MARIGOT—Anticipation is building for the Inter-Island Bodybuilding, Fitness & Physique Championship 2022 that is set to take place on Sunday, July 3, in the Maho Casino Royale.
This year’s International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) sanctioned event organised by Bodybuilding and Fitness Association of Saint-Martin (BFASM) is shaping up to be the biggest to date with 80 athletes so far registered from 17 countries.
There are two events in one this year, a Pro Qualifier for amateurs and which will see the top four winners automatically become Pros, and who are then eligible to compete in the main Pro event that night. Categories for the Pro Qualifier are Bikini Fitness, Men’s Physique, Wellness, and Bodybuilding. The Pro event has the same categories and US$16,000 in cash prizes.
The Pro athletes will also be qualifying to represent their countries for the World Championships to be held in Spain in September.
French St. Martin’s first Bikini Pro athlete Josephine Elvina Matthew will be competing having earned her Pro Card last year at the championship held in the Secrets Resort in Ans Marcel. She has also qualified for the World Championships in Spain later this year.
Among the Pro athletes on stage will be Antigua’s Kimberly Percival who won both the World Championships last year in the Bikini category and the local championship.
Athletes from both sides of the island will be competing in the various categories. The French St. Martin amateur athletes are Laura Morville, Lyvie Silvester, Georgia Casimir, Averdine Stephen, and Frank Morville.
“What was great about last year’s championship is that it inspired these new beginner athletes who will be representing St. Martin and competing for the first time,” said BFASM President Francois Carty. “The four females and one male will be competing respectively in the Bikini category and Men’s Physique. We are seeing more interest in the sport which is a good thing and numbers are increasing.”
For the judging panel, judges are coming from Puerto Rico, Aruba, French St. Martin, Dutch St. Maarten, Spain, Santo Domingo and Antigua.
Carty agreed that this year has seen a big step-up in participation.
“It will be a really big show because we have attracted a lot of countries. I think that’s because of the level of the competition. More athletes are speaking well of us and how we organise the championship. Their feedback when they return to their countries is very positive. They like how professional we are and that the standard is very high compared to other countries.”
Another indicator of how highly the championship is regarded is that this year a professional journalist from the IFBB headquarters will be covering and filming the event for the IFBB news channel.
“Getting that exposure from the top is very valuable for us,” Carty added.
The schedule is follows: Saturday, July 2, weigh-in for the Pro Qualifier at 10:30am in the Simpson Bay Resort (pool area), Elite Pro “Meet the Pros” press conference at 5:30pm in West Indies Mall on the rooftop terrace; Sunday July 3, Pro Qualifier event at 10:30am, Elite Pro event at 7:30m (Pro qualifier for world championships).
Sponsors of the championship are the Collectivité of St. Martin, St. Martin Tourism Office, R2D Distribution, Go Sport, Natural Health Store B.V. and Simpson Bay Resort.
