A morning of laughter and excitement, competition and friendship. This was the scene on Aug. 19 as Grade 6 pupils from the elementary schools of Junob and Cantil-e took park in another installment of Barangay Street Athletics in barangay Cantil-e.
Sponsored by the Presbyterian Theological School, the event was organized by the Senior High School Sports Track students of the school.
Over 25 students responded to the invitation to compete in five athletic events: shot put, long jump, 100-meter dash, 800-meter run, and javelin throw. The results will now provide these schools with potential athletes.
There was excitement in the air as those who competed were anticipating who would come out as victors. It was interesting to see the determination on the faces of the pupils.
Of interest also was watching some of the kids who stopped to watch the games. It seemed like they were intimidated by the thought of competing.
After some encouragement, one young boy from Junob actually decided to try it out, and see what his body could do. Well, it was obvious from the start that the kid had talent. He won all of his events eventually. His first javelin throw was outstanding; to think he never threw a javelin before. The javelin throw is a very technical event, and for him to throw as he did was exceptional.
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the athlete runs within a “runway” to gain momentum then hurls a spear measuring about 2.6 meters and weighing about 800 grams. The distance of the throw is measured upto the point where the tip of the javelin landed.
So why hold events such as this? First of all, it has been observed that children are comfortable competing with classmates they had known the past years or with fellow kids they normally meet in the community. Second, results from simple games such as these can help us determine who could benefit from further training. Thus, we bump into the boy from Junob.
Such was the case in 2015 when another Barangay Street Athletics was held in barangay Balugo near Valencia town. A young girl named April Ramacho did very well during the street athletics, and decided to continue competing. She accepted a scholarship from the Presbyterian School, continued training in sports, and last year won three gold medals in the City Meet. In the Governor’s Cup Back-to-School competition held July 29 to 30, April Ramacho again captured three individual gold medals, and was the only elementary student to do so.
So what does this have to do with anything, you may ask? As of this writing, the Philippines is in 6th place with 11 gold medals at the South East Asian Games being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Will the Philippines improve its previous record of achievement in the SEA Games where we placed 6th also, but with 29 gold medals? We will know the answer next week.
What is obvious is the need for grassroots development of sports in the Philippines. We have the Department of Education that could spearhead games and training for children, but it seems they are more concerned about the ceremonial aspect of the competition.
Take Dumaguete, for instance. If your kid is in a public school and he wants to compete in sports but doesn’t have the funds to get an original birth certificate, well, you’re out of luck. Your kid can not compete even though he has all the skill and talent. What a shame!
The impoverished youth have a right to play. We are missing out on what could possibly be a resource for future sports competition. The Presbyterian Theological School has been offering scholarships for kids to be in school so that they get a chance to compete in sports but sometimes, there are no takers.
To the DepEd, why not save money on the elaborate uniforms that are provided in the different athletic meets, and make do with something less extravagant? I know that cheating is a problematic in sports, but in smaller sports meets, maybe the requirements can be reduced to allow more kids to take part.
Then if the athlete progresses into regional or national sporting meets, maybe only then can more stringent documents be required. Given the chance, many of the Filipino youth may simply surprise us in the sports arena.
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