Saud Al Jasmi, Abdulla Ali Bin Haidar and other dignitaries during the press conference.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) will organise a two-day Bodybuilding and Physique competition next month.

To be held under the patronage of Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD), the department collaborates with Emirates Bodybuilding Federation (EBBF) to host the event.

The announcement was made during a press conference held at Radisson Blu Ajman on Monday, in the presence of Saud Al Jasmi, head of events at Ajman Tourism Development Department, Ali Abdulla Ali Bin Haidar, Vice President and financial Manager of EBBF, Ahmed Mohamed Abdalla Johar, member and national team and championship committee chairman at EBBF, Abdul Majid Yazbak, EBBF’s Technical secretary and several employees of both the entities.

The organising committee has started accepting registrations via the Eventor smart app from today. The men’s competition will take place at Ajman Cultural Centre on March 19-20, whereas the women’s competition will be held at the Bianky beach camp on March 20.

Open for Emiratis, residents, and visitors, the competition includes six categories for men - Bodybuilding, Classic Bodybuilding, Physique, Classic Physique, Muscular Physique, and Body Style, for different age groups of Masters, Men, and Juniors with total prizes worth over Dhs100,000.

The competition will be the first one globally to use the electronic judging system, developed by the International Bodybuilding Judge, Tarik Khalil. The system was developed in collaboration with a specialised software development team and under the supervision and support of EBBF.

The electronic system minimises the time of registration as well as enables uploading the competitors’ documents, their stage music, and the logos of their sponsors, eliminating the need to use CDs and memory sticks.

The system also replaces paper pads with electronic pads for the judges to give scores, leading to quick and accurate calculation of the results.

Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, ATDD Director General, stressed the keenness of the department on hosting such events.

“We at ATDD have always been keen on promoting athletic activities and hosting various sports and cultural events to highlight Ajman's tourism offerings. This competition comes as part of the wealth of activities and events we host as we continue to develop the emirate’s tourism sector and to promote the emirate as an ideal destination for tourism and recreational activities."

Haidar lauded the organisational preparations of the competition noting, “The federation is looking forward to collaborating with ATDD for hosting this competition that will highlight the brilliant talents in bodybuilding. We are also proud that it will be the first event, globally to use the electronic judging system that was locally developed, setting a benchmark for such events in the future. We wish the competitors all the luck and we look forward to seeing what they have to offer, come March.”

Khalil said that the competition is expected to attract around 200 participants from different parts of the world.