Barbados’ most consistent bodybuilder of the last decade, Hoskins “Biscuits” Worrell is stepping on stage for the first time this year, seeking to three-peat at this weekend as king of the annual Darcy Beckles Invitational Classic.
Worrell was in unbeatable form at the first two instalments of the show and is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to take the first prize cheque of $4 000 tomorrow night at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The multiple Caribbean divisional champion and winner of the Mr Barbados 2008 crown, has reportedly packed on beef for the contest which will feature some of the elite in local and regional bodybuilding with entrants coming from St Lucia and Antigua.
The last time Worrell flexed muscle was at last year’s contest when he knocked over a field that included this country’s top heavyweight William Prescott.
Prescott, a four-time Mr Barbados, is missing from the line-up, but the field is bound to be competitive with the “Cou Cou”?Bascombe, Mr Bridgetown winner, Laron Gibson, former Caribbean champions Patrick Harris, Anderson “Fish”?Bispham and Michael Riley, along with comeback kid and promising junior, Kamal Sealy, who is returning after a two-year break.
Bascombe, one of the top light heavyweights in the country, was excited to be back on stage once more after missing the trip to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships in Aruba after competing at the nationals.
“I am ready. I am much better than at nationals. I will be fuller and sharper than I was then. It should be a good show and I am certain I will make an impact,” he said.
Bascombe, 39, who will carry the banner for the Speightstown based Superior Fitness Gym, will thunder on stage with 194 pounds of muscle.
Fans at Oceans 2 Fitness Club in Oistins, will be hoping that Riley and Bispham, can rediscover their best form.
Riley, a potent force in the mid 1990s, has much to prove after a series of modest performances while Bispham wants to continue from where he left off in Aruba where he took second place in a 16-man welterweight field.
“I will be at about 172 pounds, hard and cut. Everything is cooking curry. I am on and looking forward to the show,” he said.
The Classic will be preceded by an open contest designed for the lighter bodybuilders.
This competition has attracted Harris, Laron Gibson, Bispham and Sealy. They along with some of the Caribbean entrants will be after a first prize cheque of $2 500.
The classic is not only about hard-core muscle. Caribbean divisional queen Vickie Borman is the heavy favourite to rule the way in the figure contest with her combination of poise and well-toned muscle.
Much is expected of Karen Jones, who triumphed at this year’s Miss Bridgetown Senior Body Fitness contest.
Jones, who was born in New York, and has a Barbadian mother and a Guyanese father, will be competing on behalf of Surfside Fitness Centre. Renee Lambert, who was third at Miss Bridgetown, will also be seeking to impress once again.
The Classic is being held in honour of the revered Beckles, one of the biggest names in local sport throughout the 1970s. He won every major local and Caribbean contest during his heyday and was the spearhead of Barbados’ assault on the Mr Universe stage from 1976-79.
Beckles lost a memorable duel with Australia’s Roger Walker in the heavyweight class at the 1976 Mr Universe contest in Montreal, Canada and the following year had a stirring toe-to-toe showdown with compatriot and eventual winner, Roy Callender (representing Canada) in Nimes, France.
Following the contest, there will be an after-party session at Lucky Horseshoe, Bagatelle Great House.
