The second edition of the ‘Hugh Ross Classic’ Body-building and Fitness championships is set for the National Cultural Centre on May 2 and Guyana’s most successful male bodybuilder Hugh Ross is promising that the event will be bigger this time around.
In 2008, the event, initiated in an effort to pay tribute to Ross, one of this country’s most decorated bodybuilder, received an overwhelming response from the sport’s athletes and supporters.
The Hugh Ross Classic had its launch on Saturday at the Windjammers Interna-tional Hotel and Ross believes that this time around the group responsible for the hosting is more equipped at delivering a big programme.
“The last time we didn’t have the space to hold the amount of people that turned up. Many of you would remember when we filled the place to capacity and this time around I’m promising that it would be even bigger. We did not have the event last year because of some glitches but we have ironed out our internal problems and areas that affected us and now we are ready to roll again,” Ross said. Local body builders will compete in five categories – bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight and while it was stated that the prizes would be very attractive, no figures were released.
No ‘Uno’
It was from the Hugh Ross Classic that Lindener Mark ‘Uno’ Perry came to prominence in the sport when he easily stole the overall title with his massive structure.
This time around, however, Perry will not be allowed to defend that title as the organisers are of the opinion that his presence will rob the show of its competitiveness as he is well nigh unbeatable.
“I have asked Perry and Sylvan Gardener to be guest posers because, well Sylvan as you know is now a professional and Perry is in a class by himself.
“We had to take the decision to not have him compete because come on, I don’t think that he would have been beaten so in all fairness to the athletes, we asked him to be a guest poser,” Ross said.
He added:”We don’t want to intimidate the other competitors. The first time he was fresh, new, no one knew of him, but this time, he is way above everyone else. But he still very happy to be part of the show and committed himself to it as well.”
Meanwhile, president of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Frank Tucker, said he believed that the show will be a shot in the arm for the sport because of its uniqueness.
‘I welcome this event and I pledge my full support because it comes at a crucial time for bodybuilding and will help in lifting the sport here. So I urge all bodybuilders and the public to support this event,” Tucker said.
Registration forms for the Hugh Ross Classic can be found at the Upper Level Barber Shop and all major gyms country wide and the deadline is March 15.
“I know how it is sometimes with athletes for them to prepare well and so on, so we want to close registration early to give us time also to properly put systems in place for the show,” Ross said.
The Hugh Ross Classic is the brainchild of Dexter ‘Bushman’ Garnett.
Former Mr. Guyana, Leroy George, is the athletes’ coordinator, Franklyn Wilson Public Relation Officer, Tucker, Logistics Officer and Secretary, Robin Marshal-Lord.
