… GABBFF president refutes claims
IT started back in 2008, when former president of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Andre Poonai and a team of ardent supporters of Guyana’s most decorated bodybuilder Hugh Ross decided to organise a show named the Hugh Ross Classic (HRC) in his honour. It was held at the National Cultural Centre (NCC), where Linden’s Mark Perry walked away with the inaugural title for the show that was being held biennially, with Royston Booker taking last year’s event at the same venue, where Ross said he would love to have the show on an annual basis.
According to a press release from Ross, who won for himself the Over-50 category in Mr Universe show last October along with the 2010 Sportsman-of-the-Year Award, having the show this year may be difficult since he was encountering some minor problems with the GABBFF.
Below is Ross’ statement on the issue;
It is with regret that on behalf of the HRC committee I would like to inform the sports ministry, our sponsors, athletes and fans as well as the general public that the proposed HRC 2011 that was set for May 29 has been cancelled. 
Although we have not done a press release, information about this proposed event have been publicised by the GABBFF in their diary of events which was posted and distributed publicly.
However, the said GABBFF opted not to sanction the HRC for that proposed date.
The HRC was first scheduled to be held as a biennial event, with next one scheduled for 2012 but, at the request of the Minister of Sport and our key sponsors we were considering hosting an event this year.
All of this information was relayed to the president of the GABBFF who assisted in suggesting May 29 as a date and further advised us of a meeting at the NCC at which booking requests were taken for that venue.
A representative from the HRC Committee attended the NCC meeting with the GABBFF president and the venue was secured for our proposed event, following which the HRC Committee sent a formal letter to the GABBFF requesting sanctioning for the event.
In response, I received a correspondence with a number of questions that were quite surprising since most of the issues were already addressed.
However, I answered all of the questions and also requested to meet with the entire GABBFF committee for detailed discussions at a date, time and place that was convenient to them between February 22 and 28, since I was scheduled to be in Guyana during that time for the Sports Awards Ceremony.
This request was sent two weeks in advance and was followed up with a verbal request to the Federation’s president upon my arrival in Guyana.
The Federation did not facilitate a meeting but sent me a letter instead, indicating that they cannot sanction our event because their administrators were unable to accommodate any other event apart from their Championships. 
It must be noted that apart from providing a panel of judges, the GABBFF plays no part in administering HRC events.
As a result of the Sport Awards Ceremony being postponed from February 25 to  March 4, my stay in Guyana was extended and during this period, I updated the Minister of Sport and our key sponsors of these developments and they were all quite concerned.
To that effect, the Minister called the president of the GABBFF and scheduled a meeting with the Federation’s Committee from which I subsequently learnt from the Minister at a later date that the GABBFF Committee was not available to meet with him at the time that he had scheduled.
While at the Sport Awards Ceremony, the president or a representative from the GABBFF was again sought for a press photo along with presidents of the powerlifting and weightlifting associations who were present but alas, their absence was highly noticeable.
After departing Guyana, I received yet another letter from the estranged GABBFF suggesting that we identify another date after July 31 for our event, although it was clearly indicated to the Federation’s president that annually I am usually in intense training for competitions in the second half of each year.”
Meantime, president of the GABBFF, Fiona Harris, outlined the guidelines stated to Ross, in connection with the hosting of the show this year, with same being listed below.
As you are aware, the HRC is a private event that was initially introduced and sold to us as a biennial event by Mr Ross who won the Over-50 category at the recently concluded Mr Universe which was staged in London last October.
On his visit to Guyana in December 2010, Ross inquired of the procedure to be employed in order to host another show in this year and he was advised accordingly, and as a result a representative of his organising committee was present at the NCC Production meeting in December where he secured the May 29 date for his championships.
Ross was advised that the term of the GABBFF concludes on December 31, 2010 and the newly elected executive will have the responsibility of sanctioning and negotiating for a 2011 championships. However as is customary, we included the date on our calendar of activities which is usually presented at the AGM for deliberation, thus his claim that the GABBFF has advertised and agreed to that date.
After our general elections in January, we received an official request for a sanction and responded accordingly and upon his arrival in Guyana in February, I met with Ross on a one-on-one basis, where he requested a review of the decision and was informed that the executive committee of the GABBFF will revisit its position and forward a response.