Michelle Seaforth 
Melissa Seaforth 
Bernard Percival
By Neto Baptiste
Four of the country’s professional bodybuilders and fitness athletes are currently on a fundraising drive as they desperately seek raise the EC $15,000 needed to cover the cost of tickets that would get them to Seville, Spain in September for this year’s instalment of the Arnold Sports Festival and professional bodybuilding competition.
This was revealed by bikini fitness professional and holder of an Elite IFBB Pro Card, Kimberly Percival, who said efforts are being spearheaded by a committee she formed in support of the country’s professional bodybuilders.
“After Bernard and Elvis Bailey would have won their [pro] cards I went ahead and formed a committee called the Antigua and Barbuda Professional Bodybuilders Committee and that and the ideas was to unify all of our pros in an effort for us to do fundraising as a unified body so for the four of try trying to go to Spain, we are already hitting the ground running and trying to reach out to sponsors and basically, we are trying to pool everything together and make it happen. Sometimes it takes a village, it takes a community and that’s the way we are approaching this,” she said.
The team, which is inclusive of Melissa Seaforth, Michelle Seaforth and Bernard Percival, are slated to compete at the prestigious championships from September 17-19.
Kimberly believes the goal could be achieved with the help of corporate Antigua.
“Business places, personal entrepreneurs who are interested in supporting the pros, please feel free to reach out as any and all contributions would be greatly appreciated. I can be reached via email at [email protected] and let us know if you are interested in helping us make that journey,” she said.
Kimberly, who is also an executive member of the national bodybuilding and weightlifting federation, said that just like her, all three of her counterparts are just hoping for the opportunity to be ambassadors for Antigua and Barbuda.
“I am just looking forward to carrying out flag for the first time, having that level of team represent there and basically making a name for Antigua. We want to go over there, do some damage, showcase and comeback with those persons knowing who we are, who our country is and what we are capable of and to me, that’s my main goal,” the athlete said.
In 2020, the winner of the Arnold Classic Bodybuilding competition pocketed US $130,000 with second and third places claiming US $75,000 and US $50,000, respectively.
Interested sponsors can email [email protected] for additional information.