NABBA International Universe - Cebu

[Rebel101]

It is appropriate that I complete the picture for Gymnation and write u a report on the NABBA International Universe in Cebu. Philippines.

This is probably going to be long so I may have to break it down into several sessions, and save mulitple times so I do not lose it if it crashes.

 

After all the speculation and rumors that were spread around the Universe in Cebu was an amazing event. In so many ways!!! I have almost come to grips with the political agends running underneath all the gossip but that is another subject altogether.

 

Finally getting to Akld International Airport was an immense relief after all the preparations and training was completed, but looking forward to a 20 hour travel time with one 12 hour flight was daunting. All my food for travel was packed in my carry on luggage so I was well catered for, at least until l got to Cebu. Aylmer was to benefit from all the on board meals as I passed them on to him. Just keeping myself amused on the plane was difficult enough, as usual sleep was almost impossible, even though we left at 1.00 am in the morning. I has purchased compression wear to help with the negative effects of fluid retention but this meant I had to wear two layers of clothing as Aylmer and I agreed that it may not be a good idea to attract toooo much attention from the customs guards.

 

Having survived the flights to Cebu, we arrived in at 4.00 pm in the afternoon, hot and sticky. Transport had been arranged from the airport to the hotel but almost as soon as we got in the vehicle the corruption in the Police became evident, one officer claimed that the driver was absconding with potential fee paying clients, and so we say for another 20 mins while they discussed the subject.

 

Cebu is definitely a third world country and l simply do not have the time to write about all that we saw. Many buildings are derelict, most windows are broken, metal bars over all windows and entrances give the impression of a lack of security and risk of personal harm. All the roads are dirty and dusty, with a population of 6 million known (all many more unknown - as they do not track births and deaths) the place swarms with people. There is no traffic control, you are just expected to carry insurance. Needless to say my first drive into the city was a major culture shock and an eye opener for sure.

 

Our hotel was located in the centre of Cebu, but this as l said is a third world country, so you could have the main street in front or you, and there are street vendors everywhere, one block back and you have squalor, dust and dirt everywhere. Jeep mes are the local form of traffic and run about every 6 vehicles one way or the other. All you have to figure out to get to where you want to go is the Jeep Me number on the front of the vehicle and then step out in front of it, they usually stop!!!

 

Anyway on with the competition rundown.

 

The New Zealand team was split up between two hotels, which was a little less than desireable but the camaradery was still evident. We stood out on the streets like nothing else and as there was 40 of us we were very conspicuous. The native Cebu people are little and carry no size so the Kiwis were clearly different, other teams were located in different areas around the city. At the team meeting before the registration it became obvious how many we numbered and that team spirit was great.

 

Registration as in any competition was tedious, the gym was like 50 years out of date, only one toilet facility to serve alls needs, and guess what the cubicles were only separated by walls 4 foot high, and this is a unisex facility. To top it off the toilets were not flushable you had to ladle water out of a bucket, and there was no toilet paper. I kid you not!!!!!! So if you were in any allusion that this was not a third world country before then you were not any more!.

 

The competition was run at Mariners Court, near the port. This is a wonderful venue and although a little lacking in backstage room it served its purpose well. With over 130 competitors from a wide range of countries form Hong Kong to France, and Malaysia amongst many others there was a good deal of ethnic diversity

Sorry got to go now will write more later.

 

Story of my life later really, several day later I finally have the opportunity to do a little more writing for you. Decided I will add another post this way I can add more pictures easier.

 

So please read on.

 

 

[Realtalk]

Great read. Look forward to the rest!

[Pseudonym]

Wow. That sounds likes an experience and a half!

 

I imagine the Philippines is a great place to visit for a holiday, and experiencing a different culture, but it wouldn't have been my pick for a bodybuilding venue. How did you find the whole 3rd-world thing on top of the usual stresses of travel and competing? Aylmer told me the locals (having seen very few bodybuilders before) treated you all like superheroes. Did that make up for the other difficulties, and if you were organising this comp, would you choose the Philippines, knowing what you know now?

[HarryB]

Nice read and what an experience it must have been :)

[Rebel101]

Firstly an answer to your questions:

 

Travel and Stress

Travel is about broadening of the mind and Cebu certainly gave me a different view of a large city that does not live with in what we consider acceptable societal rules, but that is their world and their reality. I have to accept this and move on.

When you are competing, you live within a confine of x space around you, the essentials of training, food, and rest are all that really matter! I personally try to plan my process and so long as I can do this nothing will distract me.

Having said that the first time you travel to an unknown area there is always a degree of risk, as the element of unknown is larger.  So yes it does make it more difficult experiencing travel (to any destination) and competition in the same scenario but this is always a factor. Next time I travel to either Cebu or Hamburg I will be able to eliminate some of the uncertainties.

This is why to compete internationally you must be prepared to first go and experience it. One of the biggest issues is food, and I will delve into that later perhaps in another post.

 

Locals

Ahhh yes we had some fun with the locals. It tended to be from one extreme to the other, the beggars following you around wanting money, to the sideways views and backward glances.

In particular, I am to a degree to the backward glances and do not see those, only those with me get to see those looks. But what Aylmer was referring to was a group of kids that took a liking to me. One afternoon as we were coming home from the local mall we had to walk a little way to catch a Jeep Me, and several kids started following me, then a few more and then a few more in the end there were about 12 following along doing posing and talking to me rather like a pied piper. Aylmer said stop and take a photo with them. I was not so sure but Aylmer felt they were okay so yes a photo was taken and I will attach it below.

Hahaha even the customs guards back in New Zealand recognized me two weeks later on my return from Hamburg and stopped for a chat in the baggage area.

 

Cebu as a Venue

Considering the venue, yes I would, but I would probably both provide more information available to the contestant, and  tweak the accommodation and access to gym facilities! The experience is what this is about, going outside your comfort zone, but being coached and assisted into it.

 

More about the competition:

 

It is difficult being a competitor I had to focus on my event and was not in a position I could take loads of photos, so I apologise what I have got is from what others could get for me.

 

The prejudging ran smoothly and although the temperature was a lot hotter than we are used to in New Zealand, it was not too hot.

 

The evening show started with a parade of competitors, about 140 of us. The Philippeans love speeches and these went on far too long I think, they even made make a formal verbal pledge to uphold the rules of sportsmanship, with several “I do solomly declare” included which did not amuse the Kiwis. Towards the end the Kiwi guys did a haka and this really set the stage for the Kiwi contingent I think.

 

Competitors came from a wide range of countries so not I could not always understand languages being spoken.

 

One of the most impressive things about this trip I think was the team spirit generated by the athletes that attended. Even now we still have a group in Facebook that members follow, and group events are a common event, this particular group of some 40 athletes will generate a huge amount of goodwill and strength in NABBA.

 

For example, Nigel Randall came down with a stomach bug, leaving Donna technically unable to compete in the couples as she had planned. One of the other guys stepped up and did the practice with her and they place second in the couples. Then to top this off he gave his trophy to Nigel.

 

Travel and Food

 

I think that food and the length of time to travel to the destination is one of the biggest issues to face the competitor. Interestingly enough it is not as much of a difficulty while travelling and formally in transit, as when you get to your destination!

 

Generally speaking you can take onto a plane almost anything a competitor will need. I had a 12 hour flight and a 5 hour flight to cope with when I travelled to Cebu.

I simply mapped out a timeline as to what I would eat and when and matched this to my transit time. Anything I needed while in transit was kept in my hand luggage so I could get it out and eat whenever I wanted.

 

Then the only issue was what food I may need once I arrived in Cebu. The only time the food becomes an issue is when you  are going through customs and formally entering a country. I took egg white omelettes, chicken, and fish frozen in my luggage, and it arrived still frozen. Then all I had to do was declare it when I arrived in Cebu, and it was not a problem I was allowed to keep it all (not so lucky in Hamburg).

 

[HarryB]

I recall a few years ago when Supry Sos went to the world's in Mumbai and essentially he was OK until he got there then couldn't find food he needed and had little direction in terms of where he could train or buy what he needed. Seems a pretty bad set up for competitors but you certainly seem like you were well prepared and being with a kiwi team would have been really helpful. 

[Rebel101]

18 hours ago, HarryB said:

I recall a few years ago when Supry Sos went to the world's in Mumbai and essentially he was OK until he got there then couldn't find food he needed and had little direction in terms of where he could train or buy what he needed. Seems a pretty bad set up for competitors but you certainly seem like you were well prepared and being with a kiwi team would have been really helpful. 

 

Being under the wing of a team was very helpful, we all added in our bits and pieces of information in a Messenger group so everyone was always up to speed so to speak.

 

It was essential not to drink any water except that which you bought in bottles, I got a 20 litre container as soon as we got there and it lasted me a while. As the temperature was so hot maintaining fluid balance was essential, it was just as well Aylmer was there as his advise regarding potassium intake and others was essential to the team. I was cramping two days out from the competition as every time you went out of the hotel room you were sweating.

 

One of the things I found most interesting was the fact that there were so many chemists around. There were many more than we would have on New Zealand, i would say one in every 7 shops was a chemist. Also what they sold was even more remarkable, in one corner of a shop was all the equipment needed to do blood transfusions, how bizarre!

 

Having said that one of the news items while we were there was that of how a 1 year old baby girl, had been sent away from hospital and the mother told to get certain medications, for which she did not have the money. The baby died and the hospital was critized for sending the baby away when it had the medication that would have saved the baby.

 

For all the poverty, overcrowding, dirt, and general depravity the Philippean people are a friendly and happy culture. In the first Jeep Me Aylmer and I caught every body was singing and we paid the driver by passing the fair up through the people. The change came back the same way, no one ever pocketed the change, in this way the people displayed honesty and trust. On the other hand if you stayed still on the streets for tooooo long you would be approached by usually either a woman or children or a combination of both begging for some cash, these people were always experienced in what they were doing and I never really felt sorry for them.

 

On the other hand it was not unusual to see people sleeping on the streets, 1 , 2 and 3 year olds just sitting in the dirt usually with no nappies on, so this is why the streets were always dirty!

 

As a contrast it was not unusual to see the guards at the banks one outside, and one inside with full armoury as the photo below shows.

 

The infrastructure is amazing the photo with the red car in it shows the state of the overhead cabling directly out side our hotel, OSH would have a field day, but it was like this everywhere. And the rubbish pile was on the block just behind our hotel.

 

[HarryB]

Definitely shows us how lucky we are in NZ and Aus.