ALL roads will lead to the National Cultural Centre (NCC) tonight, when the second annual Hugh Ross Classic (HRC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships gets under way from 19:00 h, with over 37 athletes, including the defending female champion, battling for supremacy.
With the barring of inaugural male champion Mark ‘Uno’ Perry from the competition on the grounds of his humongous size, a battle can be anticipated among the men for the second Mr HRC title, which is being held after the world renowned Guyanese bodybuilder Hugh Ross who will be in attendance tonight.
Among the 37 athletes who are set to grace the stage of the NCC tonight in the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF)-sanctioned event are former general secretary of the GABBFF, Bruce Whatley, who last competed three years ago.
Also on the roster for tonight’s event which has Trinidad and Tobago’s female professional bodybuilder and reigning Central American and Caribbean champion (55kg), Candice Carr-Archer, guest-posing for the audience, are Clint Duke and Lindy Sharpe.
Duke, who will be competing in the light-middleweight division, won the welterweight division at the inaugural show two years ago and is currently the Mr Guyana lightweight division champion, while Sharpe will be emulating Whatley with a return to competition, after a one-year self-imposed absence following the death of his wife.
While Perry has been debarred from the competition, female Ms HRC and well-known athlete Alicia Fortune who is the reigning Ms Guyana will be on stage to defend her title against the likes of Kascia Beaton and Dacia Junor, two of her Guyana Defence Force (GDF) gym teammates.
GDF’s welterweight champion Michael Simon is raring to have a go at the opposition in the light-heavyweight division and can expect a challenge from Devon Boatswain while his team mates Patrick Bristol and Devon Davis, Kevon Waddle and Victor Logan will be vying for supremacy in the lightweight and middleweight division respectively.
Daison Campbell closes off GDF’s representation at the show, with his entrance in the heavyweight division, which makes the competition stiffer on a night where patrons are expected to flood the venue with their presence at one of the prestigious bodybuilding events to be held locally.
Prior to the 19:00 h start, an exhibition of the sponsors’ products, of which beverage giant Banks DIH Limited and telecommunications giant Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) are the major sponsors.
The weigh-in will take place at the NCC from 13:00 h, under the supervision of Ms Fiona Harris, president of the GABBFF.