Bermuda will not be sending a bodybuilding team to the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mexico City because of “safety, security and organisational” concerns.

The CAC Games had been slated for last September but was cancelled after the region was hit by two earthquakes and subsequently rearranged for July 27 to 29.

However, the Bermuda Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation have opted to send a team to the IFBB Diamond Cup in Vancouver, Canada, on August 11 instead.

A team of six athletes have been selected, with Monica Teixeira, Cleo Darrell and Alexa Lightbourne to compete in the Bikini class, and Julian Johnson, Sunder Singh and Sheldon Effs to take the stage in the Men’s Physique.

Teixeira and Johnson both won a pair of titles at the Night of Champions at the Fairmont Southampton last weekend, Teixeira in the Bikini and Women’s Figure and Johnson in the Men’s Physique and Classic Men’s Physique. Laura Laws was picked for the Bikini class was is unable to travel because of prior commitments.

Several athletes have also been invited to take part in the Diamond Cup at their own expense; Liza Kolesnik and Tiffinie Smith in the Bikini, Michael Jones in the Classic Physique and Cervio Cox and George Moroianu in the Men’s Physique.