I recently returned from a long trip to what I consider my hometown of Culaba, on the island-province of Biliran. Culaba is where I lived for almost seven years in the early 70s while I was a student at Divine Word University in Tacloban City.
It was a trip of gladness and frustration as I had to ride various boats and buses to get to Culaba, at times, considering alternate travel as some boats/buses were fully booked.
The gladness part was seeing relatives and friends I had not seen for over 40 years. The main event was the fiesta, of course, and winning 1st runner up with my niece in the kuratsa dance.
Thus, as you can imagine, the trip was costing me a considerable sum of money.
What caught my attention there was that Tacloban City hosts the Leyte Sports Academy, which brings together in an academic environment various promising athletes who are eager to study and also willing to train in sports, right in one campus.
Now that I’m back in Negros Oriental, it’s time to experience a renewed hope with the elections over, and with some new faces in government positions.
It’s also a time of hope for the country in the area of sports, with the recent holding of the annual Palarong Pambansa in Davao City.
With 396 gold medals up for grabs, the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) once again took top honors, with 86 gold medals.
Even with an increase in the number of gold medals available this 2019, compared last year’s 381 gold medals contested for, NCR’s takehome this year was less than what they earned the previous year.
Region 4A (CaLaBaRZon comprised of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) took 2nd place overall, with 66 golds, and actually increased their gold medal haul from last year’s 55.
Third place went again to Region 6 (Western Visayas: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo province, Iloilo City, Negros Occidental, Bacolod City).
So how did Region 7 (Central Visayas) do? Last year, we placed 4th; this year, we dropped one spot to 5th place overall.
I follow mainly the medal-rich sport of athletics. One region dominated the competition in athletics. Focusing on secondary athletics, Region 6 was, by far, outshining everyone else. They were champions in both secondary girls and boys.
In secondary girl’s athletics that had 17 events being contested, Western Visayas grabbed a total of eight gold medals. No other region was even close.
Over in the secondary boy’s athletics, Western Visayas took six of the available 19 golds that were contested.
Two regions followed with three golds each.
Central Visayas did not fare well at all in athletics, taking only one silver medal in boy’s secondary athletics.
While observing internet posts at present, it seems like the hope for the future of Philippine sports is dismal.
As a coach that has seen through years and years of sports training and competitions, I’m afraid that I feel that our sports leaders are putting the cart before the horse.
Plans for centralized sports complexes fail to address the need for grassroots sports development.
Money for centralized sports complexes could be better spent throughout the country.
We can learn a thing or two from Taiwan’s development of athletic ovals in almost every school throughout their country.
Of course, we wouldn’t need 400-meter ovals, but we could instead have three- or four-lane 200-meter ovals which would accomplish the same purpose of serious, intense training. And these could be situated throughout the country in areas deemed most beneficial.
Short course swimming pools could also be included. We don’t need full-sized Olympic pools.
These are just two sports activities where Filipinos could excel in. Sadly, it seems it’s deemed more important to hold extravagant regional meets/competitions.
Still, we hope for change.
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Author’s email: [email protected]
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