SHAQUILLE?LAVINE of the Metropolitan Institute will be hoping to be third time victorious when the highly anticipated Tiger Malt Mr Schoolboy Bodybuilding and Miss Body Fitness Championships are staged on Friday at The Lester Vaughan School.
For the past two years, Lavine placed second, and this year he is looking to capture the title in an event where the Schoolboy title generally outclasses the cuteness of the tiny tots, the enthusiasm of the juniors or the pert appearances of the Body Fitness competitors.
Yesterday, Lavine showed his fans and opponents what to expect come November 15 when he put on a teasing sample as the event was launched at the National Sports Council’s headquarters in Blenheim. With NSC Director Erskine King and category manager of Tiger Malt, Shelly Phillips, looking on, Lavine signalled his intentions to be on the top of the podium this year.
Phillips indicated that it was a natural fit for Tiger Malt to sponsor the schools’ event for the second year as bodybuilding, body fitness and Tiger Malt spoke to the mental and physical fitness working in unison to achieve success.
King expressed NSC’s gratitude towards Tiger Malt for their support as he indicated that sports in Barbados were battling to prevent the fall-off of the traditional one per cent of competitors after they reached a particular age.
“This fall-off is traditional world-wide, but when you consider that with just a sporting population of about 180 000, which is already divided into almost 50 different disciplines, we cannot advance while losing such possible talents.
“That is why the NSC, with support from partners like Tiger Malt, will continue to strive to unearth young talent and assist that talent to achieve its full potential,” said King.
Fifteen secondary schools will be participating this year with competitors coming from tertiary institutions as well as 14 primary schools. The little ones will compete as tiny tots, juniors and upper juniors.
Latisha Corbin will be looking to repeat as Tiny Tots champion in the girls’ 6-8 bodybuilding while holding off her Wilkie Cumberbatch schoolmate Tichina Burgess once again. Charice Taylor of Deighton Griffith will also be hoping to repeat in the Junior Girls (9-11) Fitness, with last year’s runner-up Laila Chin of Bay Primary keen to move up one spot.
While Lavine will look to move to the winners’ row while holding off the Barbados Community College’s Mykelti Clarke who was third last year, most of the champions in the other categories will be returning to defend.
Upper Juniors Girls (12-15) winner Sankara Price of The Alexandra School returns, so too is her school mate, Da Quon Jones. The versatile Mary Fraser will be defending the Upper Juniors Girls title while The Lodge School’s Shaniqua Allamby will be aiming to repeat from a massive field of 17 in the Ms Body Fitness. (KB)
