Fifty of Barbados’ most muscular men and attractive women hit the stage at Saturday’s Allmax Nutrition National Championships which will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) from 6 p.m.
Four-time Mr Barbados William Prescott and four-time Darcy Beckles Classic champion Hoskin Worrell headline the contenders seeking to dethrone last year’s first-time winner Ramon Broomes in the marquee Mr Barbados contest.
Also expected to be in the mix-up will be Stevenson Belle, who is fresh from his victory at the Sport World Classic in Trinidad and Tobago, reigning Mr Bridgetown, Joseph “Runt” Bourne, Laron Gibson and Samuel Eastmond.
With places up for grabs on the Barbados team which is seeking to retain its title at the Central American and Caribbean Championships (CAC) in the Dominican Republic from September 19 to 22, this year’s Nationals promises to be bigger and better.
Since there is an added incentive of pro cards in the new categories of bikini fitness and men’s physique at the CAC?Championships, competition should be fierce.
The top contenders in men’s physique will be Marlon Dottin, Lynstron Griffith and Kevin Edwards, who are so far unbeaten. They will take on the likes of Corey Weithers, Evy Bentham and Bacari Bascombe, who form a formidable Surfside Wellness Centre team.
The Krackan’s gym outfit of Omar Benn and Akeem Joseph as well as the Jones brothers, Andre and Jamil from J&S Fitness should make the contest a keen affair with 16 or more competitors gracing the stage.
The dominance of former Banks calendar girl Saskia Griffith, Shakira Doughlin and Natalie Webb from the Strike Force Gym (Summit Pro Bodies Team) will be severely tested severely in bikini fitness as former Miss Bridgetown Nadia Bretney (Brute Force Gym), Tanisha Cross (Surfside) and Rashida Gill (Flawless Concepts) are some of the other top contenders.
Asha Chase, Nicole Garnes and Kerri Gibson of Flawless Concepts, Surfside and J&H Health will certainly dazzle with their routines and physique in the ladies fitness competition where there is a mix of gymnastic excellence with physical development.
Ramona Morgan (J&S Fitness) is the undisputed queen of body fitness in Barbados but she will expect still competition from Rashida Belgrave, a World Championships silver medallist, Kathy-Ann Greenidge, Kim Sealy and Samantha Waithe.
Two former Miss Barbados winners, Julia Davis and Rhonda Browne, will contend with Deidre Archer, who is in the shape of her life, and Crystal Lewis.
The weigh-in and measurements will take place in the Poinsettia Room at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Two special awards will be featured at Nationals this year. Roger Sealy, “The Black Prince”, will be given an Outstanding Service Award for his contribution to bodybuilding in Barbados as an athlete, gym owner and coach.
The inaugural Winfield Bascombe Memorial Award will be given to an individual who displays exceptional qualities in the areas of competition, administration and promotion of the sport of bodybuilding and fitness in Barbados.
Bascombe, a founder member of the CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and a father figure of the local sport, died in May this year.
Strike Force Gym has been the top gym at Nationals for the last three years and they will be pulling out all the stops to land a beaver trick.
The audience will be in for a special treat and will benefit from free memberships at Surfside Wellness Centre as well as hundreds of free Allmax Nutrition samples.
Top athletes will also benefit from thousands of dollars in Allmax Nutrition supplements as they prepare for the CAC Championships.
Apart from the title sponsor, Allmax Nutrition, the local federation has thanked all the sponsors, including Mint Condition Industrial Services, ACE Pharmacy, Surfside Wellness Centre and Hott 95.3 FM, who are contributing towards the show. (PR/EZS)