WFF-WBBF North America

[Dr. Edmundas Daubaras_WFF-WBBF]

Let us look at the 2025.
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. Continues to Move Forward.
For W.F.F. – W.B.B.F., 2025 was not a year of promises, but a year of concrete work.
While part of the international bodybuilding movement is losing mass participation, influence and prospects, we continue to develop.
We do not hide the crisis.
We see it. And we are confronting it.
Bodybuilding Is in Crisis
Today, too many organizations are trying to present crisis as success.
But reality is determined not by statements, but by results.
When the number of athletes declines, young people disappear from the sport, and competitions become closed events for a narrow circle of professionals — this is not development.
It is a crisis.
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. has chosen a different path.
We expand the sports programme.
We create new disciplines.
We develop children’s and mass sport.
We open competitions to veterans and athletes with disabilities.
We strengthen international cooperation.
We do not cling to old models.
We create new ones.
2025: The Facts
In 2025, W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. organized major international competitions:
• the 58th Amber Prix International;
• the 36th World Championship;
• the 30th European Championship;
• the 26th Universe.
This is not a museum of the past.
It is an active international sports system.
In 2025, an international judges’ seminar was also held in Klaipėda, together with numerous national and international competitions.
The geographical reach of athletes and specialists continues to expand.
We Are Not an Organization of the Past
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. moved beyond the boundaries of traditional bodybuilding a long time ago.
As early as 1995, we began systematically separating bodybuilding and fitness.
Today, that decision has become even more obvious.
Fitness must exist as an independent official sport.
It has its own disciplines.
Its own athletes.
Its own judges.
Its own competitions.
Its own international future.
In 2025, the Lithuania Sport Fitness Federation was registered in Lithuania and announced its adherence to the World Anti-Doping Code of WADA.
We support a direction in which national fitness championships are organized separately, with full sporting and anti-doping control.
Lithuania: 60 Years of Bodybuilding
2025 was a historic year for Lithuania.
It marked 60 years of bodybuilding in Lithuania — 1965–2025.
The anniversary event was held in Gargždai.
We honoured the athletes and veterans who built Lithuanian bodybuilding at a time when the sport was only beginning to develop.
Sports history does not belong to one generation.
But forgotten history ceases to be history.
That is why we preserve it.
50 Years of Lithuania Cup Open
In 2025, the Lithuania Cup Open celebrated its 50th anniversary.
It also marked 50 years since the historic participation of Czechoslovak athletes, led by Vojtech Fiala, in an IFBB European Championship during the period of socialist restrictions.
At that championship, Petr Stach became the overall European champion.
This is not merely a sporting result.
It is part of the history of European bodybuilding.
In 2027, the Amber Prix International will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
We are already preparing for this important date.
We Preserve the Memory
In 2025, Valerij Koreškov (1940–2025) passed away — a journalist, writer, poet, artistic photography specialist and one of the early figures of European bodybuilding.
He was a member of Vilnius “Victoria” bodybuilding club and a laureate of the international UNESCO Award.
People like him must not disappear from the history of our sport.
We do not forget our own.
Information and Influence
For several months, WFF.lt received around 400,000 visits per month.
Our materials are published in different languages.
Our articles are read.
Our ideas are discussed.
Our formats are used by others.
This demonstrates one thing:
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. cannot be ignored.
The International System Is Developing
In 2025, an international judges’ seminar was held in Klaipėda, with specialists from Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
We consider professional judges’ education to be one of the foundations of international sport.
Without objective judging, there is no trust.
Without trust, there is no future.
We Are Moving Forward
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. continues to pursue international recognition.
We seek associated membership in the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee.
We continue to pursue international recognition of fitness as an independent official sport and its development in the Olympic direction.
We understand the scale of this objective.
But we are not interested in easy tasks.
2025 Is Only Another Stage
We do not intend to justify ourselves to those who do not believe in our development.
The results speak for themselves.
While some discuss the past, we are creating the future.
While some reduce their activities, we expand ours.
While some fear change, we experiment.
While some forget history, we preserve it.
W.F.F. – W.B.B.F. continues moving forward.
And we have no intention of stopping.
History continues.
Dr. Edmundas Daubaras
President of W.F.F. – W.B.B.F.

[WFF/WBBF Secretary]

60 YEARS OF WORLD SPORTS HISTORY:
LITHUANIA — AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WFF-WBBF JOURNEY.
From the “Amber Prix” to World Championships — for decades, Lithuania has been a place where international sports history has been made.
Six decades are more than simply a period of time. They represent people, generations, traditions, competitions, victories, meetings and stories that remain long after an individual sporting event has ended.
As the WFF-WBBF Federation approaches the 60th anniversary of its international activities, it can be said with confidence that Lithuania holds a special place in this history.
Over more than half a century, more than 100 international WFF-WBBF events have been held in Lithuania. Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Telšiai, Šilutė, Vilkaviškis and Nida have hosted World and European Championships, international “Amber Prix” and “Universe” tournaments, as well as numerous other high-level international competitions.
Over the decades, athletes and delegations from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia have travelled to Lithuania. Today, the WFF-WBBF Federation is represented in 141 countries around the world, covering all continents.
It is particularly significant that, for many years, Lithuania has been one of the important venues for the Federation’s international events. International sporting relations were developed here, representatives of different countries met, and new chapters of world sports history were created.
Lithuania — A Meeting Place for International Sport
WFF-WBBF events in Lithuania became much more than sporting competitions. They developed into meeting places where athletes, coaches, judges, organisers and representatives of the sporting community from different countries came together.
Over the years, delegations from numerous European countries travelled to Lithuania — Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Norway and many others.
However, the international geography of these events extended far beyond Europe.
Athletes from the Republic of South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Mozambique and Egypt came to Lithuania. South America was represented by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, while the United States, Canada and Mexico represented North America. Athletes from Australia also participated in events held in Lithuania.
Asia was particularly broadly represented. Lithuanian competitions welcomed athletes from Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Israel, Syria, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and other countries.
Such a geographical reach allows us today to look at the history of Lithuanian sport from a broader perspective. A small country on the shores of the Baltic Sea has, for decades, served as a venue for international sporting meetings, attracting people from many different parts of the world.
Sport That Brought People Together
The sporting result was not the only important aspect of these major international events. Equally significant were personal encounters, international relationships and shared experiences.
The heads of many foreign delegations were officially received at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on numerous occasions. Participants of WFF-WBBF events also took part in international press conferences held at the ELTA news agency.
Many major international events were organised with the support and financial assistance of institutions of the Republic of Lithuania. This demonstrated the country’s attention to international sport and provided an opportunity to present Lithuania more widely to the global sporting community.
Over the decades, the international relationships that were established did not disappear. On the contrary, they became the foundation for new competitions, new generations of athletes and new international cooperation projects.
The History of the “Amber Prix”
A special place in this history belongs to the “Amber Prix” tournament.
It is more than simply the name of a sporting competition. Over many years, the “Amber Prix” has become a tradition and an important part of Lithuania’s sporting history, gaining recognition in many countries around the world.
In May 2027, Klaipėda will ceremonially mark the 60th anniversary of the “Amber Prix” tournament.
This will be a symbolic opportunity to remember the people who created the history of the tournament, the athletes who competed for victory over the years, and the coaches, judges and organisers who devoted many years to developing this tradition.
Sixty years is already a legacy — one that is passed from generation to generation.
A New Chapter of History — in Nida
But history is not only about memories. It continues today.
From 24–26 October 2026, the 37th World Championship for Professionals and Amateurs will take place in Nida.
This will be another major international sporting event in Lithuania, once again bringing athletes and delegations from different countries around the world to our country.
And in 2027, the jubilee celebration of the “Amber Prix” in Klaipėda will provide another opportunity to look back at the path that has been travelled while also looking towards the future.
The History Continues
Over six decades, countries, cities, generations of athletes and the world itself have changed. Yet one thing has remained constant — the desire to compete, achieve outstanding results, meet one another and build friendships.
Today, with WFF-WBBF activities reaching 141 countries around the world, Lithuania’s role in this history is clear.
More than 100 international events held in Lithuania are more than statistics.
They represent thousands of athletes, hundreds of delegations, dozens of countries, countless competitions and six decades of accumulated experience.
This is a history created not only through results and medals. It was created by people.
And this history is far from over.
The 2026 World Championship in Nida and the 60th anniversary of the “Amber Prix” in Klaipėda in 2027 will become new chapters in this remarkable history.
After six decades, the journey continues.
Lithuania remains, and will continue to remain, a part of world sports history.
More information is on international site www.wff.lt