NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Association

Kia Ora team.

As some of you may have heard ICN New Zealand have made the tough decision to cancel this year’s AFES Champs in Christchurch. ICN have also made the call not to continue with the AFES Champs as part of their annual line up of shows. While I know this will be disappointing news to members of the Armed Forces and First Responder community, given low numbers of registrations, the decision is both pragmatic and understandable.

On behalf of the AFESBA community I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Brenda, Andy as well as ICN NZ’s team of officials, judges and backstage helpers who have made the AFES Champs what we envisaged them to be – a friendly, welcoming tournament that provided opportunities for entry level athletes trying the sport for the first time to seasoned competitors pursuing opportunities to qualify for National competitions and beyond.

I’d also like to celebrate those athletes who have competed in previous AFES Championships and proudly represented their Service. For some, stepping onto the ICN NZ AFES stage was their first taste of bodybuilding and physique sports and its fantastic to see these athletes advance through the ranks and proudly earn their pro cards.

Others who have competed in ICN’s AFES Transformation Class have showcased the resilience and determination that exists within our uniformed services, retiree and veteran communities, to overcome some of the most challenging of circumstances, using training and fitness to regain control of their health and live healthier and happier lives as a result. For these people, and those they have inspired the tournament has been truly transformative.

While the ICN NZ AFES champs will cease, AFESBA remains committed to supporting our athletes and encouraging others amongst our ranks into the sport we love. We will continue to provide guidance, encouragement and advice on all aspects of bodybuilding, utilising the expertise that exists within our various services, NZDF PFIs, Defence Health & Physiology experts as well as our network of experienced athletes across New Zealand. Furthermore, we will continue to explore ways to make the sport of Bodybuilding more accessible to our people, to work with sponsors, the Services, gyms and the wider strength sports industry to inspire others into the sport and support them in competition.

For now though, thank you to Brenda, Andy and the ICN NZ team for their contribution bodybuilding and physique sports in the uniformed community. And to all those AFES athletes competing this year around New Zealand, go well and do us proud.

Stu
President
NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Association

If you’re competing in this year’s ICN New Zealand AFES Champs, let us know here and we’ll connect you with fellow teammates from around the country.

A huge shoutout to our generous sponsors Scafit Limited, Strategic Defence, Frontline Law, FitLine and the Bulls RSA.

The support of these amazing organisations helped AFESBA athletes travel to Australia and represent Team New Zealand at the Defence & Emergency Services Bodybuilding champs in Brisbane.

Our team did NZ proud, returning home with a Gold in men's physique open (Shane Gordon, NZ Police) and Men's physique overall (Shane Gordon), plus a Gold in men's bodybuilding novice (Shane Gordon) and Men's bodybuilding overall (Shane Gordon). Laurence Frappell (Nursing) also added to the haul with a Men's physique open silver, a Classic novice silver, Classic open silver, and a Bodybuilding open bronze.

On behalf of the whole AFESBA team, congratulations to our amazing athletes and a huge thank you to our supporters and sponsors. 🙏

Shout out to our newest sponsor Scaffolding Solutions. Perhaps more used to accessing buildings than body building, Sacfit have made a huge contribution in support of our Team NZ athletes heading across the Ditch later this year to compete at the champs in Brisbane.

On behalf of AFESBA and the wider team, thank you! 🙏

Big News!

Joining us on stage, well, to present the Te Kiwi Maia Trophy at least, is our Chief of Air Force, AVM Andrew Clark. It’s fantastic to have such strong support from the top and we’re super grateful that The Boss is coming to support the show and our community of ICN New Zealand AFES athletes. Here’s what he had to say:

“Kia Ora, as Chief of Air Force I’m honoured to be invited to present the Te Kiwi Mai, the Courageous Kiwi, trophy at this year’s ICN NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Championships. Clearly I would be delighted if a team of aviators went home with the trophy, but whoever wins overall, whether its Navy, Army, Air or one of our partner Emergency Services, I congratulate you all on your achievements.

Whether competing for the first time or as a seasoned athlete, the courage, determination and sacrifice required to prepare for stage is truly impressive. I particularly commend those athletes who have made the commitment to their health to compete in the Transformation class.

Tournaments such as this not only promote high levels of health, fitness and operational readiness, they build strong friendships between our Services. And it’s those friendships and inter-service cooperation that are so important during times of emergency and crisis. We’ve seen this play out most recently as part of our all-of-government response to the Auckland and Northland floods and the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

I’m also pleased to see the New Zealand Red Cross chosen as the supported charity for this year’s competition. Many of us have worked alongside the Red Cross at home or overseas and have witnessed first hand the vital work they do.

So to everyone competing and to the organisers, I wish you the very best in preparing for competition. And I look forward to celebrating your success on the night.”

Summer is gone, the nights are drawing in, the temperature’s dropping, the winter blues are kicking in. 🥶❄️

But if you’re not quite ready to let go of that summer vibe, our awesome friends at Tans By Cayla are here to help.

Cayla is offering a 10% discount on tanning for the AFESBA community.

So if you’re feeling a bit pasty and pale, and you’re missing that warm, healthy, summer glow, why not make a visit to bulls and see the team?

☀️😎

Strength. Courage. Community.

Kia Ora and welcome to AFESBA, the New Zealand Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Association.

In 2021, the bodybuilding federation ICN New Zealand hosted the inaugural NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Championships. The event was open to NZDF personnel and civilian staff (including retirees and veterans) as well as members of the uniformed emergency services, first responders, security services, SAR crews, Surf Lifesaving NZ and emergency DHB staff. The competition, despite Covid’s best efforts was a huge success and demonstrated the passion that exists throughout NZ’s first responder community for bodybuilding and physique sports.

With ICN New Zealand continuing to host bigger and better Armed Forces & Emergency Services (AFES) Champs year on year, and with other athletes competing in various other federations at home and overseas, supporting our athletes in training and competition became a priority.

AFESBA aims to do just that.

The New Zealand uniformed and emergency services community, including volunteers, numbers in excess of 70,000 people. Add to that our retirees and veterans and the community of uniformed and former first responders is huge, stretching from the very Far North to Bluff as well as those deployed or stationed abroad or at sea.

To support athletes employed by the NZDF or other services, the NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Association (AFESBA) has been established. AFESBA is a non-profit organisation with the following goals:

• To promote bodybuilding to members of NZ’s Armed Forces & Emergency Services, including veterans, retirees, volunteers, cadets and civilian staff.
• To provide a social hub for Armed Forces & Emergency Services athletes.
• To support Armed Forces & Emergency Services athletes wishing to compete at a regional, national or international level.
• To support inter-Service and inter-Agency relationships.
• To support capability by promoting high levels of operational fitness and health.
• To promote drug free sport and sporting integrity.
• To support the annual Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding Championships.

As AFESBA grows, we hope to offer a range of benefits to our members and advice on training, coaching and competition.

For now though a big welcome from all of us on the AFESBA team.

Watch this space for more!

Stu
President AFESBA

Athlete Profile:

ICN New Zealand Pro Ms Bikini Model, Royal New Zealand Navy Reservist, Leading Rate Nicole Booth

Nicole has always been active and has enjoyed fitness and sport from a young age. But it was only later in life, at the beginning of 2021, that she began weight training. Due to Covid restrictions making travel difficult, Nicole looked for other challenges to focus her interest in fitness and stay in shape. In 2021 at the age of 30, she registered to compete in the ICN NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Bodybuilding championships. Nicole was curious about bodybuilding but thought there was no way she’d muster the confidence to get on a stage in front of people. Looking back, Nicole says she’s glad she decided to push herself out of her comfort zone, saying that taking to stage for the first time was an empowering experience. From then she was hooked!

Nicole credits her coach, Maria Karen, 3 time ICN Pro and Ms Pro World Champion as a hero, a role model and mentor. Maria’s expert coaching, along with Nicole’s hard work and discipline, obviously paid off. Nicole has gone on to compete with ICN NZ, winning 2021 AFES Ms Bikini Model Overall Champion, 2022 ICN National Ms Bikini Model Champion & ICN Ms Bikini Pro Card and 2022 Hawkes Bay Ms Bikini Model Overall Champion.

Before enlisting into the RNZN Active Reserve, Nicole served with the New Zealand Navy from 2009 to 2018 as a communications specialist. Nicole found that shift work makes it easy to plan training sessions and recovery. These days an advantage of being a civilian means there is no risk of a crash posting, it would be quite difficult if that happened. If the posting were to a ship, there are so many factors at sea which are out of your control. Managing training and nutrition can be complicated for a bodybuilder at sea as there’s always a risk of the ship’s program changing so you could end up being away longer than expected. This could result in missing out on the show you have been working so hard towards.

But despite the challenges Nicole has managed to maintain a high level of fitness and now enjoys the flexibility serving in the Active Reserve offers her.

When Nicole won her first Pro Card she felt an overwhelming sense of pride but also says, given that she was competing against other such incredible athletes, she couldn’t quite believe it at the time. But success on stage has well and truly lit a fire inside Nicole and she is now looking forward to her pro debut in 2023 and competing on the international stage.

Nicole has some advice for other athletes following in her footsteps: “Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Find a reputable prep coach and start your training early, which includes posing practice! When I began training for my first comp I started almost a year out and that really helped… This sport is amazing for personal growth and it has really improved my mental health. I can say bodybuilding has changed my life in many positive ways and I have never felt so strong and confident as I do now. Lastly I want to say to everyone prepping for a comp, have fun!! Be proud of your achievements!!” Photo Credit: Rob Caven Photography

Athlete Spotlight.

ICN New Zealand Pro Bodybuilder, former NZ Army Sapper Ayden Foster

Ayden started weight training at High School around the age of 16 and quickly feel in love with the sport and the benefits he began to notice with his health, wellness and strength. He was 19 when he entered his first competition, competing with NABBA. Ayden says he always looked up to people with a trained and muscular physique and as he got older he loved the attention he was getting from his peers at school.

One thing that really helped Ayden in his training was having a retired bodybuilder on the faculty, working as the school’s my high performance sport teacher. Ayden learnt a lot about diet and training from her. But all this support didn’t quite prepare Ayden for his stage debut and when he thought he’d entered a board shorts class only to find that he’d entered Physique and was required to wear, as Ayden puts it, a g-string, was a bit of a surprise. But it paid off and Ayden did well, winning Teenage Physique NZ in his first competition and was hooked from there on.

Ayden counts the great Ronnie Colman as an early bodybuilding hero, but as his career progressed, was drawn to the more aesthetic physiques of athletes such as Lazar Angelov who Ayden admired. Ayden says it was Angelov’s combination of “amazing conditioning and not too crazy size” as being exactly what he aspired to achieve himself.

Ayden has competed in physique with NABBA and more recently physique and bodybuilding with ICN. In addition to his success in the Teenage Physique class with NABBA, Ayden has won Bodybuilding overall at the ICN NZ Armed Forces & Emergency Services Champs and Overall Physique and Bodybuilding at ICN NZ Nationals.

Ayden says relative stability of his trade in the NZ Army meant it was easy to maintain a routine for training and nutrition. He was also allowed to use unit PT time to focus on his bodybuilding and work towards achieving his bodybuilding goals.

Ayden feels passionately about the health benefits of regular weight training. From the obvious of increased strength allowing you to complete daily tasks easier, through to improved bone density and joint mobility and overall health. Resistance training also increases your metabolism making you able to burn more calories throughout the day so you can eat more. Plus lifting weights also lifts your mood as resistance training releases endorphins (hormones that reduce stress and improve a sense of well-being).

But Ayden says its also important to look out for the downsides to bodybuilding as it can be an all-consuming sport. Social life and relationships can be complicated but if you’re aware of this it can be managed.

Photo: Rob Caven Photography

We want to make a big shout out to our friends at Torpedo7.

Torpedo 7 is a longstanding ally to the NZ Defence & Emergency Services community offering amazing discounts on clothing, equipment, apparel and the very best in sports supplements.

Check them out at: https://www.torpedo7.co.nz