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Mario Pace, president of the Malta Amateur Bodybuilding Association talks to Kevin Grech about the upcoming championships and the drug stigma associated with the sport
In October the National MABA championships will be held. Is the number of competitors on the decline?
No it is more or less the same.
Bodybuilding is a popular sport in Malta, do you think with the right people we can encourage more bodybuilders who have low esteem to compete?
There are many people who go to the gym, but there is a great difference between simply going to the gym to keep in shape and going to the gym with the aim of competing in the future. In fact the number of athletes who compete is really low. Competing entails dedication both with regards to hard training sessions as well as proper diets. Although there are people who help out athletes overcome their fear to compete, there is a need for more of such people in order to encourage and guide such athletes.
Bodybuilding is a sport, but can also be considered to be an art. Do you think the professional sport is lacking athletes like former Mr Olympia Frank Zane and Bob Paris?
Yes, but today the trend is changing. IFBB is informing its judges to search for symmetry, proportion and condition when judging athletes. I therefore believe that we are going back to those times when Frank Zane and Bob Paris competed.
How do Malta’s IFBB athletes compare to athletes from other countries?
In my opinion, with IFBB’s new trend, Malta’s IFBB athletes have a good chance of doing well especially in the 80kg category. I myself managed to place fifth in last year’s Mediterranean Championships which were held in Egypt, while Gilbert Zammit placed eight in the 90kg category. I have high hopes for our competing athletes this year.
We have Maltese bodybuilders who are doing well on the international scene like Charles Duca. Does the federation keep in touch with these athletes?
Charles Duca is competing for Australia, and therefore there is no connection with Malta. We do not keep in touch with such athletes competing for other countries.
Bodybuilding is associated with steroids. What is MABA doing to prevent the use of these drugs? Are dope tests conducted prior, during and after competitions?
Unfortunately yes, many associate bodybuilding with steroids. However, what I would like to highlight is the fact that abuses are found in every sport. Frequently one reads about positive tests in football, cycling, and several other sports as well as during the Olympic Games.
MABA does various random tests before the competition as the WADA Code requires in line with IFBB. I would like to emphasise an important point here. Doping tests cost a lot of money. The Association is still waiting for refunds for doping tests carried out during 2003 as well as for those carried out this year from the Council for Sports. Unfortunately, due to its size MABA cannot afford to incur such costs.
What can be done to turn athletes away from these drugs?
MABA does its best to educate its athletes to make sacrifices, to be disciplined and to train hard so that what they achieve is real through their own capability.
Should the association blacklist gyms where steroids are known to be part of the training regime?
If one hasn’t got any proof about such behaviour, it would be irresponsible behaviour on the part of MABA to act this way.
Joe Dimech the former president of MABA has said in Life and Style magazine, a few months ago, that all the work he did to try and stop steroids in the past 40 years has gone down the drain. What is your reaction?
First of all, I would like to know why Mr. Joe Dimech spoke about 40 years when doping was introduced in 1990. What was Mr. Dimech doing the other 24 years? Obviously, competing without any tests carried out. I started competing in 1991. Now you judge for yourself. We go by the rules and do not try to be saints more than the saints in order to be some kind of hero. After three months working as President, I managed to place in IFBB. I hope this year we will do even better. This is what a President must hope for his athletes.
Can bodybuilding be used to promote a healthy lifestyle for the elderly?
Of course. I myself am not so young anymore. However, I still feel young in every way.
What plans does MABA have for the future?
MABA’s plans are to manage to put IFBB in as high a position as possible and as well as trying to be more competitive as it was in the old days.
Who do you think will win Mr Olympia this year?
In my opinion Ronnie Coleman will win Mr Olympia this year.
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