PHILIPPINE sports looked prime to return to normal in January following the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) announcement in Manila on Tuesday about the opening of traditional training facilities for national athletes.
On the same day but in cool Tagaytay City, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), during its regular general assembly, welcomed the PSC announcement and suggested that the facilities be opened as early as next month.
Ramirez gave special instructions to put layers of safety in place.
The PSC Board of Commissioners chaired by William Ramirez approved the resumption of training of selected national teams not earlier than January 10, 2022, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC) in Manila City, PhilSports Complex in Pasig City and at the Teachers Camp in Baguio City.
“Once the athletes and coaches enter our facilities, they become our responsibility so make sure that everything is in place once we start this,” was Ramirez’s instruction to the board. “I think that more than just a bubble training, it is more apt to call this a new-normal mode of training.”
The Rizal Memorial Coliseum and PSC Multi-Purpose Gym (formerly Ninoy Aquino Stadium) at the RMSC and PhilSport were transformed into quarantine facilities after the Covid-19 pandemic struck. They remain so but are now catering to a minimal number of patients and recorded zero death since March last year.
“This resumption is dependent on provision of many considerations for safety before final implementation,” the PSC said in a statement. “The agency is now evaluating viable facilities which may be used in the said training. Ongoing coordination with local government unit are being done to ensure that all safety measures are taken for the protection of our national team members.”
There are 1,421 athletes and 353 coaches in the national team under the PSC’s care, but not all are expected to train at the PSC facilities with both the government sports agency and the POC putting priorities on sports programmed in the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in May and Huangzhou 19th Asian Games in September next year.
The POC earlier approved of a 626-athlete team in 39 of the 40 sports on the Hanoi program, but has yet to finalize the delegation’s size for Huangzhou where the country is taking part in 46 of 61 sports.
The PSC, the statement added, created a technical working group that will undertake all preparations for the return to training—including the finalization of sports which may be accommodated in the facilities.
A no-vaccine, no-entry policy will also be enforced, said the PSC board which is also composed of commissioners Celia Kiram, Arnold Agustin, Ramon Fernandez and Charles Raymond Maxey.
About 70 kms south of Manila at The Grandmaster Hotel in Tagaytay City, POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino suggested that the PSC facilities be opened in December and no longer under a bubble setup.
“It should not be a bubble training anymore because we’re already in Alert Level 2 [protocol] and they [PSC] can even start the training as early as December,” Tolentino told reporters after the POC’s fourth and last general assembly for the year also on Tuesday.
Twenty-one national sports association (NSA) and POC officials—including First Vice President Al Panlilio—personally attended the assembly while 18 of their colleagues joined online.
PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino told the general assembly that NSAs whose athletes couldn’t be funded by the Philippine Sports Commission for the Hanoi and Huangzhou games could still compete for as long as they shoulder their own expenses.
“Those who will be accommodated by the PSC will fall under Group A and those who are expluded and financed by the private sponsors will be in Group B,” Tolentino said. “The POC will be more on handling accreditation and the policy on funding will be applied for both the SEA Games and Asian Games.”
He advised NSAs hoping to join the games to apply to the POC immediately.
“In previous tournaments, the POC selected members of the delegation based on their regional, continental or world rankings or if they were previous medalists,” Tolentino said.
A deputy chiefs of mission meetings among Alvin Aguilar (Asian Games) and Carl Sambrano and Pearl Managuelod (SEA Games) was held in the sidelines. Tolentino also announced that the country will participate in the Children of Asia International Games from July 27 to August 8 in Vladivostok, Russia. Robert Moran of soft tennis is the chief of mission.