Body building championship scheduled for next Saturday

The Northern Marianas Body Building Federation will hold its annual championship exactly a week from now on June 11 at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

According to NMBBF president Josephine C. Togawa-Plinske eight body builders in three division or weight classes will be entered in the competition.

Leading the field are defending champions John March Ong, Joe Ngiraibuuch, and Jeff Boyer. Last year Ong won the light heavyweight, Ngiraibuuch the middleweight, and Boyer the lightweight division.

Out to dislodge the three from their lofty perch are competition greenhorns Harvey Simpson, Wen Sheng Wang, Alvin Balena, Ronald Delos Reyes, Johnny Santiago, and Sibley Santos.

Togawa-Plinske said the competitors would be made to go through four categories of poses: relaxed poses, individual free posing to music, the seven compulsory poses, and the posedown.

She said the relaxed poses, which are not judged, would have competitors perform four turns to the right in the relaxed position.

Individual free posing to music, which is judged, will have each competitor go through a 60-second posing routine to the music of his choice.

The most comprehensive phase would then have competitors execute the seven compulsory poses—front double biceps, front lat spread, side chest, back double biceps, back lat spread, side triceps, and abdominals and thighs.

According to Togawa-Plinske, after the completion of the compulsory poses, which is also judged, judges may ask the chief judge to call up competitors of their choice to perform any of the compulsory poses again.

Finally, the posedown would be executed immediately after the last competitor completes the seven compulsory poses and would last 60 seconds to the music of the organizer’s choice. The posedown is not judged.

Togawa-Plinske said the NMBBF has also assembled a very competent team of judges for the competition. Among them are Joe Guerrero, John Joyner, Josephine Ichihara, Dianne Clayton, and Joe Santos.

She said Guerrero used to compete in body building competitions in the mainland. Joyner had the opportunity to compete in the Mr. Universe way back in the 1980s on Guam, while Ichihara is a veteran of body building competitions in the South Pacific Games. Togawa-Plinske said Clayton and Santos also competed in body building competitions in the past.

Togawa-Plinske said the competition will be sanctioned by the International Federation of Body Builders and as such would be under the association’s strict anti-doping and illegal substance screening requirements.

Tickets for the annual body building championships costs $5 and are available at Gold’s Gym. Togawa-Plinske said a gift certificate for a three-month membership at the gym would be raffled off during the competition.