The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH about three weeks left to complete all of the necessary arrangements, the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation has provisionally named a 38-member team to defend its title at the Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

Whether or not the full team travels to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, September 29 to October 2 will depend on if the federation can secure the necessary funding from both the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and Ministry of Tourism.

Joel Stubbs, completing his first full year as the new president of the BBFF, said after winning the title last year here at home, they are eager to see how well they can go out and defend their title this year.

“The team was picked basically from what we saw on the stage the other night,” said Stubbs about the federation’s National Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships at the Melia Hotel.

“All of them have top calibre bodies right now, but our national coach Raymond Tucker and the chief judge are heading to Grand Bahama this weekend and they will make further assessment of the competitors and if their bodies have declined rather than inclined, then they will be slashed off the team.”

If they don’t secure all of the funding necessary, Stubbs said the federation will be forced to carry what he termed an “elite 21” team.

“Some of them have the potential, but from the bodies that I saw to what they need to be, they still need to get there,” Stubbs pointed out. “So if they can improve over the three weeks remaining, then it would be good in our interest.

“But if they don’t, then we will have to cut them from the team. I think that would work even more in our best interest because we are still looking for the funding to carry everybody. We have an elite 21 that we can definitely take care of. But we are looking at trying to get the extra funding to carry the others.”

Stubbs, winner of the 2003 CAC heavyweight championship to earn his pro card, said based on the team they are looking at taking to Santo Domingo, if the Bahamas doesn’t win the title, he is looking for no less than the runner-up spot. “I’ve already found out that Barbados, one of our biggest rivals, will not be carrying a full team because of some indifferences in their federation that has led to some of their top bodybuilders sitting out,” Stubbs said. “I think we will have them in the bag.

“Venezuela, who is also usually up there, we don’t know who at this time and point they will be bringing, but we know that when the championship is held in a Spanish speaking country, these teams normally come full force because they feel that their chances are much better.”

Looking at the make-up of the team, Stubbs said the strength is in the women’s figure category and the men’s bodybuilding.

“Our bikini seemed to be very weak this year,” Stubbs said. “We don’t have the likes of Amy Sands, Kadesha Culmer and Noami Fatel. They were three powerhouses last year.

“We have a new slate of bikini competitors this year. Carina Ferguson didn’t win her division last year, but she was able to pull it off and became the overall champion. But it’s questionable if she and any of the other bikini girls can pull off a gold medal. They all have their work to do to get tighter. They have time to do it. If they take the time, they can look a lot more prosperous at CAC.”

The competitors in women’s figure, according to Stubbs, along with the men’s upper class in bodybuilding – light heavy, heavy and super heavy – all seem to be right on par to perform very well.

“With the men’s bodybuilding, we won the men’s bantamweight, men’s lightweight and men’s welterweight gold medals back-to-back last year, but we don’t have that this year with Charles Reckley and Paul Wilson sitting out.,” Stubbs said. “That’s two medals we have lost already.

“But we’re hoping that men’s champion Jamiel Hamilton, who is in tip-top shape, along with Vincent Paul and Bernard Davis, and welterweight champion Jimmy Norius, who all have better physiques than last year, we should be able to get four gold medals from them.”