the competition.

Another Masterton competitor, Takurua Tawera, Hau Ora Runanga Health Services senior clinical cultural liaison officer, placed second in the Masters Men Over 40 - 80kg category, after taking up bodybuilding a year ago "as a promotion for over 40s Maori men to look at their health".

The Masterton team, The Naughty Forties, also placed second in the Team category, Mrs Buck said.

Mrs Buck won the same event last year and is confident she will take out the New Zealand title in the same category at the national finals in Auckland later this month.

"I prefer competing in the Figure category over the Physique because you're allowed to wear sparkly costumes and jewellery. The heels I wore on Saturday are at least six inches high. It suits me more competitively and personally – it's more feminine.

"I only look like this for a couple of weeks before and after competing and I lost about five kilograms through dehydration – really – during the day on Saturday," she said.

"I think it's the most disciplined sport out there. It's not as easy as people think it is. You've got to have a strong mind and I really love that stage and the lifestyle – just love it."