Guild braced for showstoppers

IT IS all set to be the best show in town over the Easter weekend as the IFBB Buffalo City All-Africa Arnold Classic Qualifier for 2017 takes centre-stage at the Guild Theatre tomorrow night.

More than a hundred bodybuilders from around the Eastern Cape, as well as a few from other provinces are expected to be out in force, putting on a spectacle for the fans.

“The majority of our top internationally and nationally ranked athletes are coming to compete, so I expect the standards to be high,” event organiser and director of KM Sports Promotions Kaya Majeke said.

“We are also having a number of guests coming to take part, so it really will be the best show in town.”

A massive competition is expected and some of the biggest names in local bodybuilding will be in attendance, all in the running for the grand prize of R15 000 for the overall winner.

This should make for an enthralling contest with athletes expected to bring their A game.

“We have Louis Bessinger, a former Mr South Africa, Chris Nguta, one of our top athletes, Mveliso Tapi, our former Mr Buffalo City, Vuyo Vanda from the OR Tambo Region who is also ranked in the top five in the world, and Tulasizwe Sifatyi, who is also ranked internationally, who I think are our top athletes,” said Majeke.

“I expect them to be the strongest contenders on the night, but I wouldn't rule anyone out, we have a lot of talented athletes competing and there are some of the younger guys who could come in and throw a surprise.”

Also up for grabs will be a total of R80 000 in prizemoney with all division winners receiving a cash prize and medal.

In all 26 divisions, 17 for the men and nine for the women, will be on show on the night, with the major prize qualifying for the All-Africa Arnold Classic which will take place in Johannesburg next month.

At last year’s Arnold’s, more than 400 bodybuilders took part in the massive event, which sees athletes from more than 20 countries across the continent coming down to take part in the prestigious event.

“Looking at the calibre of the athletes I think that we should be getting at least more than 10 athletes qualifying for the main event from here,” said Majeke.

“Some of our local athletes have qualified already, like Mveliso Tapi who qualified last year, but it is good for guys like him to come and have a bit of a warmup before the main event next month.”

This is the second time that East London is holding the Arnold’s qualifier, after last year’s event held at Hemingways.

Majeke believes that all involved were impressed with that showing and believes that this year’s event will be even bigger and better and will build on the success of last year.

“The Arnold’s Festival was given a three-year contract to be held here in South Africa, so it will be back again next year and my goal is to make sure we host this qualifier here again,” said Majeke.

“Having the qualifier here makes it a lot more accessible for local athletes, who might not have enough money to travel to Durban or Johannesburg to qualify, so that is always good to give those athletes a chance.”

In all it is expected to be an exciting night of entertainment and the Guild Theatre should be the perfect place to stage an event of this magnitude.

“We expect the show to be quite entertaining. It is going to be a very exciting night, and we will also have one of the top local dance groups to entertain, so we have a full schedule,” said Majeke.

“If you look at the setup of that facility, it suits our needs perfectly and with this time of event.”

The weekend’s bodybuilding action begins with the weigh-in for athletes at the Guild tonight from 5pm-8pm.

A final weigh-in will be held tomorrow morning from 8am-10am with pre-judging getting under way straight after.

The main event will kick off at 5.30pm in the afternoon.

Fans can get tickets from the Guild Theatre for R100.