The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With the assistance of the Bahamas Government, including the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and Bahamasair, the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation was able to take the entire 38-member team to the 44th Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

However, the trip to the Dominican Republic wasn’t exactly what president Joel Stubbs had anticipated as the team returned on the chartered Bahamasair flight, having relinquished its title to the host nation.

While the official points were still being tallied, the Bahamas ended up in fifth place with a total of three silver and three bronze to trail Venezuela, who captured second, Barbados got third and Trinidad & Tobago came in fourth in what turned out to be the biggest regional competition with more than 350 competitors participating on Saturday.

The Bahamas’ best performances at the championships came from the following:

Silver - Jimmy Norius – men’s bodybuilding welterweight; Bernard Davis, men’s bodybuilding super heavyweight and Theo Burrows, men’s fitness.

Bronze – Lorraine Fowler, women’s physique short class; Jamiel Hamilton, men’s bodybuilding heavyweight and Lakeisha Miller, women’s body fitness.

Fifth place - Tammy Stubbs, women’s physique short class, and Maria Marapoulou, women’s bikini class F

Sixth place – Stephen Robinson, men’s bodybuilding lightweight; Orrick Nesbitt, men’s bodybuilding middle heavyweight; Cara Saunders, women’s bikini wellness and Allysa Fox, women’s bikini junior division.

“We gave a gutsy effort in all categories, but we saw where in some categories, the criteria that we based our training on was much different from what the judges expected over there,” said Stubbs on the team’s return home yesterday.

“We found out that the Spanish judges sitting on the panel were more favourable for their athletes and they had a dominant year for the Spanish-speaking countries. Their athletes came through in great success, similar to what happened here last year when we hosted the CAC Championships.”

Not making any excuses, but Stubbs said the Latin athletes performed exceptionally well and he felt the Bahamas, having gone through a seminar with the chief judge for the Caribbean, he expected a much better showing in defence of the title.

Stubbs thanked the Government of the Bahamas, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Deputy Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis for organising the chartered flight on Bahamasair to and from the Dominican Republic.

Now that they are safely home ahead of the pending hurricane Matthew, Stubbs said he along with Dr Cyprian Strachan are expected to put on a series of clinics on the supplements and nutritional aspects of the sport and what is needed to enhance the body naturally and their training inside the gym. “We just dropped the ball and didn’t have the seminars and clinics before, but it’s something that we realise is much needed now,” Stubbs said.

“If we have to do it two or three times a year, it will be done to make sure that our athletes are a little more advanced to get their bodies in better condition and in better shape to compete at this level.”

Additionally, Stubbs said they have to go on a recruitment drive to get more younger competitors in the sport because it’s obvious that the ones that have been dominating for so long here, are finding it much harder to get to another level in their performances.

And after struggling with finding the necessary funds to travel to the Dominican Republic, Stubbs said they would embark on a more vigorous fund-raising effort to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself when they have to go to the next CAC or any other international event in the future.

The 45th CAC Championships is tentatively set for Mexico City, Mexico, next year at a date to be announced.