2005 AUSTRALASIAN TITLES BEAT CONQUERS ALL TO WIN PRO CARD REPORT BY SANDRA LEE JOSE The 2005 Australasian Titles were hosted by Sydney in NSW, providing opportunities to secure a men’s pro card, win a trip and qualify for the Men’s and Women’s World Championships. The prejudging began with the junior class and first onstage was Grant Andre Pieterse from New Zealand. Grant has good shape and development for a young man of 20. The novice division started with six competitors, but by the afternoon show was down to four. Michael Vecchio was hard and lean and won with overall shape and condition over second place-getter Omar Kahlil, who was also in great condition. Third was Steven Tritton and fourth came Raed Ali. Next onstage came the masters division, and here we saw the battle between ‘Mr Energetic’ Keri Onyewu of New Zealand, and ‘Mr Master’ Lou Vecchio of Victoria, Australia. Keri bounced onstage with a grin from ear to ear, showing the audience that he was enjoying every minute and that he had the muscle, shape and condition to feel confident in his performance. He won hands down over Lou, who never fails to produce his best. Third place went to Pat Gibson and in equal fourth were Nick Xanthakis and Mustapha Hamid. The women bodybuilders were up next, and this was a difficult class to judge. It was a case of size (Laura Clements) versus shape (Sesa Tomuli) versus definition (Nola Tonks). In the end it was Laura first, Sesa second, Nola third. The figure girls came onstage, and here we had three divisions on show - short, tall and masters. The short class went to Arina Manta, a true example of that style of competitor - petite with perfect shape. In the masters, Gladys Matthews from New Zealand took first place. The real competition was in the tall class, with three ladies in top condition. Jayne Pickering, a stunning blonde, firm and athletic, was up against the beautiful, dark glamour girl, Kelli Johnson, and an equally attractive girl from New Zealand, Maureen Joanne O’Connell. Jayne won over Kelli, with Maureen in third. Arina and Jayne both qualified to represent Australia later this year at the World Amateur Women’s Figure Championships. But only one all-paid trip was available, so the two blondes had to go head-to-head. Both girls are equal winners in their height classes, but to choose one totally different body over the other must have been difficult for the judges. Ultimately, the paid trip went to Arina. After a short break to re-stock on caffeine and cake, we came back with the men ready to hit the stage. Up first was the under 80 kg class, and who said you have to be massive to make an impression? Rhommel Pardilanan was awesome, a complete package of muscle, shape and condition. He was ripped and vascular with perfect symmetry, and today he was impossible to beat. Second was Daniel Fel and third was John Greenfield. Fourth place went to Brenton Balmforty. Under 90 kg men were next, with six competitors in this class, and a battle of size versus lean lines when we saw the return to the IFBB bodybuilding stage of Michael Scionti. Anyone who has been around bodybuilding for a while will recognise this man’s name. He has beaten some of the best bodies in the business and he is back - huge and ripped. This class included Warren Clampit, who has a great overall shape but today seemed a bit off his best, and Alistair White, who came up to Sydney even harder than he had been in Melbourne. But the real battle came down to John Buckpitt, who had great abs and thighs, and Michael Scionti, who is like a road map of veins, with a lat spread that shadows the stage, and a massive, full chest. Michael Scionti came first, with John Buckpitt second and Warren Clampit third. The over 90 kg class saw the rematch of the big boys from Victoria, Mike Nysten and Serge Desantis. Two weeks earlier in Melbourne, Mike beat Serge, but this time Serge won the battle. Serge has magnificent legs and calves, although both boys are huge and neither lack full muscle development anywhere. Third was Glen Austin who was totally ripped but just lacked the mass of Mike and Serge. Eric McIntyre added some rapping to his routine, which entertained the crowd, but Eric and Harry Bickers weren’t hard enough to compete with the other boys. Next was the men’s world qualifier, and today we saw Michael Scionti up against Rhommel Pardilanan, Warren Clampit and Eric McIntyre. The battle came down to the massive Michael and the awesome ‘Mr Perfect Package’ Rhommel Pardilanan. Luckily for the judges, they had two trips to give away. All four qualified, but the trips went to Michael and Rhommel. Finally, the battle for that elusive pro card, with four competitors in this class - Mohamed Agha, Beat Heschberger, Locky Maxwell Wright and David Cutler. The first callout was Beat and David. Beat was hard, with a great sweep to his thighs, and David carried a huge ‘V’. Second callout was Locky and David. Locky has big, full muscles, but David just edged him out on shoulder and back width. Again, Beat and David were compared, and while these boys are similar, David was probably ahead on symmetry. At the night show, it all came down to Beat Heschberger versus David Cutler, and when looking to give out a pro card I’m sure that the judges take into account everything that the term “professional” implies - not only in body, condition, size and shape, but performance. For my money, Beat had it in the bag, not only with the best body onstage but his whole professional performance. Beat won his pro card and I can’t wait to see him up against the world’s best in 2006 at the Australian Pro Show. On what I saw, he is going to do extremely well. Congratulations, Beat on becoming Australia’s latest men’s pro bodybuilder. M&F

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