Four lakecity fitness competitors posed to strong results late last month at the B.C. Amateur Bodybuilding Association Provincial Championships.
Tina Campbell, Trinity Sure and twin sisters, Renee Cooper and Reani Sharp, all punched their tickets to the event, held in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, after qualifying through regional championships held prior following months of mental and physical preparation.
During a fitness competition, competitors are judged on physique and overall stage presence.
Campbell, in the figure category, finished in second place out of six competitors, granting her a berth to the national championships.
“At this one the top three from B.C. get a paid entry into nationals,” Campbell said. “It’s pretty incredible. Some girls never get here and to get where I’ve gotten in two shows is great. It’s a huge honour.”
Campbell plans on attending the nationals next year to allow for better preparation.
She said the competition at provincials, meanwhile, was fierce.
“The girls on stage looked incredible,” she said.
Cooper, Sharp and Sure, meanwhile, all competed in the bikini division at provincials.
Cooper finished fourth — also qualifying for nationals — with Sharp and Sure both finishing in the top 10.
“[It] was a great experience,” Cooper said. “Great group of ladies and was nice having Trinity there on our team this time, too.”
She said she’ll now enjoy taking the summer off to spend time with her kids and husband following months of two hours of training per day.
“In the fall I’ll start training hard again to get to nationals in 2016,” Cooper said, adding she owes a big thanks to all of her family, friends and husband Danny for the support and encouragement.
Sharp noted the calibre of competition was a big step up from the regional competition both she and Cooper attended previously.
“This was my first year competing in the bikini fitness industry and I’m proud of what I accomplished,” she said. “I learned a lot about diet, training hard and how dedicated an athlete has to be to compete at this level.
“I enjoyed my journey and couldn’t have done it without the unwavering support of my fiance, Brett, Renee and my coaches, Dean and Leigh of BodybyBrandt.”
Sure landed a top-10 finish in the bikini division at provincials — a result she said she was extremely pleased with considering her first fitness competition was May 9 in Kelowna.
“I won first place [in Kelowna] which moved me on to provincials,” Sure said, who started her training in February of 2015.
“I’m very proud to have made top 10 when competing with the best in B.C. and it only being the second time I’ve ever stepped on stage. Moving up in shows was a huge eye opener on what it takes to make it to the pros. The competition definitely gets harder and more challenging.”
Sure said she walked away with the knowledge of what it takes to get to the next level and plans on competing again next year with the goal of qualifying for nationals.
“I love the challenge and drive it takes to make it to be show ready,” she said.