… Mr Novice needs to see uplift in standards
PRESIDENT of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Frank Tucker expressed his delight at the performance of the five-man, one-woman team who represented Guyana at the recently held Central Americas and Caribbean Championships (CAC) in Grenada, at a press conference held in the Conference Room of the Bank of Guyana yesterday.

Guyana had athletes competing in the bantamweight, welterweight, light middleweight and heavyweight divisions, with 2009 GABBFF Novices champion Alfred Jordan picking up a bronze in the welterweight and Marlon Bennett silver in the bantamweight divisions respectively.

The Guyanese contingent at the 37th annual Central Americas and Caribbean Championships, including GABBFF president Frank Tucker (left), strike a pose with guest Dennis James at the farewell banquet which was held at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort.

“For a team which has not been exposed at this level of competition, except for Clint Duke, they performed very well to win two medals and along with Alicia Fortune (the lone female) gaining honorable mention for her fifth place after making the final six, that speaks volumes for the sport,” said Tucker.

He continued, “Fortune’s performance should serve as a form of encouragement to the female population in Guyana who are interested in taking up the sport of bodybuilding. There is much scope for women in the sport, but they have to come forward and take it up and I know they will follow Alicia our 2009 national champion and do well.”

Tucker stated that the GABBFF has plans to expose its athletes to international and world renowned bodybuilders, which can serve them better in the long run.

“At the CAC Championships, we had the opportunity of witnessing Dennis James who competed in the 2008 Mr Olympia Bodybuilding competition and placed eighth, while we met another lifter with Guyanese parentage from Aruba by the name of Hemraj Mulai.

Mulai, who placed eighth in the bantamweight division of the 2008 World Championships, has offered to come to Guyana sometime in the future to assist us with our developmental process in the sport, a move that would be welcomed by the GABBFF” stated Tucker.

He further told those gathered including treasurer of the GABBFF, Fiona Harris, who like Tucker travelled with the team to Grenada, about plans for the sport in this part of the world, which included the merging of the Southern Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (SCBBFF), of which he is the president and the Antilles Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (ABFF).

“First of all, there has not been any competition organised by the SCBBFF, which has eight countries under its stewardship, for several years now, due to numerous reasons while the ABFF which has 10, is finding it difficult to get athletes to compete.

The decision to merge the two, with Danny Sumner as the head and Tucker the deputy was taken unanimously at the CAC championships, with the interest of hosting competitions for athletes in this part of the world and our first competition will be held in July next year in Cali, Colombia.”

Defending champions Barbados who sent 19 athletes to the championships, came away victorious once again, leaving Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas, who were embroiled in a controversy over last year’s decision on the overall winner of the 2008 championships, in second and third place respectively.

Meanwhile, Mr Novice 2009 Alfred Jordan called on the GABBFF to uplift the standard of the sport, thus making it more competitive for local bodybuilders.

“It was a very good experience for me at the CAC Championships. My move from the Novices to the senior championships was competitive, with a higher competition at the CAC Championships, which left me with a different concept of bodybuilding,” said Jordan.

He stated, “Bodybuilding in other countries is far more developed than what we have here, with all due respect to our athletes. But at the same time, we have bodybuilders in lighter weight categories carrying more mass on their physique, which tells us we need to lift the standard of bodybuilding in Guyana.”

Jordan believes that the plan with regard to exposing local bodybuilders to more internationally recognised athletes and competitions would serve as a booster in the arm of development of the sport locally.

Harris used the opportunity to thank the many sponsors including Jai’s Signs and Designs, Professional Key Shop, Caribbean Airlines, HJTV, Hacks Hollow Block Factory, Total Fitness Gym, the Guyana Defence Force, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, King’s Jewellery World, Exclusive Styles, Queensway Shipping, Hugh Ross and other members of the GABBFF and the media for their support.