The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the Bahamas Bodybuilding, Wellness and Fitness Federation hosting its 50th National and Novice Championships during the sixth edition of the Bahamas Games, ‘Downtown’ Natasha Brown has been commissioned to host the first Natbro’s Classic.

Brown, the first Bahamian to win her fitness pro card in 2002 in Venezuela, will be hosting the classic, which is designed for the country’s junior competitors under portions of her full name Natasha Brown.

According to Brown, the Children’s Fitness Challenge Group, which is based on their body weight in performing their exercise routine and there is the fitness challenge when they compete in the NatBro’s Classic on July 11.

The Classic is opened to male and female competitors in the age group from 6-10 years for mini, 11-13 Class A and 14-15 Class B for boys and girls.

If they have talent, athletic, can dance or pose and have poise and stage presence, then Brown said the NatBro’s Classic is an event to compete in.

“The Children’s Fitness Challenge group consists of a circuit with exercises in six stations where athletes try to perform the maximum number of repetitions in one minute and they have an attire that they have to wear as they are judged on,” Brown said.

As for the fitness challenge, Brown revealed that there will be seven age groups from seven to 15 years that will enable competitors to compete in several routines. “We want the entire Bahamas to be a part of this,” Brown said. “I’m reaching out to all Physical Education Departments to identify kids who are coachable, not necessarily persons who are already involved in sports.

“We want to get persons who are just as strong and tenacious and have some type of physique to be able to compete.”

Brown got a chance to demonstrate what can be expected during the NatBro’s Classic, using some of the members from the New Providence Classic School yesterday in the Performance Arts Centre of the University of the Bahamas.

The performance was staged in front of a group of sporting personalities, including BBWFF president Joel Stubbs, past president Danny Sumner, bodybuilders James Darling and Chris McQueen, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture representative Mario Ford, Fred Delancy of Bahamas Safety & Security Training Facility, Ronn Rodgers of the Strikers Boxing Club, Jeffure Collie-Russell, the event’s coordinator for NatBro’s Classic and physical education teachers Marishka Stubbs-Thompson and Crystal Delancy.

Stubbs said they are very excited about adding the NatBro’s Classic to their list of events for the Bahamas Games and the National Championships.

“Children’s fitness is a great step in the right direction because that is the mandate of the IFBB,” Stubbs said. “So to add this to the lineup we have for the Bahamas Games.

“Our team of judges are working along with her to ensure that the programme is equipped and ready to go. We want to make sure that it’s properly organised and put together as they work on their fitness routine and stage presentation.” With the proper coaching and training, Stubbs said the federation is confident that the competitors will be able to put on a show just as the senior competitors do during the Nationals and Novice Championships all staged at the same time.

For Ford, who conducts a successful Mario Ford Baseball preogramme for youngsters at Windsor Park, said the NatBro’s Classic will be an avenue to help develop the young competitors in the right way in a fitness programme.

“We have a lot of young people in this country, who need to be properly trained, not just in exercise, but in eating the proper food. We call it the fundamental aspects of training,” Ford said.

“I’ve always wondered why so many of our young athletes have developed injuries so early because as a young athlete growing up, I didn’t really have that many injuries and I was able to represent our country on many national teams. So if they can get into fitness programmes like this, it would have them in the long run.”

Rodgers, who works with a number of young amateur boxers, said the programme started by Brown is an ideal way to get more youngsters involved in sports.

“I like the fact that it’s giving more of our young people the opportunity to get involved in some positive programmes and they have less time to get involved in idle things,” he said. “I think this is going to be a good programme and I can’t wait to see how it will unfold. We’re eager to assist in any way we can because I believe boxing and other sports will also benefit from these youngsters who will be looking for other means to stay competitive.”

Delancy said at BSST, they offer a number of training and safety measures for men and women and they are open to providing sessions for everyone to come out and participate.

“We are into extreme training and endurance workouts, so anytime we can get involved in any programme, we are willing to lend our support,” Delancy said. “We are delighted that Natasha Brown is doing this programme and so we are lending her all of our support in making sure that it is a success.”

And Rodgers

Shawn Gilbert, an 18-year-old 11th grader at New Providence Classic School, said he started the programme because he felt he had physique to compete in the sport.

“It was an opportunity that I took, and it was something that I don’t regret,” Gilbert said. “The programme is something that is very good for the country and as a young athlete, I look forward to competing in the Bahamas Games.”

Aysa Moss, a 14-year-old eighth grader at New Providence Classic, said she decided to join the programme because it’s a way for her to develop her fitness level because she eventually wants to compete in track and field in the 400 metres.

“I’ve done softball, swimming and track,” Moss said. “So far, the programme has been very good. I look forward to continuing in it.”

Terrea Storr, a Science teacher at New Providence Classic School, accompanied the students to the performing session. She noted that it was a good demonstration of what they have experienced with the students at school.

“These kids are very athletic,” she said. “You can see their potential from a very young age, so that is a good outlet for some of them to get into some activities outside of school.”

She noted that the students are more eager than ever to attend their physical education classes and it is shown in the progress they have made since getting involved in the fitness classes with Brown.

Interested persons can also visit any of the facilities that is based on providing exercise sessions for athletes to compete or they can visit the NatBro’s Classic website and facebook pages for more details.

Brown is a former track and field athlete, who represented the Bahamas at a number of international meets from the age of 13. including the Carifta Games, the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games.

While training for her next competitor, Brown’s coach Aaron Greene got her involved in fitness sessions in 2000 and she eventually became the national fitness champion and subsequently the second Bahamian female to earn her pro card, but the first as a fitness competitor.