With just six days to go until the Guyana Body Building and Fitness Federation (GBBFF) hosts its senior championship, President Coel Marks spoke of the great interest being shown in the event.
The senior championships will be held on July 15 at the Parc Rayne Hotel at Houston and Marks in a recent interview told News Room of the hyped being developed as the athletes fine tune their chiselled physiques.
“So far we have a lot of fervour around from the athletes’ side and we want that transfer to the patrons because we want them to come out and really support this show. This is our flagship event and we want persons to understand this is a pivotal show for our national team,” he said.
The 2017 championships had proven to be a night of upsets as four-time Mr. Guyana (Body Building) Kerwin Clarke and two-time Men’s Physique, Emmerson Campbell, both lost their titles.
The judges favoured USA-based Bruce Whatley, who won the Men’s Body Building overall and Yannick Grimes, a runner-up on several occasions, took top spot in the Physique category.
“We have the big guns in Campbell and Grimmes who have an unsung rivalry. Kerwin Clarke is always in tip-top shape and we have a lot of guys gunning for him. It is going to be a good show,” Marks related.
He added, “This year for sure, we have the largest female participation we have had in seniors in a while, which is a transition from the novices which had the largest amount of females in a while. This year we have five confirmed female athletes, which is a step up from last year where they just had one.”
After the winners are announced and patrons depart from what Marks is hoping to be another memorable show, the federation will still be working overtime in the hope to send athletes to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships in Mexico, scheduled for July 27-29.
“The guys that are going out will definitely be in tip-top shape, the proceeds from the show will go towards the accommodation in Mexico and once they have covered that, all residual funds will go toward other expenses,” he pointed out.
Marks also gave an update regarding the initial first place prize of a motor vehicle.
“We were endeavouring to have an automobile given away, but that didn’t materialise as we would have like but they are some thoughts to probably get it done for next year and that will give athletes a longer time to prepare and get themselves ready to receive a car.”
“We don’t necessarily want to be rewarding mediocrity; we want the best to receive that item. This is all about developing the fervour around body building from patrons to athletes.”
In addition to having guest posers and live artistes performing, the organisers are asking patrons to be seated on time with show time being 19:00h. Tickets cost $2,500 per person.
