For one night, the human form was celebrated in its full, physical glory, with at least 20 of the Island's finest body builders vying for top honours at the Bermuda Body Building Federation's Night of Champions, held at the Whitney Auditorium on August 18.

"I am pleased to announce that through the commitment and dedication of the founding members, competitors, personal trainers and sponsors, we are now in our 20th year of operation," Dennis Wainwright, founder of the Bermuda Body Building Federation said.

The landmark show began with a demonstration by the Bermuda Gymnastics Association and was well received. The group of youths put on a fabulous display of balance and dexterity — a fitting introduction to the Bermuda Night of Champions.

Dennis Wainwright then took to the stage to welcome the rather excited audience to the show. It was exhilarating to see a full house of fans, family, friends, trainers and past competitors all gathered in support of the sport and its participants.

First on the roster was the figure fitness one-piece swimsuit presentation, with 13 competitors in total. The brightly coloured suits were glimmered with detail — a beautiful frame for the tight and toned bodies on the stage. The women were divided and judged in size categories — short, medium and tall — then were asked to pose in quarter turns displaying their musculature and overall fitness. The judges analysed for muscle tone, skin tone, balance, elasticity, symmetry, hair and makeup, If the current competitors are a sign of what's to come, next years show will be extremely "competitive". The women in the competition looked like superheroes. Every muscle clearly defined.

After a quick suit-change it was time for the figure fitness bikini round — which again boasted stunning costumes — followed by the female body builders displaying compulsory posing of the Female Light Weight, Middle Weight and Heavy Weight, again to a compare and contrast of competitors' tone, balance, symmetry, skin to muscle tone, elasticity, hair and makeup. In a word, they were incredible. Compulsory posing was followed by the routines with posing to music.

At the end, the winners of each category go through comparative posing so the judges could determine who was the best of the categories, and the overall winner. The Novice category featured all of the first time bodybuilding competitors.

The Fitness Segment of the show was far too short — unfortunately there was only one competitor, but she was of high calibre, a shining example of the discipline. Dressed in a mint green genie costume she danced and flipped her way to first place.

Then came the men. Unlike <*t(0,0," ")>Then came the men. Unlike last year's competition there were very few competitors, which made the male segment of the show somewhat predictable but a spectacle nonetheless.<*p(0,12,0,10.5,0,0,g)><*t(0,0," ")>In the Super Master category there was only one competitor, which guaranteed a first place. <*t(0,0," ")>The Masters Category brought on the remaining four male competitors for the compulsory posing and the men ranged in height weight and fitness. <*t(0,0," ")>After careful deliberation, the moment of truth finally arrived and everyone eagerly awaited the final the judges' final decisions. The winners were as follows:<$><*t(0,0," ")>Figure Fitness Short<$><> Levon Lee<*t(0,0," ")>Figure Fitness Medium<$><> Sandra Simons<*t(0,0," ")>Figure Fitness Tall<$><> Renae Flood<*t(0,0," ")>Novice Male<$><> Sydney Bean<*t(0,0," ")>Novice Female<$><> Daniele Benjamin<*t(0,0," ")>Fitness <$><> Ryall Eraber<*t(0,0," ")>Artistic Posing Awards Female Light weight<$><> Daniele Benjamin <*t(0,0," ")>Middle Weight<$><> Millie Cleveland <*t(0,0," ")>Heavy Weight<$><> Alvina Brangman<*t(0,0," ")>Artistic Posing Awards<$><> Male Ross Caesar<*t(0,0," ")>Male<$> (Supermaster) <> Rudolph Benjamin <*t(0,0," ")>Lightweight Male<$><> Jeftha Miller;<*t(0,0," ")>Middleweight<$><> Ross Caesar <*t(0,0," ")>Heavy Weight<$><> Sydney Bean<*t(0,0," ")>Most Improved Female<$><> Alvina Brangman<*t(0,0," ")>Most Improved Male<$><> Jeftha Miller<*t(0,0," ")>Ms Bermuda Overall<$><> Millie Cleveland<*t(0,0," ")>Mr. Bermuda Overall<$><> Ross Caesar<*t(0,0," ")>The BBBF was founded in 1987 in partnership with Youth and Sport and the Island's prominent gyms, with the hopes of encouraging Bermudian athletes to strengthen themselves. Along with elected officers Jane Raynor, Rita Harthon, Michael Jacques Percy Paynter, Cliff Looby, Carlyle Swan, and Raymond Smith, Mr. Wainwright felt a proper federation and annual competition were long overdue in Bermuda. <*t(0,0," ")>BBBF entered the Central American and Caribbean Body Building and Fitness Federation (CACBBFF) 1989, and have been an active competitor ever since. The CACBBFF Championship is a professional qualifier and Mr. Wainwright is thrilled to recognise the talented Bermudian athletes that have earned the title of professionals <> Cathy Decout, Sally Wombell, and April Deshields in the fitness discipline, with Melanie DeRosa in the Body Building Discipline.<*t(0,0," ")>The CACBBFF Championships, which were held in Bermuda in 2000, will be held here again in October, from the 11 to the 14. <*t(0,0," ")>Thirty six counties, broken up into 4 regions make up the CACBBA, of which Mr. Wainwright is responsible for the Antilles Region, consisting of the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Peurto Rico, Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Bermuda.