Northern Ireland Grand Prix 2023
‘The promoters are all judges and ex-competitors and it’s their mission to ensure competitors have a fantastic show day after dieting and training hard for months.’
Photography by Ricky Woodside
To order your stage photos from this contest, click here.
The BPA Northern Ireland Grand Prix was held on Sunday in the Lagan Valley Island complex, which was just a 20-minute drive from Belfast International Airport.
The complex is huge with a theatre perfect for the show.
Steve Graham, the promoter and BPA Northern Ireland rep, had a tough act to follow after Harry Ogg’s fantastic Scottish Grand Prix, which got the BPA off to a flying start.
But Steve did the competitors proud and it seems the BPA has hit upon a fantastic formula with perfect stages and awesome trophies. The promoters are all judges and ex-competitors and it’s their mission to ensure competitors have a fantastic show day after dieting and training hard for months.
The competitors were invited into the theatre for an athletes’ meeting where they got their first glimpse of the amazing stage set up by Scott of Spotlight Events UK and they were absolutely thrilled to see so much thought and effort had been made to make them feel like superstars and be rewarded with trophies they would be delighted to display.
Bodybuilding
The show kicked off with junior bodybuilder Ryan O’Grady from Dublin. Ryan was only four days shy of his 24th birthday, which means he will be jumping into an open category in his next show. He had a good shape and a promising future.
Next up was masters over-40, which had one of the most impressive physiques of the day. Kyle Vauls from Coleraine was balanced and proportionate and had enough muscle to hold his own in an open class. His posing routine was confident and polished and he’ll be one to look out for at the British Championships in October.
Masters over-50 saw Felix Macilendan don some posing briefs instead of his usual board shorts. Moving from men’s physique to a bodybuilding category is quite a move but he said: “I’ve been working on my legs so want to show them off.”
Masters-over 60 saw two competitors battle it out with the very youthful looking physique of JJ Dunne from Dublin taking the win over local lad Eddie Howarth from Lisburn. JJ was well groomed, with a perfect tan and a short stocky physique and lovely muscle bellies which earned him the win over Eddie, whose tall physique was balanced but needed a bit more filling out. They both had great posing routines and smiled from start to finish. Fantastic effort for our over-60s bodybuilder and were both invited to the British Championships to battle it out again.
Our mixed disability class was won by “the bionic man” Kevin Cosgrove. As promoter and emcee Steve Graham said, it’s difficult enough to train, diet and pose without a disability so his efforts were rewarded with a very warm reaction from the audience as well as a first place trophy and an invite to the British. A confident display and great posing routine, getting the audience fully behind him.
Graham Moore took the win in classic bodybuilding and classic physique with a neat little shape and not so classic purple mohican. Hit the vacuum and classic poses like a pro. The classic physique class is a popular category and it often catches out those who can’t quite master that vacuum or make the weight restrictions.
Over-90kg bodybuilding title was won by ‘trophy hunter’ Daniel j Smith, who flew into Belfast on a £30 flight on Sunday morning from Wolverhampton. Packed with muscle, proportionate and having been on stage so many times he was a natural at the posing routine. A little sharper through the quads and he will be one to watch at the British Championships.
Female classes
Women’s physique competitor Debbie Downey took to the stage five days after her 41st birthday. Her daughter, age 18 also competed today in junior bikini. It was a great family affair, with the proud dad and coach in the audience cheering the two women louder than anyone else. Debbie had a beautiful shape and plenty of muscle and displayed it very well. A formidable opponent and a real threat for the British title.
Junior bikini was won by 18-year-old Alicia Downey who had a lovely shape and a strong, confident stage presence for someone so young. With her mum having already won women’s physique, she had mum and dad in the audience cheering her on.
Over-35 masters bikini saw Claire McNeill from Antrim take the win. A lovely balanced physique and a confident display could only get better if she can be a little more conditioned throughout. The masters categories are very popular and Claire will certainly hold her own at the British.
Over 40 bikini winner Jennifer Kilpatrick looked very youthful and had a small waist which accentuated her shape. Lovely hair and make-up and a great stage presence. The over 40s bikini is something the BPA introduced after receiving comments from a lot of competitors. It certainly looks like it will be a popular category.
Master bodyfit was a fantastic battle between two awesome competitors. The category is for women aged 35-plus, but Lynne Halliday, who flew in from Scotland, is 53. Her opponent, Tracey Hutchinson, is 47 and she took the win. Lynne looked so youthful with perfect make up and skin tone. A little bit tighter in the glutes and she would have made it difficult for the judges. Shape, balance and proportion and tighter glute/hamstring helped Tracey take the win on this occasion. Both are seasoned competitors and a fantastic example of masters bodyfit/figure.
Open bodyfit saw Lauren Baker added to the line-up that also saw masters bodyfit competitors Lynn Halliday and Tracy Hutchinson back on stage. Lauren managed to split the two ladies with a second place as Tracy took the win again. A lovely-shaped Lauren was balanced and conditioned and a little fuller may have pushed harder for the win. It’s difficult to get the balance between conditioned enough to get the glutes on point without the upper body being too conditioned for the class. All these ladies looked fantastic.
Open bikini saw junior champion Alicia, Rachel Dykes and Greta Narkeviciute take to the stage. Greta took the win with fantastic glutes and quads and a very polished posing routine with Rachel taking second and Alicia third.
The overall female showdown saw the stage full of the champions. Greta and Tracy were close but Greta earned the win, the crystal vase and £500 cash.
Men’s Physique and overall men’s title
Men’s physique featured an epic battle between Ross Neysi and Kyle ‘The Real Deal’ Dillon. With only two competitors, these guys were worked very hard with their posing routines to allow the judges to count, re-count, check and double check the scores. Ross’ lovely taper took the win over the more conditioned Kyle. Something tells me this battle will continue to the British and it’ll be an epic fight for the title.
The overall male was tight between Kyle Vauls and Daniel J Smith Jnr with Daniel taking the win, the Unique Finn McCool trophy and the £500.00 cash.
The event sponsors were Fierce and Free who gave an outfit to both overall winners. NI Supplements gave every class winner a £50 voucher and Bodytone Warehous awarded a voucher for supplements.
Steve put on a great show that will grow from strength to strength.
Photography by Ricky Woodside. Email address is info@rickywoodside.com and website is rickywoodside.com
A special mention to Adam from Bodybuilding UK for covering all the posing routines with his reels for Instagram
Jade Colhoun presented half the trophies on behalf of NI SUPPS and the other half were presented by Amy Hopkins from Fierce and Free.
In the audience was former Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Northern Ireland Andi Magee and her husband Billy Magee and multi-title holder and many times Northern Ireland champion bodybuilder Nicky Cheung. They all were enthusiastic about what they saw and can’t wait to be involved next year.