The Zambia Body Building and Fitness Federation (ZBBFF) has expressed concern over the level at which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the bodybuilding fraternity.
In an interview with Lusaka Star, ZBBFF President Cornelius Chanda said the pandemic has led to the reduction of the number of bodybuilders participating in cross-border competitions.
Mr. Chanda further said the pandemic has also caused operations in the fraternity to go on a standstill.
Initially we were supposed to host competitions this year around April starting in South Africa to pave way for the following events, but with the new COVID-19 variant and the new wave of cases in our country, I don’t see us being able to achieve these goals,
he explained.
The ZBBFF president also noted that locally organised competitions and events have also drastically dropped, with only one such event being hosted about a year ago.
Meanwhile, Clement Shamboko, a renowned bodybuilder said that he longs for the time when things stabilize and vital operations resume.
Surviving and coping for us bodybuilders on the ground has become very hard because there are no shows and our association does not have the economic muscle to look after us,
Shamboko said.
With new measures aimed at curbing the new wave of COVID-19 cases, government suspended all social gatherings, leaving operative structures such as gymnasiums in a challenging economic ordeal.