– to be hosted at the Guyana Marriott
By Michelangelo Jacobus
With the seniors’ Body Building Championships slated for Sunday August 6 at the prestigious Marriott Hotel and being the flagship event of the year for the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GABBFF), President of the GABBFF Coel Marks has revealed in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times Sport that the federation is aiming to attract a wider audience this year as they seek to keep developing and advancing not only body building but fitness in Guyana as well. This is the first Senior event since Marks was elected President of the federation and he explained; “we chose the Marriott hotel as our venue this year because we want to appeal to a wider audience; I urge patrons to come out and support our marquee event and relax in a very congenial atmosphere as it will be a very interesting night with nine (9) major categories of competition. This year we are bringing back the masters category for the over-40 competitors and will see the likes of Lenny Sharpe and Noel Cummings competing. There is the Bantam weight, light weight, welter weight, middle weight, light heavy weight and heavy weight categories. In addition there are the highly anticipated Ms Bikini Body and Ms Body fitness competitions.”
Over 30 athletes are expected to compete on the night and Marks maintained that fans can expect a packed night of quality competition as all athletes are in “tip-top” shape; “patrons can expect value for their dollars.”
In addition to the fair amount of cash prizes and trophies that the athletes will be competing for, patrons will have a chance to win prizes as well.
Coel Marks
With an eye on the future, the fairly new executive let on that the GABBFF has been in talks with a few owners of private resorts as they are looking at a possible partnership for the hosting of a Beach Body competition which could be merged with a fashion show. This is a part of the federation’s plan to promote fitness and further body building development in the country while attracting more audiences.
While corporate sponsorship for sports in Guyana has always been a sore point Marks noted that this has not been the case for the GABBFF as the “usual suspects” have all come on board. “The ever present Jamie McDonald is one of our platinum sponsors while we have people like Atlantic Mining, Chung’s Global, Windjammer and the Ministry of Youth and sport on board this year among others who have provided support in many valuable ways.”
Tickets can be purchased for $2500 at gyms such as Fitness 52, Buddies’, Space Gym and at the door on the night of the event without any additional cost.
