Central American bodybuilders compete in Belize

This weekend Belize will be hosting the Central American Bodybuilding Championships for the third time and this morning the first wave of officials and competitors arrived in Belize City. News Five’s Kendra Griffith has more.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Sixty participants from four countries are expected to compete in the 2007 Central American Bodybuilding Championships.

Giovanni Arendsz, Pres., C.A. and Caribbean Bodybuilding Federation
“We’re gonna have masters, juniors, sixty-five kilos, seventy-five kilos, eighty kilos, eighty-five, ninety, ninety-five and heavyweights.”

The participating countries are Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Chair of the Belize Body Building and Fitness Federation, Alfred McKenzie, is hoping that the jewel will come on strong.

Alfred McKenzie, Bz. Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation
“We have Miss Kimberly Weir, who will be doing fitness; in the male we have a medallist from the last Central American Games, Deon Danderson, who is sitting right behind you all. Also, we have people like Gilroy Nembhard, Gina Lovell, Joseph McClaren, Elsworth Tillett, and a lot of other athletes that we hope will bring medals to Belize.”

Deon Danderson came in second in last year’s championships. This year he will be competing in the seventy-five kilo category or welterweight division.

Deon Danderson, Belize
“I’ve been preparing. It’s been a short period of time preparing for this competition. I will try my best to keep the gold at home and I hope my other fellow competitors do the same as I do.”

Our neighbours to the west, Guatemala, will have thirteen bodybuilders in the contest. One of them is Diego Bran.

Diego Bran, Guatemala
“This is my first time in Belize in an international competition.”

Kendra Griffith
“How long have you been doing bodybuilding?”

Diego Bran
“I have been doing bodybuilding for two years.”

Kendra Griffith
“What will you be brining to the stage tomorrow?”

Diego Bran
“I will try to do my best. I have been training to make a good competition, so I will try to do a good competition.”

El Salvador brought six men and three women. For Kathia de Varela, it is her first time in a regional competition.

Kathia de Varela, El Salvador
“We are very excited about this competition.”

Kendra Griffith
“What do you think are your chances? You gonna win?”

Kathia de Varela
“I think so, I hope so and I dream it, but I don’t see my other competition, so I don’t know.”

But for the bodybuilders to win, they must please the judges.

Alfred McKenzie
“Basically, the judges look for symmetry, muscularity, shape, and a little posing ability.”

Giovanni Arendsz
“All of those, but also very clean skin. Clean skin is by seeing no pimples on the back or no stretch marks; nothing that we can see that you are using prohibited stuff. We’ll be judging on that not only in the competition, but in the weigh in also.”

“Since you put your foot we can test you until the day you leave. We can even go to the airport before you leave and tell you we have to do a drug test with you. It’s mandatory.”

Weigh-ins were conducted this evening with prejudging beginning Saturday morning at nine at the Bliss. The main event is set to start at six p.m., also at the Bliss. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

Bodybuilders who test positive will be banned from competition and will have their national association fined. The winners of the Central American Championships qualify to participate in the World Bodybuilding Championships.