CAC Bodybuilding team named
Date: 14-07-2011
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamBahamas |
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The last time the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships were held in El Salvador, it produced favorable results for The Bahamas.
In those championships, the country was able to cart off its first overall title and attain its first pro card winner, bodybuilder Charles Kemp. This year’s team won’t be nearly as large to contend for the overall title, but Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (BBFF)?President Danny Sumner is confident that it will perform exceptionally well. An 11-member team was ratified yesterday afternoon, and will contest the championships from September 21-25 in El Salvador.
Named to that squad are Grand Bahamian Dominique Wilkinson and Naomi Fattal in Body Fitness, Miranda Stuart, CJ Hilton, Charnice Bain in Women’s Fitness, female bodybuilders Tamika Stubbs (Lightweight) and Lorraine Lefleur (Heavyweight), and male bodybuilders Robert Harris (Heavyweight), Mark Dean (Light heavyweight), Lynden Fowler (Bantamweight) and veteran bodybuilder Raymond Tucker (Masters and Mixed Pairs).
“This team is slightly smaller than last year’s team, but what we focussed on this year, was quality,” said Sumner. “We feel that this team might not be big in numbers but it is big in what we are trying to accomplish. There are three people here in these championships who competed in the Novice Championships. That is good and that says a lot about where we are headed as a country. That says that we are looking toward the future and developing the sport,” he added.
The three competitors from this year’s Novice Championships are Stuart, Nattal, who competed in the newly introduces swimsuit competition, and Light heavyweight Mark Dean. The most senior member of the team, Raymond Tucker, has competed in close to 20 CAC?Championships and is back again to grace the stage in El Salvador.
“This is basically a young team. Other than Raymond, who has given us many years of dedicated service in the sport, the average age of this team is around 30,” said Sumner. “That bodes well for us for the future. It’s a good team and we are prepared to work hard to bring back a good number of medals. We have some ideas that we are working on and plans are underway to make this team a good representation for this country. This is going to be a very tough CAC, but hopefully, we can get in the top three,” he added.
The Bahamas last won the overall title in 2003 when the championships were held here in The Bahamas.
“We’re optimistic now. The team we have isn’t a big team but we feel that we could win a significant amount of medals from this team. It’s a small unit but it’s a fierce one so we are expecting our experience to carry us through,” said Sumner.
Sumner, who also serves as the Sr. Vice President for the CAC region, will be making his first official CAC?trip in that capacity. He will be joined by New Providence Bodybuilding and Fitness Association President Steven Robinson, who will serve as the coach of the team, Grand Bahama delegate Maurice Hall, the president of the Grand Bahama Bodybuilding and Fitness Association, Derek Bullard, Team Manager and Judge, Simone Sawyer, Assistant Team Manager and Judge, and Vanetta Cambridge, Test Judge. Last year, when the championships were held in Aruba, Sumner and the federation experienced problems financing the trip, and as a result, had to carry a much smaller team than originally anticipated. This year’s squad is even smaller.
“Finances are always a problem for the CAC,” said Sumner. “Right now, we are still looking at ways in which we can raise funds. It was a major problem for us last year. We are at a point now where we get a significant amount of funds from the government through the annual grant but we still need more so we are calling on corporate Bahamas to assist us wherever possible. Our goal is to ensure that all of the athletes are comfortable. We don’t want the athletes to go on stage dehydrated and not in the proper condition to be competing.”
Prior to the CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, the Antilles Championships will be held. Those championships will be held July 21-25 in Venezuela.
