BBFF officially set to host CAC's

The Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation officially came to a contract agreement with Central American and Caribbean officials and the International Federation of Bodybuilders on the hosting of the 31st Annual CAC Championships next year.

The prestigious event will be hosted in The Bahamas for the first time in 17 years from the 24-28th September. The championships will be staged at the Crystal Palace Resort and the Nassau Beach Hotel. The contest itself and the pre-judging will be held at Crystal Palace while the Nassau Beach Hotel will be the site of some of the meetings for the delegates and athletes and also used primarily for accommodations.

In the wake of the agreement, the federation is already making the necessary arrangements and plans are underway to stage the best ever championships.

To do that, sponsorship is expected to play a major role as the federation seek to raise between $40-60,000.

"We are looking at a very big budget. The expenditure should take us in the range of $40-60,000," said BBFF Executive Director Danny Sumner.

"Our hands are full and this is our time to look for some good sponsorship for this very prestigious event coming up. The country will be proud that we are hosting such a big contest here," he added.

Sumner said that they are expecting help from the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Sports but added that they would like to see some major sponsors come forth and lend their assistance financially as well.

The federation is expecting to host between 100-200 athletes and officials representing between 30-39 Caribbean and Central American countries.

"From a touristic point of view, it is going to be good for The Bahamas. The economy will benefit from those people coming in and it is going to go a long way in helping the people of The Bahamas in their local businesses," he said.

Sumner said that Greek member of the IFBB committee, Tony Flinn, will be here for the championships as well as newly elected CAC President Colonel Bruce Backley out of Jamaica and IFBB Vice President Javier Pollack. Flex magazine and ESPN will be covering the prestigious event.

"We have been working very hard for the past three or four months in preparation for this event. Once we get it started, most of the administrative part of the work next year will be done by the executive committee of the CAC. In all we are expecting about 8-9 officials from the CAC and the IFBB to be here in Nassau," said Sumner.

"Most of the delegates who have already contacted me are looking forward to this event with great enthusiasm. A lot of the athletes and judges have never been to The Bahamas so everyone is looking forward to coming to Nassau. With the Bahamas being very dominant in Bodybuilding in this part of the world, the championships is something that they are all looking forward to," he added.

Venezuela won the CAC championships this year but The Bahamas has won three out of the past five and being at home next year should give the team an extra incentive to return the title to The Bahamas.

In view of the CAC being held in New Providence, the federation is looking at the option of having the nationals in Grand Bahama jointly with the Northern Bahamas Championships just like it was done this year.

"This is going to help us in terms of freeing up some of the expenses," said Sumner.