THE Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation’s (GAPLF) 2019 calendar of activities will lift off on Sunday (February 3) with over 30 athletes set to compete for top honours at the St Stanislaus auditorium from 10:00hrs.

The Novices/Juniors Championship has been described as the birthplace for the future champions of powerlifting by GAPLF president Ed Caesar.

In an invited comment, Caesar told Chronicle Sport; “This championship is where we see the future of powerlifting in Guyana come to the fore. This year we have at least 36 athletes registered for three flights, the highest number at these championships for as long as I can remember.”

Among those 36 athletes who have been confirmed, five are females. This is an encouraging sign for the GAPLF’s thrust of attracting more female athletes to the sport.

Caesar also explained that the emergence of such a large number of new athletes to not just powerlifting but also ‘weight training’ sports is a welcome sign as a number of the seasoned athletes in the arena are nearing retirement.”

Last year’s Novices produced arguably Guyana’s biggest female talent in recent years – Runita White, who went on to tear up the record books in the 2018 season.

Pre-sold tickets for the event cost $1 000 or persons can pay $1 500 at the gate. Action will get underway at 10:00hrs.

Athletes List for Novices/Juniors Championships 2019:

Guest Lifters

Lisa Oudit, Blossom Babb, Bjorn Williams, Kenneth Melville

Female Novices

Ameera Wajidally, Shelly Ann Gomes, Chitra John, Nela Gomes, Esther Maycock

Juniors

Keshawn Rahiman, Timothy Bagla, Fawaz Rampertab, Ramzan Mohamed, Akram Gaffor, Jermy Indarjit, Isaiam Latchman, Daniel Singh, Askhay Goukaran, Leon Sukdeo

Masters

Roger Rogers

Male Novices

Omar Wajidally, Intiaz Haniff, Rudra Persaud, Davendra Sookdeo, Leon Oudit, Clifford Osbourne, Parvattan Heel, Marlon Wilson, Arjun Roopnarine, Ramnarine Ragoobar, Wazim Mohamed, Tremel King, Courtney Williams, Mark Semple, Derbe Fraser, Joel Harry.