BBFF prepare for their Novice Champs

Date: 18-05-2007 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamBahamas

Local bodybuilders are hoping to flex their way to the top of The Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation's (BBFF) charts, as they begin to make last-minute preparations for the 21st Annual Satellite Bahamas Novice Champion-ships.

The championships, which will set the competitive stage for the sport in The Bahamas this year, will take place this Saturday at the Crystal Palace Ballroom.

It is designed to welcome first-time competitors (novices) and also high school students to the sport. With the new additions to the sport, BBFF President Danny Sumner believes that the upcoming tournament will continue to uplift the sport, which has opened its doors to high school athletes based in New Providence and throughout the Family Islands.

"The Bahamas Bodybuild-ing and Fitness Federation is proud to announce the 21st Satellite Bahamas Novice Championships," said Sumner.

"The event will highlight high school and novice competitors on the stage that will incorporate four categories in the body fitness competition, and eight in the bodybuilding categories.

"This year we will have a number of young athletes coming from the senior high schools in New Providence and five coming in from Long Island.

"The Novice Champion-ships were always a pacesetter for the federation as we look at the future which will tell us how we would go about in 2007," added Sumner.

"Last year we were proud to have Satellite Bahamas as the premier sponsor for the competition. This year we are embarking on that competition again hoping that the high schools will be able to take advantage of the opportunity.

"If they do, the interested young people will be trained by our coaching staff and then move on to compete in the National Championships which will take place in July of this year."

The categories at this year's Novice Champion-ships will be divided into two segments, a body fitness and a bodybuilding category.

The newly-introduced body fitness category will be split into four classes, A-D, with the overall classing being based on the competitor's height.

There will be eight classes in the bodybuilding category, namely bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, lightmiddleweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and super heavyweight.

Sumner said that they will be anticipating clean competition among the athletes who will be competing on the stage for the first time. According to him, this year's entry list will increase after witnessing a growth in participation in the sport on the part of females.

He said: "I have visited several gyms and from all indications, I have encountered a number of young female athletes who will be gearing up to participate in the category which we call body fitness.

"This part of the sport has become very popular in The Bahamas and in Europe."

Representation from high school athletes competing at last year's championships included C.C. Sweeting, both the Junior and Senior High Schools, C.I. Gibson and Doris Johnson Senior High School. Sumner and the BBFF are expecting the number to increase at this year's competition.