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Bodybuilders strike poses for deaf school fundraiser | clintonnews.com | The Clinton News
The Mississippi Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championships return to Jackson's Thalia Mara Hall at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The National Physique Committee-sanctioned qualifying event will once again feature WLBT Channel-3 sports director Rob Jay as master of ceremonies, with all proceeds benefitting the athletic department at the Mississippi School for the Deaf.
"MSD doesn't have a booster club. I'm the biggest athletic booster," said Gordon Weir, fitness director at The Courthouse since 1987 and the promoter of the event.
"We're small, but we want the kids to have the kinds of things that booster clubs at other schools provide for their athletes, from letter jackets and trophies to good meals before the games," Weir said. "Over the past several years, the show has raised over $130,000 in donations to help them."
Weir is a Callaway High graduate with a master's degree in exercise science from Mississippi College. Both of his parents lost their hearing at young ages. He said that his grandparents built a church for the deaf and were active in Jackson's deaf community for many years.
He coached football at MSD on a volunteer basis from 1972-76. He was the head coach from 1977-84 and led the school to a national championship in 1982.
"That was when they had 11-man-teams," Weir said. "Now they play eight-man-football. They've won three national titles since 2000.
"The kids are from all over the state and live at the school year-round. Many of the parents never get to see them play," Weir said. "It's very important to me to try to help how ever I can to make them feel good about themselves."
The guest poser at this year's bodybuilding competition will be "Marvelous" Melvin Anthony, who grew up in Sacramento, Calif., and won the 2008 Atlantic City Pro.
"Having the best body in the neighborhood was important," Anthony said. "It gave you bragging rights. Life was very competitive, and everybody, in order to survive, had to have some sort of bragging rights."
At 5-feet, 8 inches tall, Anthony competes at 240 pounds. His measurements are staggering: 21-inch arms and a 55-inch chest. He possesses 28-inch quad muscles, while his waist is only 27 inches.
Attendance at the NPC event varies from year to year, Weir said, and depends on the quantity and quality of the competitors. Sponsorships are crucial to him being able to make a profit for MSD.
"We'll have a great dance troupe that will get everybody revved up with a Michael Jackson tribute," Weir said. "Then Rob Jay will come out and have everybody laughing. He always does a great job.
"We'll have 65 to 80 competitors from all over the state, and we hope folks will come out and help support the kids at the deaf school."
The Mississippi Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championships return to Jackson's Thalia Mara Hall at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The National Physique Committee-sanctioned qualifying event will once again feature WLBT Channel-3 sports director Rob Jay as master of ceremonies, with all proceeds benefitting the athletic department at the Mississippi School for the Deaf.
"MSD doesn't have a booster club. I'm the biggest athletic booster," said Gordon Weir, fitness director at The Courthouse since 1987 and the promoter of the event.
"We're small, but we want the kids to have the kinds of things that booster clubs at other schools provide for their athletes, from letter jackets and trophies to good meals before the games," Weir said. "Over the past several years, the show has raised over $130,000 in donations to help them."
Weir is a Callaway High graduate with a master's degree in exercise science from Mississippi College. Both of his parents lost their hearing at young ages. He said that his grandparents built a church for the deaf and were active in Jackson's deaf community for many years.
He coached football at MSD on a volunteer basis from 1972-76. He was the head coach from 1977-84 and led the school to a national championship in 1982.
"That was when they had 11-man-teams," Weir said. "Now they play eight-man-football. They've won three national titles since 2000.
"The kids are from all over the state and live at the school year-round. Many of the parents never get to see them play," Weir said. "It's very important to me to try to help how ever I can to make them feel good about themselves."
The guest poser at this year's bodybuilding competition will be "Marvelous" Melvin Anthony, who grew up in Sacramento, Calif., and won the 2008 Atlantic City Pro.
"Having the best body in the neighborhood was important," Anthony said. "It gave you bragging rights. Life was very competitive, and everybody, in order to survive, had to have some sort of bragging rights."
At 5-feet, 8 inches tall, Anthony competes at 240 pounds. His measurements are staggering: 21-inch arms and a 55-inch chest. He possesses 28-inch quad muscles, while his waist is only 27 inches.
Attendance at the NPC event varies from year to year, Weir said, and depends on the quantity and quality of the competitors. Sponsorships are crucial to him being able to make a profit for MSD.
"We'll have a great dance troupe that will get everybody revved up with a Michael Jackson tribute," Weir said. "Then Rob Jay will come out and have everybody laughing. He always does a great job.
"We'll have 65 to 80 competitors from all over the state, and we hope folks will come out and help support the kids at the deaf school."