WORLD BODYBUILDING ENCYCLOPEDIA.

1983 SOCIALIST BODYBUILDING NEWS.

In general there was nothing extraordinary in socialist bodybuilding in 1983. The bodybuilding sport was still prohibited but the prosecution was not so strong.

It was important that in 1978 DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS wrote petition to defend bodybuilding when during the prohibition of bodybuilding everybody was afraid to do something. DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS personally brought the petition to Moscow and presented it to the U.S.S.R. highest political institutions including the Central Committee of the U.S.S.R. Communist party (Центральный Комитет К.П.С.С. С.С.С.Р.). Due to this the polititians permited to organize in Klaipeda (Lithuanian SSR) the „Amber Prix International“ („Gintarinis prizas“, «Янтарный приз», 1968 – 2023). 1978 „Amber Prix International“ was the first public competition after the prohibition. This contest for ten years became the „unofficial U.S.S.R. Bodybuilding Championship“ («неофициальный чемпионат С.С.С.Р. по культуризму»). Best U.S.S.R. bodybuilders used to participate at the „Amber Prix International“ every year. Year by years bodybuilding contests were held in other places too. The winners of 1983 „Amber Prix International“ were Lithuanians ROLANDAS BUCINSKAS (Juniors) and VINCAS DUBICKAS (Main Categories).

After „Amber Prix International“ another U.S.S.R. bodybuilding contest was „Georg Tenno Memorial“ (Мемориал Георга тенно», 1971 - 1989) held in Tallinn (Estonian SSR). The Over All Winners of the 1983 „Georg Tenno Memorial“ were ROLANDAS BUCINSKAS (Lithuania SSR) and ARKADI AJU (Estonian SSR). The secretary of the „unofficial U.S.S.R. Bodybuilding Federation“ («формальная федерация культуризма С.С.С.Р.») ROMANAS KALINAUSKAS went on with his intriques. He tried to prohibit ROMNDAS BUCINSKAS to particiapte at the 1983 „Georg Tenno Memorial“. Then DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS trough his friend INNAR MARDO (1946 – 2002 m., Иннар Мардо) ruined his plans and this way ROLANDAS BUCUNSKAS was among „Georg Tenno Memorial“ participants“. By the way, INNAR MARDO until his death was the President of the National Federation W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Estonia.

In Kaunas (Lithuanian SSR) still was organized „Comsomol Cup“ („Komjaunimo taurė“, «Кубок комсомола»). Junior Winners were JURIJ POPOV (Юрий Попов, R.S.F.S.R.), VIKTORAS JUCYS, RAIMONDAS KAZAKEVICIUS and the Winners of the Main Categories were STANISLAV PLOIAKOV (Станислав Поляков, Latvian SSR), VINCAS DUBICKAS, SAULIUS MISEVICIUS, RAIMONDAS IVANAUSKAS. All of the Winners were from the Lithuanian SSR except JURIJ POPOV and STANISLAV POLIAKOV.

First time after bodybuilding prohibition a contest was organized by VASILIJ BESPALENKO (Василий Беспаленко) in Lvov (Ukraine SSR). The Over All Winners were ARVYDAS JARUMBAUSKAS (Lithuanian SSR) and the mentioned above STANISLAV POLIAKOV.

Only Estonian SSR presented the U.S.S.R. at the 1983 traditional „Trener“ contest in Czechoslovakian SSR. It was led by PRANAS MICKEVICIUS. Bodybuilders of the Estonian SSR did not support PRANAS MICKEVICIUS as the Estonians still were fighting in between. Bodybuilders were on the side of INNAR MARDO who was overturned by OLEV ANNUS in 1979. Having no athletes this way PRANAS MICKEVICIUS went to Czechoslovakia with SAULIUS MISEVICIUS (Lithuanian SSR).

Of all Socialist countries only bodybuilders of the Czechoslovakian SSR had possibilities to go to the „Western“ Capitalist countries and participate at the I.F.B.B. (International Federation of Body Builders)  contests. Representatives of other Socialist countries could only dream of this. To go abroad everybody needed the official invitation accepted by the Ministries of Foreign affairs of their counttries. This was the „Amber Prix International“ and the „Georg Tenno Memorial“ had extremelly huge importance in the U.S.S.R..

Once the former Prime Minister of the Lithuanian Republic GEDIMINAS KIRKILAS said that Socialist bodybuilding was a kind of resistance to the Communist regime. By the way, GEDIMINAS KIRKILAS was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 2004 W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. (World Fitness Federation, World Body Building Federation)  World Championship in Vilnius (Lithuanian Republic). We would like to remind that in 2011 the Official meeting of the President W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. International DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS was held in Vatican. Vatican Congregat Prefect Cardinal J. Em. JOZEF TOMKO speaking about the bodybuilding in the Socialist countries named our activities as „dissidental“ towards the Communist regime. Due to this Vatican Congregat Prefect Cardinal J. Em. JOZEF TOMKO awarded DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS with the Medal of the Vatican Pontific (Medaglia Ufficiale di Pontificato di Sua Santita Benedetto XVI, Headquarters State Vatican, Cita del Vaticano, March 29, 2011).

INFORMATION.
More detailed information on the Global International Site www.wff.lt, see forum topics.

2026 MEGA EVENTS INTERNATIONAL

37-th Am-Pro World Championship

45-th Am-Pro „World Grand Prix“

3-d „Neringa Mayor‘s Cup“

October 24 - 25, 2026, „Agila“ Palace,  Nida Resort, Lithuania

Official Documents, Articles, Statistics on Global Page www.wff.lt

CONTEST REGISTRATION on www.worldfitness.lt

2026 SPORT NEWS INTERNATIONAL.

REPORT OF W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. JAPAN.

We are pleased to announce that the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Japan has officially decided to support the “IORIMPIA and W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. JAPAN” event planned for 2027 in Tajimi City.

This important cooperation agreement was arranged by our federation’s appointed W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. International President in Japan, Iori Nishizawa. Permission has also been granted to use the embassy’s logo. This regional event is growing into an international fitness event connecting countries and people. This is a significant new step for our federation. The embassy’s support has given us even stronger trust and a solid foundation for future growth. We will continue working together with local administration and many partners toward the successful organization of the event.

The city details, exact date, and full official program are still being finalized. A great beginning!

Official Information is on International Site www.wff.lt

INTERNATIONAL JUDGES AND TRAINERS SEMINAR IN KLAIPEDA. WHEN BODYBUILDING BECAME JUST ABOUT MUSCLES: WHERE DID THE ART OF POSING GO?

Bodybuilding was once about much more than displaying muscles. It was about the stage, music, movement, artistry, and the ability to turn one’s physique into a true stage performance. Today, much of that has disappeared. Has bodybuilding become too simplistic?

This question will be discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda, Lithuania, at an international seminar for coaches and judges, organized by the World WFF-WBBF Federation and the International Sport University (ISU).

One of the main topics of the seminar will be the art of posing, its importance in competition, new categories and judging principles, as well as the future development of bodybuilding.

There Was a Time When Muscles Alone Were Not Enough

There was a period in bodybuilding history when an athlete had to be more than physically well prepared. He had to know how to present his physique.

In 1987, during the establishment of the USSR Bodybuilding Federation, a series of specialized seminars was organized. One of them was conducted by Vitalijus Asovskis, then head of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding.

Together with Česlavas Tamulevičius, the founder of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding, and drawing on their practical experience and years of work with athletes, he developed a classification of the main bodybuilding poses.

This was not merely technical work. Posing was understood as a special language through which an athlete told the story of his physique on stage.

On Stage, It Was Not Enough to Be Strong — You Had to Know How to Show It

At that time, the free posing routine played a particularly important role.

An athlete did not simply perform the mandatory poses. He created his own performance: choosing the music, arranging the sequence of poses, transitions and movements, and creating a complete stage presentation.

Judges evaluated the overall impression of the routine, artistry, stage presence, musicality, posing technique and the athlete’s ability to move smoothly from one pose to another.

This forced athletes to develop far beyond the gym.

Lifting weights alone was not enough to become a stage virtuoso. Athletes had to learn how to control their bodies, understand music, use the stage, connect with the audience and present themselves to the judges.

Anyone can lift a barbell. Far fewer can command a stage.

As a result, there were occasions when a physically outstanding athlete lost to a competitor who was better able to present his physique on stage.

This judging philosophy encouraged bodybuilders to work harder and develop not only their physiques, but also their stagecraft.

The Vilnius School Created Not Only Physiques, but Stage Art

Specialists of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding carefully studied the experience of other sports. They analyzed routines from artistic gymnastics and figure skating, examining their structure, artistry, musicality and judging principles.

This experience was then adapted to bodybuilding.

As a result, Lithuania produced an entire generation of athletes for whom the stage was just as important as the training hall.

Among them were Pranas Murauskas, Jevgenijus Gorelikas, Jevgenijus Žurcevas, Rišardas Krinickis, Vytautas Pleckevičius, Saulius Misevičius, Vladas Kapcevičius, Viačeslavas Chleborodovas and many other athletes of that era.

Their performances were not simply demonstrations of poses.

They were performances.

What Happened to Bodybuilding Today?

Today, free posing routines are no longer evaluated in many bodybuilding competitions.

And this creates one of the fundamental problems.

If posing skill has no impact on the final result, why should an athlete spend hundreds of hours developing it?

Perfecting posing requires time. It requires coaching, specialized knowledge, stage experience, musical awareness and countless rehearsals.

As a result, athletes naturally focus on the elements that directly influence their competitive results.

The result is increasing uniformity.

The same movements. The same poses. The same stage solutions.

The athlete walks onto the stage, displays his physique and walks off.

But where has the individuality gone? Where is the personality of the performance? Where is the moment when spectators are waiting not only to see what kind of physique an athlete has brought to the competition, but how he will present it?

Is Bodybuilding Losing Its Stage Identity?

Bodybuilding has always been unique because it brought together sport and stage performance.

Muscle was only one part of the equation.

The other was the ability to present it.

When the artistic component disappears from the judging system, competitions become increasingly uniform. And the more uniform they become, the fewer reasons spectators have to look forward to the next athlete’s performance.

Perhaps this is why it is time to look again at something that was once considered an essential part of bodybuilding.

2027 Could Become a Year of Change

The WFF-WBBF Federation has announced plans to reintroduce the evaluation of free posing routines for professional bodybuilders starting in 2027.

This would represent an attempt to bring back an element that once encouraged athletes to become not only physically powerful, but also true stage performers.

Will this change bodybuilding?

The answer will depend on how the judging criteria are formulated and how the idea is received by athletes, coaches and judges.

But one thing is clear:

Bodybuilding cannot be reduced to a display of muscles.

An athlete on stage should not simply stand there.

He should perform.

This will be one of the key subjects discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda at the International Seminar for Coaches and Judges.

Perhaps it is time to remember that bodybuilding does not begin when an athlete steps onto the stage.

It begins when an athlete learns how to tell the story of his physique on stage.

More information about the seminar: www.worldfitness.lt

When the “Amber Prix” Had to Hide: The Story of Klaipėda’s Bodybuilding Breakthrough.

Bodybuilding was banned. Official clubs did not exist. Competitions could end in trouble. Yet in Klaipėda, athletes did not stop. They trained in a bomb shelter, competed in a prison basement, gathered in school gyms, and eventually stepped into the public eye. In this way, one of Lithuania’s most determined bodybuilding movements preserved and continued the tradition of the “Amber Prix.”

Today, as the 60th anniversary of one of the world’s oldest traditional bodybuilding competitions, the “Amber Prix,” approaches, it is difficult to imagine the circumstances under which this tournament survived. Today, the “Amber Prix” is associated with the stage, athletes, judges, spectators, and international bodybuilding. But there was a time when simply wanting to train was already a kind of challenge to the system. Bodybuilding was banned in socialist countries. Officially, it was supposed to disappear. In Klaipėda, it did not disappear. It went underground.

The Beginning – Before the Ban

The beginnings of bodybuilding in Klaipėda were shaped by Antanas Jonuškutis. He established a sports club on the premises of the Polytechnic and organized the first four “Amber Prix” tournaments, held in 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970. These were the days when bodybuilding was only beginning to find its place in Lithuania’s sporting life. The first clubs, athletes, and competitions appeared. At the same time, however, competition was growing.

In 1970, Antanas Jonuškutis withdrew from organizational activities and completely distanced himself from bodybuilding. For some time, Klaipėda no longer had a single clear center. Athletes trained wherever and however they could. But this was only the calm before the storm.

A Bomb Shelter Becomes a Bodybuilding Club

The year 1971 became a turning point in Klaipėda’s bodybuilding history.

Vytautas Daubaras, an employee of the Klaipėda State Seaport, obtained premises in a bomb shelter belonging to the port on Sportininkų Street for young athletes to train. This was how the “Gintaras” club was established. The location itself sounds almost unbelievable today. A bomb shelter—a place intended to protect people from the dangers of war—became a place where young people were building their sporting futures. The “Gintaras” club quickly became the main bodybuilding center in Klaipėda. Around one hundred enthusiasts attended the club. These were no longer isolated athletes. They were a community. And this community was soon to face a ban.

When Sport Went Underground

The ban on bodybuilding changed everything.

The operation of official clubs became impossible, and competitions became illegal. Athletes had to choose: give up the sport they loved or continue training despite the circumstances. The people of Klaipėda chose the second path. Training did not stop. It moved to places that did not need to be spoken about openly.

In 1973, Edmundas Daubaras organized an illegal bodybuilding competition in the basement of the old city prison. The prison basement became the competition venue. That day, the athletes stepped onto the stage knowing that their sport was officially banned. In the senior category, Mindaugas Liaugaudas won, while Algimantas Ratas took first place among the juniors. These results matter not only because someone won. What mattered most was that the competition took place at all.

46 Athletes Defying the Ban

That same year, in 1973, Edmundas Daubaras brought together athletes from illegally operating clubs in Vilnius and organized a strength-dueling competition in Vilnius. Forty-six athletes from Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Šiauliai took part. The ban could close clubs, but it could not so easily destroy the connections between people. Athletes found one another. They met. They trained. They competed. In this way, not only their physical condition but also Lithuania’s bodybuilding community was preserved.

The “Amber Prix” Returns to Klaipėda

In 1974, a tournament for the “Amber Prix” was held at the “Gintaras” club, in the same bomb shelter on Sportininkų Street. Athletes from four underground bodybuilding clubs in Klaipėda took part. The competition was a full-fledged event. The athletes performed strength exercises, demonstrated the compulsory poses, and presented a free routine.

In the junior groups, the winners were Antanas Kazlauskas, Algimantas Ratas, and Sigitas Kišonas. In the youth categories, the strongest were Kęstutis Virketis and Evaldas Šorius. In the senior categories, the winners were Sigitas Vilutis and Vytautas Zenkevičius. Antanas Kazlauskas, Evaldas Šorius, and Vytautas Zenkevičius were named the overall winners in their respective age groups.

But behind the lines of the official results was something much more important. Every such victory was proof that the ban had not destroyed the sport.

The School Gym

In 1975, the “Amber Prix” tournament moved to one of Klaipėda’s general education schools. Athletes from Telšiai and Vilnius came to compete. In the junior groups, the winners were Leonidas Rodionovas, Rimas Apulskis, and Antanas Dobrodzejus. In the youth categories, first places went to Antanas Bašermanas, Algimantas Ruplys, and Aimontas Dolgichas. In the senior groups, the strongest were Vytautas Zenkevičius, Olegas Serovas, and Rišardas Krinickis. Rimas Apulskis, Algimantas Ruplys, and Rišardas Krinickis were named the overall winners.

The geography was expanding. Klaipėda was no longer the only point on the map. The bodybuilding movement was connecting different cities and different generations of athletes.

A Risky Step in Telšiai

In 1976, Edmundas Daubaras took another step.

He organized the “Amber Prix” tournament together with the “Žemaitija Cup” in Telšiai. The strength event took place at one of the city’s schools, while the physique presentation was held at the Telšiai Cultural Centre. This is where the story becomes particularly interesting. Bodybuilding was still banned. Yet the athletes had to appear in public. Edmundas Daubaras took a risk. He managed to convince the administration of the Cultural Centre that the event was not a violation. What is more, the Cultural Centre advertised the event to the residents of the city. And then something happened that perhaps few could have expected. The hall filled with people. Bodybuilding, which had been pushed underground, became a public spectacle for one evening. Athletes from Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Šiauliai took part in the competition. In the junior subcategories, the winners were Rimas Apulskis, Stasys Stanius, and Rimas Česaitis. In the youth categories, the winners were Antanas Bašermanas, Aimontas Dolgichas, and Evaldas Šorius. In the senior categories, the winners were Valentinas Vandys and Rišardas Krinickis. The overall winners were Rimas Apulskis, Evaldas Šorius, and Rišardas Krinickis. The competition went smoothly. Nothing happened that people had feared might happen.

And this changed Edmundas Daubaras’s understanding of what was possible.

1977: The Doors Open

After Telšiai, Edmundas Daubaras became even more confident.

With the assistance of his father, Vytautas Daubaras, the 1977 “Amber Prix” tournament was held at the Cultural Centre of the Klaipėda State Seaport. This time, only the physique presentation was included. There were no strength exercises. But the most important thing was not the program. It was the venue. A cultural centre. A public hall. Spectators. And athletes who only a few years earlier had competed in a prison basement were now standing before a packed audience. There was no official advertising. The spectators were brought to the event “live,” through word of mouth, by Klaipėda’s athletes themselves. The hall was packed with enthusiasts. Athletes from Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda took part. The journey from the bomb shelter to the Cultural Centre had been completed.

From the Underground to History

Looking back today, the journey seems almost symbolic.

In 1971, bodybuilding in Klaipėda found shelter in a bomb shelter.

In 1973, athletes competed in the basement of an old prison.

In 1974, the “Amber Prix” once again echoed underground.

In 1975, the competition was already being held in a school.

In 1976, the bodybuilders stepped onto the stage of the Telšiai Cultural Centre.

And in 1977, the “Amber Prix” appeared at the Cultural Centre of the Klaipėda State Seaport, before a packed audience. This was not merely a change in the geography of sporting events. It was a journey from the underground into the public eye. And along this journey, the most important thing was preserved: the tradition. During the years when bodybuilding was banned, it was not easy to train in Klaipėda. It was not easy to organize competitions. It was not even easy to meet with like-minded people. But there were people who refused to give up. Vytautas Daubaras provided a place for training. Edmundas Daubaras took the organizational risks. The athletes attended training sessions, prepared for competitions, and ignored the fact that their sport existed outside the official system. That is why the history of the “Amber Prix” is not simply a sequence of winners, records, and dates. It is a story of perseverance. A story about people who refused to let the tradition disappear. A story about a sport that, although banned, remained alive. And perhaps that is why, when looking back at the history of the “Amber Prix” today, it is important to remember not only those who stood on the stage and were announced as winners, but also those who took risks simply to make sure that the stage existed at all.

The “Amber Prix” never stopped. For a while, it simply took place where it was not supposed to.

More information is on international site www.wff.lt