BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, April 7, 2021 (DBSKN) — When the first round of SKN Strongest Man & SKN Fittest Woman Competition took place on Sunday April 4, men competitors dutifully turned out and as was the case in 2019 when the competition was held for the first time, women competitors were a no show.
Two categories of bench press competition were held at Vibes Beach Bar on The Strip in Frigate Bay, which saw competitors from Life Fitness Centre carry the day. Competitors lifted weights in the first category and did reps in the second category.
Mr Halliday Sody lifted the heaviest weight and in the process pushed the defending SKN Strongest Man champion, Mr Vernard Woodley, to the third position.
According to results released by the event’s main organiser Mr Romaine Belgrove, Mr Halliday Sody lifted 385 pounds, while Mr Daniel Chux and Mr Vernard Woodley tied at 360 pounds.
To break the tie, Mr Belgrove observed: “We had 345 plates on each side and they did the reps to see how much each could do. Daniel did six reps and Vernard did five. Vernard lost by one rep in the tiebreaker, giving Daniel the second position and he took the third position.”
The second category of the competition had who would do the most reps, and according to Mr Belgrove, “we had 145 plates on each side of the bar and the guys would do how much reps they could within two minutes. We had Vernard coming back and redeeming himself and did 64 reps in the full two minutes. Halliday did 53 reps in a minute and 55 seconds for second place, and Austin Asinde did 52 reps in a minute and 27 seconds for third place.”
First prize for each category was a cash prize of $300 sponsored by Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, and presented by Marketing and Product Development Officer Ms Chantelle Rochester, and a trophy and two cases of Mackeson by Carib Brewery which were presented by Mackeson Brand Manager Mr Ajayi Dublin.
Second prize for each of the categories was cash prize $200 sponsored by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, a trophy and one case of Mackeson sponsored by Carib Brewery, while third prize for each of the categories was cash prize $100 sponsored by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, a trophy and one case of Mackeson sponsored by Carib Brewery.
“I came up with the idea of this competition to kind of let them see where they are at so that they could know and they could improve on their skills,” explained event’s main organiser Mr Romaine Belgrove. “They would see a guy lift a certain amount of weight that they won’t be able to lift, so they will now go to the gym and train harder, and come and try to beat the guy next time we have something like this.”
The SKN Strongest Man competition, which had fitness guru Mr Elston Nisbett as the master of ceremonies, had attracted a large crowd of spectators who were thoroughly entertained by the events taking place and as much as there were no women competitors, there were more women spectators than were men.
“Unfortunately the women did not show up again today,” lamented Mr Belgrove. “We wanted to do something for the women, but the ladies shied out. They did not turn up today but hopefully maybe next time they will make an appearance.
According to Mr Belgrove, the second round of SKN Strongest Man & SKN Fittest Woman Competition will be a curling competition that will be held on Labour Day, May 3, at the same venue – Vibes Beach Bar on The Strip, Frigate Bay.
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BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, March 30, 2021 (DBSKN) — A firm believer in the adage ‘a healthy nation is a wealthy nation’, the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis is partnering with the organisers of SKN Strongest Man & SKN Fittest Woman Competition in staging the event whose first round, Bench Press, will be held on Sunday April 4.
According to the main organiser, Mr Romaine Belgrove, the competition was first held in 2019 at the Vibes Beach Bar on The Strip in Frigate Bay but could not be held last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be held at the same venue from 1:30 pm on Sunday.
“The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis was one of my sponsors in 2019, and have this year graciously come back on board to partner with us in hosting this competition for which I thank them,” said Mr Belgrove. “I have a good working relationship with the Development Bank as my business, ‘Quality and experience tyre repairs and services’ in West Basseterre, benefitted from the institution’s Fresh Start loans.”
Mr Belgrove made the remarks last week when he received the sponsorship cheque from Marketing and Product Development Officer at the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms Chantelle Rochester.
“Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are common in most of our Caribbean countries, and health experts have all along been saying that exercises are one of the most effective methods of keeping the NCDs at bay,” said Ms Rochester. “SKN Strongest Man & SKN Fittest Woman Competition is one event that encourages people to exercise and we at the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis support the organisers of the event.”
Mr Belgrove who is in partnership with Mr Troy ‘Spuddy’ Hendrickson, CEO of Vibes Beach Bar, said that women shied off in 2019 but several have shown interest this year. Apart from the defending champion, the organiser has stated that some of those who took part in the 2019 competition have confirmed that they will take part.
Others in the organising team are Mr Althus Herbert, Team Member; Ms Judith Isles, Team Member; and Dr Garfield Alexander, Team Member/Doctor.
“The winner in 2019 was Mr Vernard Woodley who won some prize money, a championship belt and a rotating trophy that he kept for almost a year,” said Mr Belgrove. “His name was put on the rotating trophy as the first winner. The championship belt and rotating trophy are now back in my possession so once we have the competition again they will be turned over to the next winner going forward.”
While the first SKN Strongest Man & SKN Fittest Woman Competition in 2019 ended in December, Mr Belgrove is hopeful that they will be able to get through with the competition events by September, and have the awarding of trophies done by Independence Day.
Several activities, starting with Bench Press Competition on Sunday, will take place in the remaining days leading to September. The organiser noted that some of the events they had time included vehicle pull, lift weights put together and walk with them a certain distance and come back, the fireman carry, kettle ball throw, and stone carry for men.
“Women will do the tyre flip,” explained Mr Belgrove. “They would do more of the cardio stuff – not too much of the lifting, but will do things like push ups and sit ups. Women events will take place this year as a number have so far indicated that they will take part.”
]]>NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 26, 2020) – The F.I.T. National Weight Loss Campaign and the Nevis Chapter of SKN Moves will be hosting their annual bike relay on November 15, 2020 in Charlestown.
At a press conference on October 26, 2020, at the Department of Gender Affairs conference room to launch the event, Ms. Shelagh James, communications specialist with the Health Promotion Unit (HPU) in the Ministry of Health on Nevis, and member of the organizing committee for the relay, provided details about the bike race.
“SKN Moves Nevis chapter in association with the [F.I.T.] National Weight Loss Program, this is their second event for the year, it’s the bike relay. We’re expecting it to be a fantastic event. It falls on November 15, start time is 6 a.m. We think it will be done within two to three hours…
“Registration is now open and we’re encouraging persons to participate. It’s $25 registration fee and the deadline is November 6, 2020 at 4 p.m.,” she said.
Ms. James stated that they will be catering for about 40 participants and each one will receive a medal of participation.
“Anybody who can ride a bike is welcome to come and participate,” she said.
Mr. David Walwyn of F.I.T. Wellness Centre and committee member, explained that the relay has been routed through downtown Charlestown to make it easier for participants of all fitness levels, and allow for better spectator access to cheer on participants.
The relay will begin at the car park on the Samuel Hunkins Drive, go around the base of Craddock Road, onto Main Street, and end back at the car park.
Mr. Walwyn said each member of the four-person team will ride four laps of the designated route, and then hand the bike off to the next team mate.
There will be giveaways and light refreshments, and breakfast will be sponsored for at least 20 entrants.
Sponsor Mr. Winston Crooke of Bike Nevis will be providing the racing bikes and helmets for the relay, free training sessions for female registrants prior to the event, and cycling t-shirts for the first 10 females to register following the press conference.
The police will control traffic for the relay and a bulletin will be issued leading up to the event to notify the general public of the traffic arrangements.
Interested persons must be 18 years or older to participate. Registration will be done at the Health Promotion Unit on Jews Street in Charlestown.
]]>BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, September 20, 2020 (MMS-SKN) — The highly successful SKN Moves-executed Caribbean Wellness Week activities came to an end on Friday September 18 with a Let’s Socacise event held under the sub-theme ‘Stronger Together’ at the Flow grounds along Wellington Road in Needsmust Estate, Basseterre.
“Let’s Socacise is one of the events that have been held for Caribbean Wellness Week from the 12th to the 18th September,” said Dr Delores Stapleton-Harris, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, who was among the nearly 70 participants.
There were three main activities observed during the week, the Caribbean Wellness Walk held on Saturday September 12, National Fruits Day held on Tuesday September 15, and on Friday September 18 were Sneaker Day with the collaborative Let’s Socacise events.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the whole intention of the events was basically to get people to move, to change their behaviour, to modify their lifestyle, to increase physical exercises, increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and to have regular health checks, in the Ministry’s efforts to reduce chronic diseases in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“There is a high percentage of morbidity and mortality in St. Kitts and Nevis related to non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, kidney diseases and so on, and so we – the Ministry of Health – are on the quest to the reduce the burden of this scourge and so here we are engaging in this exercise in an effort to reduce such diseases,” said Dr Stapleton-Harris.
She added: “As well I should say this movement is part of the SKN Moves promoting the same three behaviours, healthy lifestyles with an increased physical activity, regular health checks, and of course intake of vegetables and fruits.”
Let’s Socacise, which was sponsored by the Sports Center Group of Companies Limited, was coordinated by fitness guru Mr Elston Nisbett who was ably assisted in terms of music coordination by ‘Hype-Man’ Mr Jason ‘Pinocchio’ Mitchum. Of the nearly 70 participants, only about five were male who included veteran Medical Practitioner Dr Leroy Richardson.
“The call was made for everyone – all genders…”, commented Dr Keisha Liddie, Director, Community Health Services, who was also a participant, when asked why very few men took part. “Most men would say that they can’t exercise on the spot – they want to move, they want to run, and they want to be in a gym and lift weights. So we do not expect to see a high number of men participating in Socacise, but we do know as we continue each year, we hope to see more men participating in this particular exercise.”
Also present from Ministry of Health were Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) Programme Coordinator, Dr Marissa Carty, and Administrative Assistant, Ms Mercia Bassue.
“The Caribbean Wellness week this year has shown some improvement – I think more and more persons are participating in our events,” observed Dr Keisha Liddie. “They are recognising that we are going forward with this momentum and they have joined in. I am also happy to see the Prime Minister shows his support and attends all these walks and events and participates in full, so he does the entire walk. He did so on Saturday September 12 and we are happy to see that we have that support from the top showing example.”
The two, Permanent Secretary Dr Delores Stapleton Harris, and Director, Community Health Services, Dr Keisha Liddie, promised to join Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris on his next Prime Minister’s Monthly Health Walk, from Bellevue to Ottley’s, which will be held on Saturday September 26.
In the meantime, Mr Gopal Ashvani, General Manager, Sports Center Group of Companies Limited, sponsors of the event, said it was their first time experience which he described as being very successful and thanked coordinators Mr Elston Nisbett and Mr Jason ‘Pinocchio’ Mitchum “who did a very good job, and I say thank you to the Ministry of Health for their support. It is encouraging me to do this again whenever we get a chance.”
Three lucky participants, whose names were randomly picked out of a large transparent container, received prizes. First prize of EC$500 went to Ms Jeune Guishard-Pine, second prize of EC$300 went to Ms Keriise Manchester, and the third prize, a fruit basket, was won by a lady who only provided her first name, Shirley.
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