NBPFA.com

“DIEPPE’S SANDY RIDEOUT WINS 2005 CANADIAN BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP”
by Garry Bartlett

NOTE: “We are very proud at how well Sandy Rideout and Kandy Thomas represented New Brunswick Bodybuilding at the 2005 Canadian Bodybuilding Championships held on the Sept. 3rd Weekend in Laval, Quebec. We are posting this press release for our members to read.” Len Collette President of the New Brunswick Amateur Bodybuilding Association.

When Dieppe’s Sandy Rideout stepped off the plane in Montreal last Thursday he had a big decision to make. Would he be able to represent New Brunswick at the 2005 Canadian National Bodybuilding Championships to be held on Saturday in Laval. It is no secret that Sandy has had a dream of being Mr. Canada since the first time he picked up a weight in his teens. His long time friend and mentor, five-time Canadian Champion Ti-Jean LeBlanc also from Dieppe is a legend in Canadian bodybuilding. Jean’s fierce competitive spirit has paved the way for other Atlantic bodybuilders and Sandy has now been handed, the torch by his friend.

Sandy will be the first to confess that training for a bodybuilding competition is difficult and challenges every aspect of ones character.

“You have to live like a monk, unable to eat what you want, a training schedule that would be the envy of any Olympic athlete. The demands on the body are wicked and rest is essential if you want to continue to train at the intensity required to get in top shape. It is also extremely costly as the food required to feed your muscles is not cheap! So my summer wasn’t what I envisioned as it just slipped by with little enjoyment for me!”

It seems that true champions are tested beyond the normal as Sandy found out Wednesday before the show. Stepping out of his bathtub his foot suddenly slipped on the glossy surface causing him to fall striking his elbow on the hard surface.

“At first the pain was not that bad, but by Thursday morning it really started aching, and to make things worse the swelling at the base of my elbow was so bad that it looked deformed. I took anti inflammatory pain killers and soaked it in ice, but still the swelling didn’t come down. When I tried to practice my posing the pain was excruciating."

In spite of the pain and swelling Sandy made the trek to Montreal desperately hoping that things would get better come contest time on Saturday.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get better and early Friday evening he went to the emergency center of the local hospital seeking medical assistance. Through unbelievable pain Sandy allowed the doctor to syringe some fluid from his swollen elbow in a last minute effort to make it look normal. The results were mediocre as most of the swelling was from damaged tissue. Regardless Sandy made the commitment to compete in spite of the pain and the struggles of the past couple of days.

As Saturday rolled around the swelling wasn’t as noticeable but Sandy’s troubles were not over as this was his first Canadian Championships and he found himself crammed on stage competing against 16 of Canada’s best middleweight bodybuilders. The middleweight class is for athletes who weigh from 177 lbs. to 187 lbs. and Sandy weighed in at rock solid 187 lbs.

As this was his first National championship he was an unknown to the nine Canadian bodybuilding federation official judges. However it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as the favorite as he was constantly being compared to the others. In spite of the obvious pain whenever he flexed his superior condition and pristine muscularity dominated the category winning favor with the critical judges. His biggest rival came from Nova Scotia’s exquisitely proportioned Tim Rafuse who came to Laval determined to avenge his loss to Rideout at last springs Atlantic Championships. Rafuse was in top condition but still came up short finishing in a tie for second which because of the CBBF judging rules landed him officially third. Rideout was one of the most ripped and best conditioned athletes in the entire field of 140 athletes. When the smoke cleared Sandy found himself in first place and was awarded the middleweight category proving that in spite of insurmountable odds that dreams can come true.

Saint John’s Kandy Thomas carried the N.B. banner for the women as she managed an impressive fifth place finish in the women’s masters category and a respectable third place finish in the lightweight division. Kandy has been working with Saint John trainer Bruce Sweeny who through his expertise helped Kandy arrive in Laval in unbelievable shape.

She sported the best set of abdominals in the entire division.