Report by Andrew Cominos:
This year’s Scottish Open was something of a triumph for BDFPA members “north of the border” - in particular organizer Hamish Davidson, who had gone to greater lengths than ever to spread the word. It was the best subscribed Scottish divisional in the history of the Association – and this time the vast majority of lifters were from Scotland! Just goes to show what can be done when you try.
In the UNEQUIPPED POWER – Vicky McCann put up a super 360 total despite getting in just one squat and one bench press. She made all 3 dead lifts, including a new British record on 160. T1 lifters William Wright and Kris Dixon made useful debuts, gaining loads of valuable experience on the way. The BDFPA is attracting more younger lifters than it has for a long time.
In the 75s David Hannah (M1) dominated the field much as last year. His 520 was made of just 5 good lifts, and if he can sort out a technical problem on the dead lift his total will be nearer 550+. Great going at under 73 kgs. bodyweight. Like Vicky McCann, Davy was part of a sizeable contingent of Scottish lifters from the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation. At T3 Chris Empson has matured greatly as a lifter during the past year. His dead lift of 182.5 was especially impressive. There were some army lifters at this event, including Seb Madronal, who lifted confidently, getting all his squats and dead lifts. Rob Wright at M2 had a great day, making nine successes in good style.
A gutsy performance at 82.5 from Stuart Macrae, who recovered from a dicey start on the squat to finish well. Look out for a total way over 500 from him the next time around. Fellow BNBF member Robert Hope (90 kg) is still a junior, and has yet to discover his full lifting potential. World natural physique champion in his age group, Robert squatted his way to 220 (he has quads to match) and made all 3 dead lifts to 250. Only his 3rd bench on 142.5 eluded him. Also at 90, another junior lifter Liam Armstrong was really fired up, and lifted well to amass a 490 total. Loads of potential there, and no doubt much more to come in the future. Tom Cox, a Scotsman who hails from Gloucester, was unfortunate to bomb on the squat, though he did better on the bench and made all 3 dead lifts to 180. He more than made up for things at the West Midlands a month later – where he got 9 from 9. By contrast, Alastair Christie Snr.(Ray and Alastair’s dad) had a super session, missing only his 3rd bench and getting a fistful of unofficial British records into the bargain. World 110 champ Mark Norton decided to have a go at “raw” lifting this time around, and duly won the best lifter award.
Organizer Hamish Davidson probably now holds the record for the most events contested in one day. He lifted in the powerlifting and each of the three single events – both equipped and unequipped!
EQUIPPED POWER – Another newcomer, Bernadette McKinley made an impressive debut. She recovered from a tricky start on the squat to make all her benches and dead lifts - at 80kg and 162.5 respectively, both ”quality” lifts. At M7 Tom Johnston was lifting a long way from home, but as an émigré Scotsman had the audience behind him all the way. An initial failure on 145 dead lift was followed by a success on the same weight. BNBF member David Jay (82.5) unfortunately bombed on the squat – but went on to register an impressive 200 DL at M3. Army lifters Steve Maden and Neil Thomas performed creditably, with Maden putting together 567.5 at 90, and Thomas 610 at 100, a figure he was to exceed a month later at Gloucester.
Not every meet can produce a lifter’s best form, and so it was with Les pilling on this occasion. Slightly below par, he nevertheless judged his attempts well to make 735 at the finish, which was enough for him to emerge the clear winner of the best lifter award in this section. His successful 3rd dead lift on 300 went down very well with an enthusiastic crowd. Watch out for newcomer Graham Russell – nine good lifts with room to spare. I predict that he will join the 700kg. “club” before too long.
Finally, an “in-house” competition between Hamish Davidson and John Wright resulted in a win for the former by just 2.5 kg. As it happens the “perennial” rivals were in different age groups for purposes of the championships. John was a bit disappointed with his lifting despite making the biggest bench press of the day with 180 (I gather he had been hoping for a total nearer 700). Hamish did a grand total of 23 competition lifts during the day – but undoubtedly the best of these was his 3rd dead lift in this section with a wonderful 262.5.
SINGLE EVENT SQUAT – five powerlifters with an appetite for hard work (or was it a masochistic streak?) – entered this section, with Alastair Christie Snr. and Rob Wright actually scoring a bit more than in the 3-lift competition. Also lifting was Lateefa Taylor (one of the Gloucester contingent), making her first ever appearance on a BDFPA platform with a lift of 85.
SINGLE EVENT BENCH – Ten entries, six of which were from powerlifters who had already competed. Notable was Tom Johnston, who made all 3 attempts to finish 2.5 up on his earlier “bash” with 72.5. The first-ever appearance in the BDFPA of Rasheed Patel, who impressed with benches of 135 (u/eq) and 145 (eq). Lateefa came back with 3 good lifts, ending up with 57.5, a figure she was to beat a month later. The other noteworthy performance was from BNBF member Guy Addison. Guy, who is Vicky McCann’s partner, (and a Del Cope “lookalike”) loaded throughout the 3-lift sessions, but had enough energy left to bench an impressive 155 at 110, though 160 defeated him twice.
SINGLE EVENT DEAD LIFT - Lateefa pulled out all the stops to get 3 good lifts up to 152.5 (she subsequently made 160 at the W.Midlands). Tom Johnston rounded off an exceptional day by pulling an outstanding 160. At just 67.5 and 71 years of age, this is really good going. Alastair Christie Snr. lifted like a man inspired to make 212.5 on his 2nd before calling it a day. Following Rasheed Patel’s 2nd attempt success with 220 – dead lift specialist Peter Whitehead (at only 94.8) pulled a great 280, but his 3rd on 300 was going nowhere on this occasion.
An enjoyable day for those who attended, and a memorable one for the BDFPA. Things seem to be looking up for drug-free powerlifting right across the country. Let’s hope it’s the shape of even better things to come. My thanks to everyone who helped by taking on the usual jobs that make any meet run smoothly. It would have been even harder work (and less enjoyable), without their help.