Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Karelle - Contributed

A lot can happen in 10 years, and for Karelle Ashley and JAMFIT, a lot has.

With best friend and registered fitness instructor Nichelle Wilks, Ashley, a registered nurse and certified fitness instructor formed the Jamaica Fitness association (JAMFIT) in 1998. Their dream was of putting Jamaica on par with the United States in health and fitness. A decade later, Ashley can afford to look back with a sense of pride. "Well, it's been rewarding. We have tried to accomplish a lot and I am hopeful," said Ashley. "When we first started, fitness and health were not at the forefront of everybody's mind, but now, 10 years later, many people have become health conscious. At Emancipation Park, many are walking, people who were not used to reading labels are now reading the nutritional facts on labels. People have definitely become more conscious."

Ashley noted the signs are everywhere. "I teach at several gyms and we also do corporate fitness training; that's where I've noticed it," she said. "You used to have a time when, at certain stages, people would come to the gym; like whether it's summer bodies, you'd see them, or whether it's New Year's resolutions, you'd see them at the start of the year but then you'd have that lull for the rest of the year. But now, all year long, it's all about staying healthy and keeping fit. The consistency is amazing in the gym, and the same thing with the companies. Even fast-food restaurants are offering more salads and not using "trans-fats."

Keeps growing

Over the years, JAMFIT's National Fitness Expo has grown immensely and had to move to the National Indoor Stadium from its humble beginnings at the Hilton Kingston hotel. Equally impressive are the gains made in the National Cheerleading Competition that started out six years ago with 12 schools. At its most recent staging, there were 60 schools participating!

Ashley has even taken cheerleading to an international level. Earlier this year, Jamaica entered its first cheerleading team in the Cheerleading World Championships in Orlando, Florida. "They came 16th out of 45 teams in their division. That was phenomenal seeing it was their first time," she said proudly.

She also sits on an international committee that is trying to get cheerleading into the Olympics by 2012.

Fitness show

There is also her fitness show which airs on local television on Friday mornings. These activities have also contributed to the island's changing mindset about fitness. "I would say we have helped tremendously by getting people to be fit. Then it was up to them to take it that bit further, depending on what they wanted to do," she said. "We have been able to introduce pilates and yoga and by our fitness expos, get people to think about different aspects of fitness. They have triathlons now, along with Reggae Marathon and the Sigma Run."

But despite the remarkable success, there were challenges from the very outset. "Initially, it was almost like pulling teeth to get people to come out and exercise," she said, adding that they were challenged to make exercising interesting for people who believed it was monotonous. "We had to make it fun, keep it fresh all the time."

Three years ago, when Wilks got married and migrated to Germany, Ashley admitted it was tough going on without her because she brought so much to the partnership. The transition, she said, was difficult but she pushed on.

Recently married to Christopher Jones, an auditor at the National Health Fund, who she said completes her, and who has also helped fill gaps created by Nichelle's departure, Ashley is looking forward to bigger things for Jamfit in the next decade.

In addition to getting cheer-leading into the Olympic Games, Ashley wants to have a national cheerleading team for all national sporting teams, including the Reggae Boyz, when they make it to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Ashley wants to go totally international. "When I go to conventions in California or Florida, it is just amazing to go into a class and see something different like a Bosu class with body toning. That's so amazing, I want to do it again. That is what I want for Jamaica." These shows, she said, would involve both international and local instructors sharing ideas and showing what they have to offer.

This, she believes, would go a long way in getting Jamaica to be known as one of the healthiest nations in the world.