Saturday’s competition at the Northern Cape theatre will be a pre-qualifier to the South African championships which will be staged in October this year.
THE NORTHERN Cape chapter of the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (IBFF) will stage its first ever amateur musclemen and women open competitive event in Kimberley this Saturday at the provincial theatre.
Phakiso Dlamini IBFF representative and organiser who is himself a competitor, said their mission in this event was to host the first IBFF All Africa Northern Cape Explosion competition here in Kimberley for the 12 year-old South African chapter.
Saturday’s competition at the Northern Cape theatre will be a pre-qualifier to the South African championships which will be staged in October this year.
To up the game for the event Dlamini has enlisted the assistance of the Bedfordview, Johannesburg headquartred IBFF All Africa president Arnold Williams to grace the occasion as the chief judge.
Dlamini said he has to date been forced to attend competitive bodybuilding and fitness events outside of the Northern Cape due to the lack of a suitable platform for athletes involved in the game who reside in the province.
“This is the first time that we’re hosting this competition in the Northern Cape. For that I have asked the IBFF SA president to come to the Northern Cape, especially Kimberley so that he can see and help establish an organ here to harness the bodybuilding talent here.
“There are a lot of athletes here who are training and doing bodybuilding but they don’t have the platform and resources to travel. So I am trying to create an opportunity and platform in the Northern Cape for them to also show their talent at.”
Dlamini is at the moment also the chief talent scout and administrator for IBFF All Africa and handles all matters pertaining to the province.
Saturday’s competition will be a precursor to the association’s SA Championship which will take place later in the year. It is strictly an amateur competition even though it is at an amateur level.
Athletes from other provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo and more have registered to compete and the event will feature both male and female contestants
Dlamini confirmed that the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has extended material support to the association including for Saturday’s event at the theatre.
He said the national bodybuilding federation is trying to take advantage of the improved regulations around the Covid-19 pandemic. Because the gyms were closed during that period they lost many opportunities to contest for major national and world titles, he said.
The onset of the pandemic suppressed many of their planned events during that period and they are now trying to regain that lost time by, among others, staging Saturday’s event.
Dlamini has an impressive bodybuilding résumé. He has been involved with the sport since 2017 when he became involved in it as a result of a personal tragedy which he has survived and outlived, he said.
He has travelled extensively nationally attending similar shows and also doing recruitment presentations on behalf of the association. He has previously qualified for the SA Championship in 2019 and went on to represent South Africa in an international event in Slovenia, Europe where he won two trophies.
He is currently ranked among the top five in the under 90kg category worldwide.
“This is my passion, This my sport. I am trying to create an opportunity for younger athletes and open doors for them to help them to see where their talent will take them,” Dlamini said.
The event has a R100 cover charge, and the organisers have promised to maintain Covid-19 regulations.
