Contrary to a report published on Sunday, the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GA-BBFF) will not be sanctioning the Hugh Ross Classics scheduled for April 20 at the National Cultural Centre.
In a press release issued yesterday, treasurer of the GABBFF, Fiona Harris, stated that the necessary permission had not been granted to the organizers which included president of the GABBFF Andre Poonai, adding that the event did not form part of the GABBFF 2008 calendar of events.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport, Harris said that certain basic steps that were to be followed by executives of the GABBFF were ignored by Poonai.
“There are certain procedures that must be in place before the GABBFF can sanction any event held under its banner. Up to this time, the organizing committee of the Hugh Ross Classics has not come forward with the required procedures,” Harris said.
“Initially, this event was scheduled to be a totally isolated one from the calendar of the GABBFF for 2008. We, however, received a letter from the organizing committee of the Hugh Ross Classics requesting our blessings.
“The GABBFF never got a chance to meet with the organizing committee of the Hugh Ross Classics of which the president of the GABBFF, Andre Poonai, is a member, which meant that certain issues could not have been ironed out before the launch of the event,” Harris stated.
She added that the GABBFF had received a letter pertaining to the sanctioning of the event, but said no response was sent to the committee as the executives of the GABBFF wanted to wait until after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and election of office bearers for the new term scheduled for Sunday before making a decision.
The AGM of the body will take place on Sunday from 10am at the Guyana Olympic Association office at the junction of Peter Rose and Church Streets.
“We decided to wait until after the elections as we are not sure who the office bearers would be,” she said.
On Saturday, Poonai and other members of the committee Franklyn Wilson, George Marshall and Dexter Garnett held a pres conference at the Ocean View International Hotel where the details of the event were unveiled.
“The unveiling of this event by Andre Poonai Investments and partners irrespective of the fact that it has not been sanctioned by the executive body of the GABBFF, shows blatant disregard for the rules and regulations of our Federation,” a press release from the concerned other members which included vice-president Frank Tucker and secretary, Bruce Whateley stated.
“More surprising is the fact that the president holds the highest office within the Federation and is au fait with the production guidelines for this type of event,” the release added.
In an invited comment, Poonai told Stabroek Sport that he had gotten a verbal commitment from Tucker with regards to the running off of the event.
“Frank Tucker verbally told me that it is ok to go ahead and publicize the event, with the written consent being sent by the GABBFF after the AGM on Sunday. “The Hugh Ross Classic is not taking away from the GABBFF. It will be run the same way we ran off the ‘Night of Champions’ competition in Linden,” Poonai said.
When contacted, Tucker did not refute that he gave a verbal consent to Poonai, but that said that he was mis- understood.
“I personally have no problem with the event as I feel it would better serve the athletes in the sport and I told the president this. I repeatedly stated that the executives have to meet and decide on the sanctioning of the event,” Tucker said.
Tucker reiterated the fact that the president was aware of the procedures that had to be met before the GABBFF could sanction any event.
“While the GABBFF agrees that the Hugh Ross Classics is deserving of the highest form of recognition for his achievements, they will not allow persons to exploit the god name of Hugh Ross for personal gains. They also will not tolerate any individual using their offices and prominence in the sport to mislead athletes and followers into believing that the GABBFF is in any way associated with the hosting of the event without the right procedures being carried out first,” the release stated.
