DAMIEN GEORGE of Curepe emerged as the overall men’s winner of the annual Malta Carib Junior National Bodybuilding and Miss Fitness Championships, which was staged at the UWI Sports and Physical Education Centre, St Augustine on Sunday night.

George, who earlier captured the men’s middleweight division, with Peter Fraser second and Rheno Ramberose third, gained the judges’ nod ahead of fellow individual winners — Anthony Scantlebury (lightweight), Ronald Brooks (light heavyweight) and Anselm Julien (heavyweight). But the compact George expressed surprise at his victory, especially with Brooks, the crowd’s favourite, posing a great threat on the night. “I had a very good time, but I’m very surprised of the outcome,” said George, who trains at the La Joya Fitness Centre in St Joseph. “The confidence was there but I just didn’t know if I could’ve pulled it through.”

Serena James claimed the women’s open title, followed by Karen George and Camille Abdul-Goberdhan, while Julien took the men’s heavyweight crown ahead of Kerry Adams; with Allan Prescod disqualified for an illegal move at the start of his routine. But the star of the night was American Melvin Anthony, the world’s 11th ranked professional body-builder who dazzled the crowd with a series of  moves, accompanied by the tunes “What Will You Do?” (Isley Brothers and R Kelly), “Pump It Up” (Joe Budden) and an encore performance to Sean Paul’s “Get Busy.”

OTHER RESULTS –
Men’s Lightweight:1. Anthony Scantle-bury; 2. Alcan Checkley; 3. Adam Mohammed.
Men’s Light Heavyweight: 1.Ronald Brooks; 2. Kirk Ceballo; 3. Adrian Brown.
Miss Fitness: 1. Jacqueline Cabie; 2. Karen George; 3. Kamlan Aleong.

KINGSTON: Jamaica went under 2-1 to Cuba Sunday night in an international football friendly, leading up to their trip to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which kicks off on July 12.

The Cubans shocked the 10 000 crowd when they went ahead in the 20th minute, after Reysander Fernandez evaded Robert Scarlett’s challenge just outside the penalty box, before hitting a low shot past keeper Aaron Lawrence. Eight minutes later the Cubans went two goals up as Jeniel Marquez thundered a volley into the nets. The home team pulled one back in the 86th minute through midfielder Richard Langley, who plays for English division two Queen’s Park Rangers.

The scoreline should have read 2-2 at the final whistle, but striker Onandi Lowe had his penalty saved by Cuban custodian Odelin Molina in the 55th minute, after the goal-keeper had fouled Lowe. Technical Director of the Jamaica national team, Carl Brown said after the match that the team showed their conditioning was good. He added that the Reggae Boyz did enough in the match to come out without a loss. The team’s final warm up match before flying out to the CONCACAF Gold Cup is against Paraguay, tomorrow.

ST.GEORGES: Countries of the English-speaking Caribbean had one of their best ever performances at the Central American and Caribbean Championships following the conclusion at the National Stadium on Sunday.

Jamaica topped the medals standings, with the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and host Grenada finishing among the top five teams. Vincentian Pamenos Ballantyne opened the medals’ tally for the region with a gold in the half marathon, improving on his fifth placing in the 2001championships in Guatemala. Ballantyne, who is the leading distance runner in the region, trailed Martinique’s Claude Nohile for the first nine kilometres before Alfredo Arevalo of Guatemala took the lead. But the experienced Vincentian took charge in the final stage to win gold in one hour nine minutes 14 seconds. Kareem Streete-Thompson, Laverne Eve and Cydonie Mothersill were among major achievers who successfully defended their titles here. Streete-Thompson, who was on the brink of elimination after registering two foul jumps, won the men’s long jump with a distance of 8.12 metres. Bahamian Osbourne Moxley was second (7.85m) and Aundre Edwards of Jamaica third (7.74m).

Eve easily won the women’s javelin (56.75m) to become the second woman to complete five consecutive victories in an event. She joins Cuba’s Carmen Romero (discus). Kateena Riettie of Jamaica finished second (51.36m) and Rugama Clalila of Nicaragua third (47.40m). Mothersill of the Cayman Islands pushed her way to the final 30 metres to win the 200m in 22.45 seconds, ahead of Cuba’s Roxana Diaz (22.74) and Tonique Williams of the Bahamas (22.80). Jamaica and the Bahamas completed Caribbean wins in the 400-metre relays. The Jamaican quartet won the women’s 4x400m relay (3:29.75) ahead of Grenada (3:32.99) and Puerto Rico (3:33.35). But the Bahamas turned the tables in the men’s version, as the lead anchor by World 400m champion, Avard Moncur gave his team a sizeable lead, although Grenada’s Alleyne Francique took charge of the second leg. The Bahamas won the event in (3:02.56) followed by Jamaica (3:04.08) and Trinidad and Tobago (3:04.48).

TRINIDAD and Tobago cyclists fared very badly on opening day of  the World “B” Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.

First Guy Costa finished 26th in his event, 4.10 behind the eventual winner from China. Then the road racing team dropped out.  Emile Abraham quit  after seven of the nine laps, while Stephen  Mangroo lasted just three laps before being forced out with a flat tyre. He was already two  minutes down on the leaders. Both Clinton Grant and Elisha Greene qualified 10th and 14th respectively in the match sprint and were eliminated from the next round. Pan Am Games bronze medallist Azikiwe  Kellar was expected to go into action in his pet kilometre time trial later yesterday. The top seeded Kellar was scheduled to begin  his ride at appoximately 2 pm.

According to information coming from Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation Public relations officer Edward Watson, the standard at the championships is extremely high. Watson said most of the top cyclists stayed away from the World Cup events so their rankings would drop,  allowing  them to go to the “B” Worlds with  a better chance at qualifying for the Olympics Games in Athens, Greece next year.

WASA Clean and White, last season’s Eastern Football Association, Arthur “Jap” Brown Trophy kings, dumped Joe Public 3-1 to remain one point behind the leaders.

The champions got two goals from Brian Bain and the other from Maurice Simpson in Saturday’s match. Aaron Rapper got a consolation goal for the Eastern Lions. But Carib FC stayed atop the standings on goal-difference over Samba Xtra Malt East San Juan United. The Brewery Boys outclassed East West Coaching School 5-0 with Wendell Campbell scoring a hat-trick Christopher Harewood and Maurice Simpson got one goal each to complete the rout. Kurt Cudjoe scored twice for Samba Xtra Malt San Juan United to keep in step with the leaders, as they shut out JGS Maloney Two Touch 2-0. Crab Connection edged Delta Glass Young Hearts 3-2 to keep in contention, with goal-scoring ace Warren Butler getting a double and Kevin Baptiste the other.

Amery Lee Rivers and Casius Simmons got a goal each for Young Hearts. Marvin Lee struck three times and Quasai Thomas got another goal for TSTT to whip newcomers Hearty Food Bulls 4-2. Victor Charles and Adrian Nunez scored for the losers. And Police snuffed out Athletico Sports Institute 4-0 with a double from Dwight Elliot and additional goals from veteran ex-national striker Dexter Cyrus Meanwhile, Cruz International crushed Joe Public 9-0 at their Brian Lara Recreation Ground, while Barataria Ball Players edged Trincity Nationals 2-1 at the Barataria Oval in Under-13 Group “A” league action. And in the Under-20 League, Trincity Nationals beat YTC 5-1 at Trincity, while Best Warriors shut out Athletico 3-0 at Aranguez Savannah.

TWO-TIME champions St Clair’s Coaching School remained unbeaten after four matches in this year’s Premier Division of the Warner’s Group of Companies-sponsored Tobago Football Association Semi-Professional League with a 4-2 victory over Bethel.

But 1976 FC Phoenix XS lost their unbeaten tag when last season’s runners-up whipped them 3-1. Keon Daniel, ace Tobago XI striker Kareem Robley, Darren Toby and Makan Hislop scored one goal each for the champions in Sunday’s match at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago. Joel John got one for the Bethel men and Jason Surrey scored the other, to keep his record of scoring in every match this season. Also at the Dwight Yorke Stadium on Sunday night, Stokelyvale kept apace with the leaders with last season’s leading goalscorer Curtis Job hitting a double, and Darren Joseph the other, while Hayden Moore knocked in a goal from the penalty spot for Phoenix.

THE TIGER CLAW Karate Club held their annual 2003 Karate Championship at the Woodbrook Youth Facility, Port-of-Spain recently.

Fourteen (14) schools participated in the action-packed tournament before a large crowd. Other than Tiger Claw Karate Club, the other participating martial arts schools were Sensei Thorn’s Martial Arts Academy, Peaceful Warriors Martial Arts Academy, Tobago Shotokan Karate Club, Jian Wu Kung Fu Asssociation, Black Hawks Martial Arts International, The University of the West Indies (UWI) Tae Kwon-Do, TTMASI-Tiger System Karate, Taekajudo-Ryu, TT Capoeira All Stars, Al-Hikmah School of Kung Fu International, Black Lion Martial Arts, Sanuans USA VSK, TAK Mighty Warriors Martial Arts and the Victorious Christian Soldiers Karate Club.

Several sponsors provided financial assistance for the competition. Among them were the Port Authority of  TT, LJ Williams, New India Assurance Company of TT Ltd, Arrem Restaurants Ltd, First Citizens Bank (FCB) Ltd, Hilo Food Stores Ltd, Clamens Associates 2003, Premier Road, Maintenance Company Ltd, CLICO and GTM Insurance Ltd. Sensei Thorn’s Martial Arts Academy won the challenge trophy for being the most supportive club, while the Tiger Claw Karate Club won the other challenge trophy for the most points in the Schools Martial Arts Programme.

TWO of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading amateur boxers have promised non-stop action when they clash on Saturday night on a promising pro-am card at the Chaguanas Indoor Sports Facility.

Both Caribbean senior flyweight champion Terrance Lokai from the Revival Boxing Gym in Port-of-Spain, and Aaron Cumberbatch of Phoenix, Siparia are confident of coming out on top in their four-round scrap. Lokai defied the odds earlier this year when he bounced back from a six-month lay-off to claim the flyweight championship at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Championships (CABA) in the Bahamas. He is trained by Rufus Edwards, arguably the best boxing coach in Trinidad and Tobago who also predicted that Lokai will put all doubts to rest when he defeats Cumberbatch within the distance on Saturday. Lokai, a tattoo artiste who has also moonlighted as a baker of pastries, boasts a record of eight victories in 13 fights. His five losses have come against top-rated overseas opponents at the CABA Championships. He holds a big psychological advantage having outpointed Cumberbatch twice in two weeks, in the build-up to the Caribbean Championships when practice bouts were staged at the Cosmic Gym in Marabella.

However Cumberbatch does not put any credence on those two emphatic “victories” by his Barataria-based opponent, claiming that they were not “real fights.” “We were just sparring and practising. The bouts were staged to observe our weaknesses and strengths and could not be classed as real fights,” said Cumberbatch. The Anthony Waterman trained simon pure has an impressive record of two defeats in 17 fights having been acclaimed “Junior Fighter of the Championships” and “Fighter of the Tournament” at the CABA cmpetition two years ago in Martinique. The achievement was a first for any TT boxer at CABA, and was recorded as the only time this has been done at the regional championships by any fighter. Cumberbatch however failed to live up to expectations at this year’s CABA, earning silver in the junior flyweight category. He is presently being groomed to compete in the World Youth Championships later this year. His dreadlocked coach Waterman, states emphatically that Cumberbatch will prove his pedigree on Saturday and dispel any notion that his boxer, is slipping down the ladder. “We had a problem with the practice bouts as the judges were also getting acclimatised with the new computerised scoring system. But on Saturday, Cumberbatch will prove who is boss,” said Waterman.

Equally confident is top female boxer, Ria Ramnarine aiming to keep her No 9 place in the Women’s International Boxing Association rankings, when she opposes debutant 19-year-old Siparia fighter Vicki Boodram, in a featherweight bout over six rounds. Ramnarine of Carapichaima, Central Trinidad fights out of the Fine Line Gym in Chaguanas and is anxious to score a quick victory against Boodram, making her pro debut after five amateur fights, suffering only one defeat. Ramnarine has been defeated twice in six contests and has her sights set on a regional and world title fight later this year. She is trained by Bharath Ramoutar. Boodram looks fit as a fiddle and is trained by both her father Timaldass Boodram and Waterman at the Phoenix Gym, and is optimistic of getting her career off to a winning start. Main bout will pit national welterweight champion Floyd Trumpet against Barbadian Benjamin Modeste over ten rounds. The card is promoted by Fine Line and Cosmic Boxing Gym.

A terrific last gasp of exciting, fierce competition brought an end to the 2003 Corporate Tennis Champion-ships of the Hilton Trinidad Courts, Port-of-Spain on Sunday.

The title matches, contested among the North/East Zone and South Zone featured three UWI teams, and players from Petrotrin, Super Industrial Services (SIS), Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology (TTIT) and Sagicor. The South number one team featuring twins Farah and Sarah Chautilal of TTIT swept through the women’s division, beating the mother and daughter pair of Lindy Ann and Lee Ann Lingo 8-2 in their semifinal encounter. Sagicor, represented by North’s Jackie Bennett and Rani Ramsingh strolled into the final on a walk over as Hope Pollonais’ partner Melissa Mc Leod did not show for the semi-final. Though Bennet and Ramsingh were fresh having not played for the day, the Chautilal sisters were warm enough to rally to a 8-1 win and the national title. Lindy Ann and Lee Ann Lingo were an automatic third, while Pollonais and McLeod were fourth without playing a match on the evening. The Petrotrin and South number one team of former national player Brian Khan and Peter Moore, then crushed the North/ East and UWI team’s hopes, when they beat Dr Jonas Addae and Phillip Robinson 8-1 in the first men’s semi-final.

In the second semi-final, SIS pair of former Trinidad and Tobago tennis player Lennox Francis and the tournament’s youngest finalist Ronnie Jones, had to work for their place in the final as UWI’s top team made a strong bid to put at least one North/East team into the final. The two were for the most part well-matched, as Francis step-ped up his net game and Jones pulled his weight on the baseline against the best efforts of UWI and North/East’s Neil Lingo and Subramanian Prabhakaran, even-tually beating them 8-7 (11) after a thrilling tiebreak. The previous matches determined the complexion of the final, with Khan and Moore proceeding easily, and Francis and Jones struggling. The decider saw the obviously tired Francis/Jones pair coming up against a pumped up Khan/Moore unit, which assured that south would add the male prize to the female championship already won. In the battle between two high quality teams each featuring a coach and former national player, the determined play of Khan and Moore earned them the trophy. Lingo and Prabhakaran were third, after beating Addae and Robinson 8-6 in the third placed playoff.

The male and female winners, all from the South Zone, received a Challenge Trophy, two replicas and a pair of GSM mobile phones courtesy of TSTT. The runners-up won Kapok dinners courtesy Tiki Village and Bois Cano. The third-placed tandem received Rossi track suits from Three Star Sports and, the fourth-placed players National Flour Mills hampers. Corporate tennis goes next to Tobago from October 24-26, continuing the Tennis Federa-tion’s effort of spreading the game in the sister isle. Further information can be obtained from the Tennis Association of Trinidad and Tobago, at their 21 Taylor Street, Woodbrook office.