The Jamaica Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Association (JABBFA) will stage the 2018 National Championship and Fitness Festival at University Of Technology (UTech) Jamaica today, at 6:00 pm.

The event, set to attract a record number of over 140 athletes, will feature 18 categories across five disciplines and will boast cash prizes totalling $600,000. The top three athletes in each discipline will receive trophies.

The National Championship and Fitness Festival is an annual showpiece among amateur bodybuilding, physique, fitness, body fitness, figure and bikini competitors that is held at this venue each year.

“The championships are the highlights of our year, where we identify and honour the finest efforts of athletes in Jamaica. In addition to athletic success, JBBFA recognises recipients who have exemplified characteristics that have extended well beyond [the] gyms and stages on which they competed. In that, I am happy to take part in launching the event of this year’s competition and would like to congratulate the competitors who will be participating,” said JABBFA Vice-President Kirk Frankson, delivering the address on behalf of President Audrey Allwood-Mullings who was said to be unavoidably absent at the launch a few weeks ago.

Over the past 60 years, JABBFA has identified and recognised the finest athletes in men’s body-building and physique, women’s physique, body fitness and bikini fitness.

The competitors scheduled to take part in this year’s record-breaking fitness exposition will come from 35 gyms across Jamaica and the Caribbean and within the Diaspora. Entries have also come from the Cayman Islands, United States and Canada. In this year’s competition, over 80 of the participants have less than two years’ experience, but it is expected that each category will be very competitive.