Hostage release!

The announcement last Saturday by the members of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Amateur Bodybuilding, Power Lighting and Fitness Federation (SVGABPFF) that they are wiling to get the show back on the road must come as a relief to lovers of the sport.{{more}}

And, all may be well that ends well, as one of the conditions of the truce is the holding of elections for a new Executive on March 12 this year.

The Federation has been mired in controversy for some time now, as there was a fight over the legality of the organisation.

It has been an arduous task to get persons to meet and reconcile their differences, when inactivity, spite and nonchalance overtook the organization.

Among the peace makers and power brokers were former Ministers of Sports Mike Browne and Ces Mc Kie.

The National Olympic Committee also got in on the act, to bring an end to the impasse, and have Bodybuilding flexing its muscles again.

But whilst the contention was over the legitimacy of the body, personalities, and other trivia, the sport suffered a near natural death.

Bodybuilding, a sport which thrives on competitions, became an orphan to the sporting calendar here, as little or no form of serious competition has taken place, over the past years.

Similarly, there have not been elections staged for that national body since 2004.

That in itself is a travesty to any organisation, more so that of a national sporting body.

As it were, Bodybuilding was held hostage by an Executive which seemed bent on holding on to power, and the ransom, their self interest.

What is still baffling is why should persons want to cling on to a lifeless body, an almost non entity?

Therein lie the unanswered questions, hence a battle line was drawn, as obviously there was a border erected between a faction supporting the incumbent President Korean Williams, and others, Steve Victory, who along with others in 2009 established a grouping, but which proved to be unconstitutional.

Thus, the Victory led grouping was never recognised by neither the National Sports Council nor the National Olympic Committee.

But, that is water under the bridge, and it is time for those who profess that they love the sport of Bodybuilding to put their hands up and be counted.

Or, may we see a return of a core of personnel who will carry the torch of the former Executive, in order to maintain a strangle hold of the sport?

Also, do those wishing to take the new seats have hidden agendas, and want their recompense for the perceived ills meted out to them, while Bodybuilding was suffering in the wilderness?

Whatever is/are their motive/motives, what is certain than Bodybuilding has been dealt a real body blow.

No one cared of the early heights the sport made, in terms of regional recognition which the pace setters had to leave for the modern generation to continue.

Added, persons became oblivious of the progression from back yard gyms, with home made weights and the sheer pumping of iron, as it was fondly called, to the emergence of sophistication in training equipment and dietary intake.

Therefore, whenever the new Executive is installed, they will definitely have an uphill task to convince persons to lend its support, as Bodybuilding has certainly gone off the radar of the minds of those who follow sports, here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

But, one can learn from past pitfalls, as clique-ism cannot be allowed to take root in the new executive, otherwise, the sport will go back to square one.

It will be a greater challenge for the new keepers, as they have to almost start from scratch to get new persons to come forward and get into making Bodybuilding a competitive discipline.

A lot has gone undone, but it is not irretrievable. We may not get back the better days, but the revival of the sport from its hostage status, is mandatory.

Also mandatory is the complete removal of the “Mound” at the Sion Hill Playing Field.