"Publisher's Page" by Doug Schneider
The Best of 2012
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Created: 01 December 2012 01 December 2012
When it comes to identifying the best of 2012, there are a number of things I can point out, but I think the very best thing this year was how successful Physique Canada was in its inaugural year. Physique Canada was founded in December 2011, but the first contests weren’t until 2012. It is the nation’s newest men’s and women’s physique organization, created to promote only drug-tested events that adhere to WADA-type testing standards – as far as I know, the only organization in Canada that’s structured this way. Physique Canada's president is Brian Robitaille (right side in photo) and the chief judge is Steve Duperré (left). For competitors who don’t want to go down the dark, destructive path that drug use would take them, and who want to compete on a level playing field with other natural athletes, Physique Canada is a godsend.
Physique Canada’s first competition was on June 16: the National Classic. The second was held on October 20: the Canadian Championships. Both events were wildly successful and both showed the enormous excitement that natural competitions bring, and the potential that this competitive path has. Physique Canada rigorously drug-tested both competitions and no one failed – what it showed is that if you put on a great show and make it well known that strict drug-testing will be employed, then only natural competitors will show up and the cheaters will stay home out of fear of getting caught. Let’s hope it stays that way.
The Canadian Champions
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Created: 01 November 2012 01 November 2012
This month’s cover features Ontario-based bodybuilder Rob DeLuca, now a two-time Physique Canada Tier 1 Elite men’s bodybuilding champion – first at Physique Canada’s inaugural event, the 2012 National Classic, held on June 16, and more recently at the Canadian Championships, held on October 20.
However, Rob’s October 20 win didn’t come easily, since right behind him was Simon Proteau, who is based out of Montreal. Simon was more ripped than Rob, but he didn’t display the near-flawless proportions that Rob had, nor did he have Rob’s muscle density, particularly in the legs. Still, the judges and audience seemed awfully impressed with Simon’s condition, making the contest tight to the end. But when all was said and done, it was Rob who won and continued his reign as Physique Canada’s top men’s bodybuilder, with Simon serving notice that he’ll certainly be a force to reckon with in the years to come.
The Latest on Women's Athletic Physique
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Created: 01 September 2012 01 September 2012
Physique Canada was formed in December 2011, in turn becoming Canada's newest physique organization for men and women. Furthermore, Physique Canada pledged from the start to sanction and promote only drug-tested competitions that would adhere to WADA-type standards – making Physique Canada not only the newest physique organization, but also the only one with a mandate to be 100 percent clean. Within Physique Canada's competitive structure, the group did one more thing – they decided to offer women's athletic physique. Doing so allowed Physique Canada to claim yet another first by being the only organization in North America to offer this exciting competitive discipline for women. The World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPSF), of which Physique Canada is an affiliate, promotes this discipline globally.
Clean Canadians?
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Created: 01 October 2012 01 October 2012
Our cover this month boldly states: "The Clean Canadians!" Does that mean that we're now concerned with competitors' hygiene? Hardly. What we're referring to are clean Canadian competitors in the drug-using sense, and more specifically, the Canadians coming to the 2012 Physique Canada Canadian Championships to be held on October 20. We certainly don't care what they smell like when they're there.
The reason for the headline was this: Physique Canada not only implemented the best drug-testing program of any Canada-based physique organization when they came on the scene last December and followed up on their promises with thorough drug testing at their inaugural show on June 16, they have now also gone one step further and implemented out-of-competition testing, which, to the best of our knowledge, is something no other national-level physique organization in this country has ever done.
Iron Women
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Created: 01 August 2012 01 August 2012
Traditionally, physique competitions have been dominated by men. But since about the year 2000, the number of women competing has consistently being creeping up by so many that, today, women competing usually outnumber the men by two to one! As a result, we thought it fitting to dedicate more coverage to these iron women, since they certainly deserve as much exposure as the men. This article highlights some of the women who competed successfully at the recent Physique Canada National Classic held on June 16 at the beautiful Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
One of the most popular Canadian women competing today is Nadine Williams (formerly Young, shown right), who is featured on our cover this month and in our "Hot Shots" gallery, and also in the current issue of Oxygen. Nadine is not only very popular with the public – she's also a highly accomplished competitor. Most recently, Nadine took the runner-up spot in the Tier 1 Elite muscular physique category at the Physique Canada National Classic (Physique Canada's women's muscular physique discipline is what other organizations typically call figure). Nadine was also the second runner-up in the Elite Pro division at the SAF Summer Spectacular, which was held the same day in the same location. SAF is a fitness-modeling organization, while Physique Canada concerns itself mostly with muscle-building, so Nadine's strong performance in both proves that even very muscular women like Nadine can compete successfully in a variety of competitions and organizations if they have the right overall look.
Michele Steeves, who I wrote about last month, also deserves heaps of praise. She went into the National Classic with no real expectations and emerged the winner of the Tier 1 Elite women's muscular physique category – a real triumph when you're up against topnotch competitors such as Nadine. Obviously, Michele was thrilled with the result and can be justifiably proud of her accomplishment. What's more, she also goes down in the history books as Physique Canada's first ever Tier 1 Elite women's muscular physique winner. 
Michele will be returning to the Physique Canada stage in the fall for the Canadian Championships, which will be held on October 20, once again at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Another top competitor who really made an impact this year is Emily Michelussi (shown left). Emily turned heads when she competed in the Elite Pro division at the SAF Summer Spectacular, where she achieved a very respectable fourth-place finish. Afterwards, she went on to win the Tier 2-level muscular physique tall-class title in the National Classic. Emily is only 23 years of age, but she is bursting with potential and we feel she has a very bright future ahead of her. Another big Tier 2 winner at the National Classic was Tammy Carter – she was the women's muscular physique short-class winner. What's remarkable about Tammy is that she's over 40 years of age. Emily's and Tammy's wins qualified them for Physique Tier 1 Elite status, which allows them to compete against Michele, Nadine, and the other Physique Canada Tier 1 Elite athletes in the fall and in future years.
Physique Canada's women's athletic physique discipline is brand new, so there were no Tier 1 Elite winners at the National Classic. (In this discipline, the judges look for an athletic physique, but with less muscle than is necessary in the women's muscular physique discipline.) 
But the tremendous success of women's athletic physique in the Tier 2 and 3 levels at the National Classic guarantees that it will be incredibly popular at future Physique Canada events. Michelle MacDonald and Michelle Manoll (shown right) were the respective winners in the short and tall categories of the Tier 2 competitions and are now qualified for Tier 1 Elite status (along with the second- and third-place finishers in each height class). The first ever Tier 1 Elite women's athletic physique competition will be held at the Physique Canada Canadian Championships.
If 20 years ago someone had said that women would outnumber men at physique competitions, people would probably have laughed at them. But that's precisely what's happened – and we couldn't be happier about it. Our congratulations go out not only to the women we featured in this article, but also to every woman who competed at the Physique Canada National Classic. Look for more great coverage of Canada's best female physique competitors as we now start to move into the fall.
. . . Doug Schneider
SeriousAboutMuscle.com Founder and Publisher